Illinois Institute Of Technology

NATIONAL CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY

NATIONAL CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY

THE BIOPHYSICS COLLABORATIVE ACCESS TEAM - THE MISSION OF THE BIOPHYSICS COLLABORATIVE ACCESS TEAM (BIOCAT) IS TO PROVIDE USER ACCESS TO A STATE-OF-THE- ART SYNCHROTRON BEAMLINE (18ID) FOR DIFFRACTION AND SCATTERING OF NON-CRYSTALLINE BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS AT THE ADVANCED PHOTON SOURCE, ARGONNE NATIONAL LAB. CONTINUED EVOLUTION OF THE BEAMLINE SINCE FIRST LIGHT IN 1997 HAS RESULTED IN A UNIQUE IN THE USA FIBER DIFFRACTION PROGRAM, AND A WORLD-CLASS BIO-SAXS PROGRAM WITH UNIQUE CAPABILITIES BOTH IN THE EQUILIBRIUM AND TIME-RESOLVED REALMS. THE USE OF SIZE EXCLUSION CHROMATOGRAPHY IN LINE WITH THE SAXS CAMERA HAS ENSURED UNPRECEDENTEDLY HIGH DATA QUALITY EVEN WITH BIOCHEMICALLY CHALLENGING SAMPLES OTHERWISE THOUGHT TO BE INTRACTABLE FOR SAXS. THE RECENT INCORPORATION OF MALS AND DLS IN LINE WITH SEC ALLOWS ADDITIONAL BIOPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION THAT CAN BE INVALUABLE IN INTERPRETING SAXS DATA FROM DIFFICULT SYSTEMS. OUR NEW COFLOW SHEATH FLOW SAMPLE CELL HAS REVOLUTIONIZED SAXS DATA ACQUISITION BY PREVENTING RADIATION DAMAGE, ENHANCING EFFICIENCY ACCOMPANIED BY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN SIGNAL TO NOISE. BIOCAT MAINTAINS SPECIALIZED APPARATUSES FOR COMBINED TIME-RESOLVED X-RAY DIFFRACTION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF CARDIAC AND SKELETAL MUSCLE. THESE STUDIES HAVE EXTENDED IN SCOPE FROM BASIC BIOPHYSICAL PROBLEMS TO ADDRESS NEW DISEASE MODELS INCLUDING CARDIOMYOPATHIES. A TRADITIONAL STRENGTH IS FIBER DIFFRACTION OF GENERAL FIBROUS PROTEIN SYSTEMS THAT HAS RECENTLY EXPANDED INTO SCANNING DIFFRACTION IMAGING OF FIBROUS PROTEIN STRUCTURES IN COMPLEX TISSUE SAMPLES. A MAJOR STRENGTH OF THE RESOURCE IS THE EXPERIENCED AND DEDICATED SCIENTIFIC STAFF WHO ASSIST USERS SEVEN DAYS A WEEK IN DATA ACQUISITION, PROCESSING, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION. BIOCAT IS DIRECTED BY DR. THOMAS IRVING, WHO HAS MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE OVERSEEING SYNCHROTRON FACILITIES FOR NON-CRYSTALLINE DIFFRACTION AND SCATTERING. DR. JESSE HOPKINS OVERSAW INSTALLATION OF THE NEW COFLOW SAXS SAMPLE CELL, ESTABLISHED NEW USER-FRIENDLY GUI BASED DATA ACQUISITION INTERFACES, AND PROVIDE ADVANCED TOOLS TO INTERPRET SEC-SAXS DATA. DR. HOPKINS DEVELOPS AND MAINTAINS THE BIOXTAS RAW SAXS DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS SOFTWARE PACKAGE AND WILL EXTEND IT TO ALLOW INCREASED AUTOMATION TO OPTIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY WHILE MINIMIZING ON-SITE EFFORT FOR USERS. DR. SRINIVAS CHAKRAVARTHY BIOCAT’S RESIDENT BIOCHEMIST COORDINATES THE SAXS USER PROGRAM, ASSISTS USERS WITH CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS ON SITE, AND ALSO MAINTAINS THE BIOCHEMICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. DR. WEIKANG MA IS AN EXPERT IN FIBER DIFFRACTION OF MUSCLE AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT TO ALL OUR FIBER DIFFRACTION USERS. ALL FOUR OF THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE INVOLVED IN TRAINING AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AT CONFERENCES, ORGANIZATION OF BIOCAT WORKSHOPS AND PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZED WORKSHOPS. BIOCAT HAS AN UPDATED WEBSITE WITH A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESOURCE THAT ARE SUFFICIENT FOR A USER TO PLAN AND EXECUTE SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS AT THE BEAMLINE. TOGETHER THE SAXS AND FIBER DIFFRACTION USER PROGRAMS HOST 70-90 USER GROUPS PER YEAR AND CONSISTENTLY PRODUCE 30-40 PUBLICATIONS PER YEAR.

THE BIOPHYSICS COLLABORATIVE ACCESS TEAM

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND_IHES - CARES ACT - INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS

TAS::89 0328::TAS RECOVERY PROJECT "A WORLD CLASS SMART GRID EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER", NEW RECOVERY AWARD

ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CARES ACT HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - IHES

TAS::89 0331::TAS RECOVERY RECOVERY ACT: A WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY CONSORTIUM FOR WIND ENERGY RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOP

THE PERFECT PROTOTYPE FOR THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

THE PERFECT PROTOTYPE FOR THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ART: ILLINOIS TECH FORWARD INITIATIVE -THE PROJECT SUPPORTS THE TECHFORWARD INITIATIVE AT ILLINOIS TECH TO FOSTER MARKET-FOCUSED RESEARCH AND DEVELOP A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE IN HIGH GROWTH TECHNOLOGY SECTORS. BY ENCOURAGING FACULTY MEMBERS TO COLLABORATE CLOSELY WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS IN CHICAGO?S TECH ECOSYSTEM AND BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE, CULTURE AND PROCESSES TO SUPPORT THIS, TECHFORWARD AIMS TO INSPIRE FACULTY TO DIRECT THEIR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES TOWARDS ADDRESSING CRITICAL SOCIETAL CHALLENGES. HAVING FACULTY PAIRED WITH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TO TRANSLATE THEIR RESEARCH SHOULD ALSO ENHANCE THE SPEED AND EFFICIENCY OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, ULTIMATELY BENEFITING SOCIETY BY BRINGING INNOVATIONS TO MARKET FASTER. TECHFORWARD WILL ALSO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF UNDERREPRESENTATION IN THE TECH SECTOR. RECOGNIZING THAT DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY ARE CRITICAL DRIVERS OF INNOVATION AND PROGRESS, TECHFORWARD WILL EXPOSE UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS, INCLUDING FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND OTHER LEARNERS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS IN THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN REGION, TO PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN COMMERCIALIZATION WITHIN HIGH-GROWTH TECHNOLOGY SECTORS. TECHFORWARD'S FOCUS ON THE RACIAL DIVERSITY OF CHICAGO'S POPULATION IS OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE. THE FACT THAT BLACK AND LATINO FOUNDERS REPRESENT ONLY 6% OF TECH FOUNDERS IN THE CITY HIGHLIGHTS A DISPARITY THAT NOT ONLY LIMITS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS BUT ALSO HINDERS THE TECH SECTOR FROM BENEFITING FROM A WIDER RANGE OF PERSPECTIVES AND TALENTS. ILLINOIS TECH'S LOCATION IN BRONZEVILLE, WHERE 86.6% OF RESIDENTS ARE BLACK, PLACES IT IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE DIRECTLY. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSLATION OF ILLINOIS TECH?S USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH BY LEVERAGING THE EXPERIENCE OF INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS FROM CHICAGO?S TECH ECOSYSTEM AND THE PROGRAMS AND COMMERCIALIZATION RESOURCES AT ILLINOIS TECH?S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION HUB TO THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROCESS. THESE RESOURCES WILL BUILD THE CAPACITY TO DEVELOP A MARKET-DRIVEN PROCESS TO IDENTIFY, ASSESS AND ADVANCE SEED TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS. TECHFORWARD TARGETS CONVERTING AT LEAST 40% OF THE SEED TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS INTO COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES AS MEASURED BY NEGOTIATED LICENSES WITHIN 2 YEARS AFTER PROJECTS ARE SELECTED FOR ACCELERATION. THE PROJECT WILL CULTIVATE A DIVERSE POOL OF TALENT WITHIN CHICAGO'S HIGH GROWTH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR BY CREATING EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING PROGRAMS IN RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION, DESIGNED FOR BOTH DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS AND NON-DEGREE SEEKING UNDERREPRESENTED INDIVIDUALS FROM THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN REGION. ALL LEARNERS WILL BE TRAINED THROUGH A COMMERCIALIZATION TRAINING PROGRAM, DELIVERED PHYSICALLY OR ONLINE, THEN SOLICITED TO APPLY TO WORK WITH FACULTY AND EXPERIENCED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TO ADVANCE SEED TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS. BY THE END OF THE PROJECT DURATION, TECHFORWARD WILL HAVE PROVIDED COMMERCIALIZATION TRAINING TO AT LEAST 150 DEGREE SEEKING STUDENTS AND 100 UNDER-REPRESENTED NON-DEGREE SEEKING LEARNERS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTERS

EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL PARTICLE PHYSICS AT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH IN SUPPORT OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT

BIOCAT - BIOPHYSICS COLLABORATIVE ACCESS TEAM

CLINICAL TESTING OF AN INTRACORTICAL VISUAL PROSTHESIS SYSTEM

NATIONAL CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY

ADHERENCE AND EMPOWERMENT: SERVICE PARTICIPATION AND MEANINGFUL OUTCOMES

CLINICAL TESTING OF AN INTRACORTICAL VISUAL PROSTHESIS SYSTEM

ARRA INCUBATOR BLDG

RAPID DETECTION AND RESPONSE SYSTEMS FOR BIO-DEFENSE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FRAMEWORKS: IOWARP: BENDING THE I/O FABRIC FOR ADVANCING AI-INFUSED SCIENTIFIC WORKFLOWS -SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY IS INCREASINGLY DRIVEN BY MASSIVE, COMPLEX DATASETS THAT HOLD THE KEYS TO UNLOCKING NEW KNOWLEDGE AND SOLVING GLOBAL CHALLENGES. HOWEVER, THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF DATA STORAGE AND MANAGEMENT IS STRUGGLING TO KEEP PACE WITH THIS DATA DELUGE. IOWARP IS DESIGNED TO CREATE A NEXT-GENERATION DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORM TAILORED TO THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF MODERN, DATA-INTENSIVE SCIENCE. THIS PLATFORM WILL ADDRESS THE FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES THAT RESEARCHERS FACE WHEN DEALING WITH DIVERSE DATA TYPES, THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF DATA, AND THE NEED FOR RAPID ACCESS TO CRITICAL INFORMATION. BY STREAMLINING DATA WORKFLOWS AND ENHANCING DATA ACCESSIBILITY, IOWARP WILL EMPOWER SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS TO FOCUS THEIR VALUABLE TIME AND RESOURCES ON THEIR CORE MISSION: MAKING GROUNDBREAKING DISCOVERIES. BEYOND ITS TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS, IOWARP WILL ALSO FOSTER A COLLABORATIVE AND INCLUSIVE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT, DEMOCRATIZING ACCESS TO DATA AND EQUIPPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS WITH ESSENTIAL DATA SKILLS. BY ACCELERATING RESEARCH IN CRITICAL FIELDS LIKE GENOMICS, CLIMATE MODELING, AND AI-DRIVEN DISCOVERY, IOWARP HAS THE POTENTIAL TO UNLOCK TRANSFORMATIVE SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND DRIVE INNOVATION. THE IOWARP PROJECT WILL ENGINEER A MODULAR, ADAPTABLE, AND SCALABLE DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORM THAT ADDRESSES THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED IN MODERN SCIENTIFIC WORKFLOWS, PARTICULARLY THOSE ENHANCED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TECHNOLOGIES. IOWARP WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE DATA ACCESS TIMES, ACCELERATING THE PACE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY BY HARNESSING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGIES LIKE NVME SSDS, CXL DEVICES, AND CPU-GPU CODESIGNS. IT WILL FOSTER A COLLABORATIVE ECOSYSTEM, INVITING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DIVERSE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING COMMUNITIES. BUILDING UPON THE TEAM'S EXTENSIVE EXPERTISE IN MULTI-TIERED STORAGE RESEARCH AND LEVERAGING PRIOR NSF INVESTMENTS IN THIS FIELD, IOWARP WILL INTEGRATE AI-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS TO REDEFINE DATA MANAGEMENT FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS. THE ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES OF IOWARP WILL ESTABLISH A THRIVING COMMUNITY-DRIVEN PLATFORM THAT CONTINUALLY EVOLVES TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PROBING DOSE LIMITS IN CARDIAC SPECT WITH RECONSTRUCTION AND PERSONALIZED IMAGING

PROBING THE STRUCTURE/FUNCTION/DYNAMICS RELATIONSHIP IN BIOMOLECULAR COMPLEXES WITH MULTISCALE COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES

IN-VIVO MRI-BASED PREDICTION OF TDP43 PATHOLOGY IN AGING

CHICAGOLAND ACCELERATOR SCIENCE TRAINEESHIP

OPTIMIZATION OF DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY, RADIATION DOSE, AND PATIENT THROUGHPUT FOR CARDIAC SPECT VIA ADVANCED AND CLINICALLY PRACTICAL CARDIAC-RESPIRATORY MOTION CORRECTION AND DEEP LEARNING

FRAMEWORK: SOFTWARE: NSCI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HERMES: EXTENDING THE HDF LIBRARY TO SUPPORT INTELLIGENT I/O BUFFERING FOR DEEP MEMORY AND STORAGE HIERARCHY SYSTEMS

FRAMEWORKS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CHRONOLOG: A HIGH-PERFORMANCE STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ACTIVITY AND LOG WORKLOADS

COMPREHENSIVE LONGITUDINAL PROBABILISTIC ATLAS OF THE BRAIN OF OLDER ADULTS WITHOUT DEMENTIA

2MC: MIDWEST CENTER FOR MICROGRID CYBERSECURITY THE RECIPIENT, ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, WILL ESTABLISH 2MC (MIDWEST CENTER FOR MICROGRID CYBERSECURITY). 2MC WILL SUPPORT THE INNOVATION AND TRANSITION OF CYBERSECURITY CAPABILITIES AND HELP IMPROVE THE CYBERSECURITY POSTURE OF THE MIDWEST’S ELECTRICITY DELIVERY SYSTEMS CONCERNING CYBERSECURITY ASPECTS OF THE NETWORKS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) AND OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (OT). 2MC WILL STRIVE TO EXECUTE THE NATION’S GOAL OF PROTECTING ITS ELECTRIC ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FROM CYBER THREATS AND CREATE A MORE RESILIENT ENERGY DELIVERY SYSTEM WITH A FOCUS ON CLEAN ENERGY SYSTEMS, NEXT-GENERATION SMART GRID AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PERTAINING TO DISTRIBUTED AND ISLANDABLE MICROGRIDS. 2MC WILL BE A SELF-SUSTAINING ENTITY FOR ADDRESSING INTERRELATED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION CHALLENGES OF LAUNCHING THE CYBERSECURITY IN THE ELECTRIC ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.

PEER NAVIGATORS FOR THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF PEOPLE WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES

GROUND EFFECT ON WINGS AND ITS CONTROL IN HIGH SEA STATES [24-000006418]

NEW CLASS OF NUMERICAL OBSERVERS FOR NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGY

CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS USE DURING AND AFTER EXERCISE

PARTICIPATION IN HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS

TAS::89 0321::TAS NON-CARBON MIXED-CONDUCTING MATERIALS FOR PEFC ELECTROCATALYSTS AND ELECTRODES

ANALYZER-BASED PHASE CONTRAST IMAGING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION

NATIONAL CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY

DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL CLASS OF ANTIBIOTICS AGAINST VIBRIO CHOLERAE NA+-NQR - PROJECT SUMMARY THE SODIUM-DEPENDENT NADH: UBIQUINONE OXIDOREDUCTASE (NA+-NQR) IS THE MAIN ION TRANSPORTER IN HUNDREDS OF PATHOGENIC BACTERIA, INCLUDING VIBRIO CHOLERAE, THE CAUSAL AGENT OF CHOLERA, A DEVASTATING GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASE WITH A WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION THAT HAS DEVELOPED MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT PHENOTYPES. NA+- NQR FULFILLS TWO ESSENTIAL ROLES IN V. CHOLERAE CELL PHYSIOLOGY, AS A RESPIRATORY ENZYME, PROVIDING ENERGY TO THE CELL, AND AS THE MAIN SODIUM PUMP, ENERGIZING THE MEMBRANE AND DRIVING NUTRIENT UPTAKE, PH REGULATION, ELIMINATION OF DRUGS, CELL MOTILITY, SECRETION OF TOXINS AND OTHER HOMEOSTATIC PROCESSES. NA+-NQR IS AN OPTIMAL DRUG TARGET DUE TO ITS CRITICAL ROLE IN BACTERIAL METABOLISM AND BECAUSE IT IS ABSENT IN MAMMALIAN CELLS. MOREOVER, NA+-NQR HAS UNIQUE STRUCTURAL MOTIFS, NOT FOUND IN ANY HUMAN PROTEIN, WHICH ALLOW THE DISCOVERY OF DRUGS THAT CAN ACT SPECIFICALLY ON THIS ENZYME. IN ADDITION, NA+-NQR INHIBITORS COULD INCREASE THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF V. CHOLERAE TO OTHER DRUGS BY DE-ENERGIZING THE MEMBRANE, AND MAY BE USED IN A COMBINATION DOSING APPROACH TO RESCUE OBSOLETE ANTIBIOTICS. OUR GROUP HAS NOW IDENTIFIED TWO NOVEL COMPOUND LEADS, UBIQUINONE ANALOGS (UQAS) AND PHENOTHIAZINES, AS INHIBITORS OF THIS ENZYME THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT. THE THREE UQAS ANALOGS CHARACTERIZED HAVE ANTIMALARIAL PROPERTIES AND SHOW SPECIFIC AND POTENT INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON NA+-NQR, WITH STRONG ANTIBIOTIC ACTIVITY AGAINST V. CHOLERAE. THESE COMPOUNDS NOT ONLY ABOLISH V. CHOLERAE NA+-NQR ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY, BUT ALSO TRIGGER THE OVERPRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, WHICH IS LETHAL TO MICROBES. THE STRUCTURES OF THESE INHIBITORS AND DOCKING METHODS WERE USED TO IDENTIFY THE PHARMACOPHORE AND THE BINDING MODES OF THE MOLECULES IN THE UQ BINDING SITE, WHICH ALLOW US TO PURSUE LEAD DEVELOPMENT TO OBTAIN INHIBITORS OF HIGH POTENCY AND SPECIFICITY. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THREE PHENOTHIAZINE-LIKE COMPOUNDS WITH ANTI- PSYCHOTIC PROPERTIES THAT SHOW POTENT INHIBITORY ACTIVITY AGAINST NA+-NQR AND THAT COULD BE OPTIMIZED INTO ANTIBIOTICS. THE MAIN AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL CLASS OF ANTIBIOTICS TO SPECIFICALLY TARGET THE NA+-NQR COMPLEX. THE INHIBITORS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED WILL BE FULLY CHARACTERIZED, TO UNDERSTAND THEIR MECHANISM OF ACTION, BINDING SITES, POTENCY AND ANTIBIOTIC PROPERTIES. MOREOVER, TOXICITY TOWARDS HUMAN CELLS AND MITOCHONDRIA, AS WELL AS THEIR PHARMACOLOGIC PROPERTIES, WILL BE ASSESSED TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL OF THESE COMPOUNDS TO TREAT HUMAN INFECTIONS. THE DATA OBTAINED FROM TOXICITY STUDIES, ENZYMATIC AND MICROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATIONS WILL BE USED TO GUIDE THE DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF ANALOGS WITH HIGH POTENCY AND LOW TOXICITY. LEAD OPTIMIZATION WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY OUR MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY TEAM GUIDED BY PHARMACOPHORE ANALYSIS, DOCKING AND BINDING FREE ENERGY CALCULATIONS. THE STRUCTURES OF THE NEWLY-IDENTIFIED INHIBITORS WILL BE USED TO BUILD COMPOUND LIBRARIES CARRYING THE ACTIVE CORE WITH DIFFERENT SUBSTITUTION PATTERNS, WHICH WILL BE ITERATIVELY SCREENED AND CHARACTERIZED. THE DATA GENERATED IN THIS PROPOSAL IS CRITICAL TO THE DISCOVERY OF URGENTLY-NEEDED ANTIBIOTICS WITH A NEW MECHANISM OF ACTION EFFECTIVE AGAINST V. CHOLERAE AND MANY OTHER NA+-NQR BEARING PATHOGENS.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING, AND MISCELLANEOUS GRANTS

SUPPORTING PATHWAYS FOR ADVANCING READINESS IN COMPUTING: AI, MATHEMATICS, CYBERSECURITY AND STATISTICS -THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL NEED FOR WELL-EDUCATED SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS BY SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED AT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. A TOTAL OF 22 SCHOLARS PURSUING BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S DEGREES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, APPLIED MATHEMATICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERSECURITY, DATA SCIENCE, OPERATIONS RESEARCH, AND STATISTICS WILL RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS AVERAGING $15,000 FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS. SCHOLARS WILL RECEIVE FACULTY AND PEER MENTORING, AND THE PROJECT WILL BUILD STRONG SCHOLAR COHORTS THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING EXPERIENCES. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR SCHOLARS INCLUDE COMMUNITY BUILDING AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT ACTIVITIES. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS S-STEM TRACK 2 PROJECT IS TO INCREASE STEM DEGREE COMPLETION OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL NEED TO GROW THE STEM WORKFORCE AND NURTURE KEY TALENT THAT WILL ENSURE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS AND PROVIDE DOMESTIC LEADERSHIP ACROSS CRITICAL SECTORS. THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY SPEAKS TO THIS NEED BY SUPPORTING STEM STUDENT SUCCESS, WHICH WILL STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE IN COMPUTING AND OTHER KEY AREAS OF NEED. THE PROJECT WILL BE ASSESSED BY AN EXPERIENCED EVALUATOR THAT WILL PROVIDE TIMELY AND ADAPTIVE FEEDBACK, AND THE DATA GENERATED WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE REGARDING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS IN STEM. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY NSF'S SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ACADEMICALLY TALENTED, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED WHO EARN DEGREES IN STEM FIELDS. IT ALSO AIMS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF FUTURE STEM WORKERS, AND TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACADEMIC SUCCESS, RETENTION, TRANSFER, GRADUATION, AND ACADEMIC/CAREER PATHWAYS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

EFRI C3 SORO: DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR SOFT ROBOTS BASED ON BOUNDARY CONSTRAINED GRANULAR SWARMS

ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: NEW CIRCUITS AWARD. CONTROL NUMBER: 1727-1507 TITLE: ''WIDE BANDGAP SOLID STATE CIRCUIT BREAKERS FOR AC AND DC MICROGRIDS''

FAULT-TOLERANT CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS

PROJECT TITLE '' DIRECT CONVERSION OF FLUE GAS TO VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS USING A CARBON-NEUTRAL PROCESS.'' THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS NOVEL ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS FOR SYNTHESIZING PURE ALCOHOLS, I.E., ETHANOL AND PROPANOL DIRECTLY FROM FLUE GAS THAT CONTAINS VARIOUS COMPONENTS SUCH AS CO2, NOX AND SOX. WE WILL STUDY THE EFFECT OF FLUE GAS COMPOSITION AND OPERATING CONDITIONS ON BOTH THE REACTION KINETICS PARAMETERS AND THE MASS TRANSPORT RATE OF THE FLUE-GAS-BASED CO2 REDUCTION REACTION.

DEGUELIN IN THERAPY OF TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER

TAS::89 0309::TAS ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, TITLE: PURIFICATION AND GROWTH INI AND INIXTII-X CRYSTALS FOR NUCLEAR DETECTION APPLICATIONS

EXPANDING THE FREQUENCY WINDOW OF PREDICTIONS FOR THE RESPONSE OF SOFT MATERIAL TO DEFORMATION

NEW BIFUNCTIONAL LIGANDS FOR RADIOIMMUNOTHERAPY

EX VIVO INTRAOPERATIVE SURGICAL BASAL MARGIN ANALYSIS IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER RESECTION: CLINICAL VALIDATION - EX VIVO INTRAOPERATIVE SURGICAL BASAL MARGIN ANALYSIS IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER RESECTION: CLINICAL VALIDATION IN A CLINICAL COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER GRONINGEN (UMCG), NETHERLANDS—LED BY ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEON, DR. WITJES—WE WILL ADVANCE AND CLINICALLY TEST AN INTRAOPERATIVE DUAL-APERTURE FLUORESCENCE RATIO (DAFR) IMAGING SYSTEM AND AN AUTOMATED DATA ANALYSIS (ADA) APPROACH THAT CAN ANALYZE AN ENTIRE RESECTED-TISSUE BASAL MARGIN IN <1 MIN FOR HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CANCER (HNSCC) RESECTION SURGERY. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT UPON CURRENTLY USED FROZEN-SECTION HISTOPATHOLOGY THAT REQUIRES >30 MIN AND CAN ONLY BE DONE FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF RESECTED-TISSUE LOCATIONS. THE PROJECT WILL SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON IMPROVING DETECTION AND LOCALIZATION OF INADEQUATE (POSITIVE AND CLOSE) BASAL SURGICAL MARGINS, CRITICAL FOR PATIENT SURVIVAL. OVER 3 MILLION INDIVIDUALS ACROSS THE GLOBE ARE DIAGNOSED WITH HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA (HNSCC) EACH YEAR. AT PRESENT, SURGICAL INTERVENTION IS THE PRIMARY TREATMENT; HOWEVER, OWING TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ANATOMY IN THE HEAD AND NECK, >20% OF PROCEDURES MAY FAIL TO ATTAIN TUMOR-FREE SURGICAL BASAL MARGINS (DEFINED AS GREATER THAN 5 MM OF HEALTHY TISSUE SURROUNDING THE DEEP EDGE OF THE RESECTED TUMOR). UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE OF SLOW RESECTED-TISSUE PROCESSING, PATIENTS ARE OFTEN SENT HOME BEFORE MARGINS ARE FULLY ASSESSED. WHILE SOME PATIENTS CAN RETURN FOR RE-RESECTION, FOR MANY, HEALTH CONCERNS OR SUBSTANTIAL POST-RESECTION RECONSTRUCTION SURGERIES MAKE RE-RESECTION INFEASIBLE, AND RADIOTHERAPY AND/OR CHEMORADIOTHERAPY IS NEEDED. PATIENTS WITH INADEQUATE MARGINS HAVE <15% CHANCE OF SURVIVING FOR 5 YEARS POST-SURGERY, COMPARED TO A >80% CHANCE OF SURVIVAL FOR PATIENTS WITH FREE MARGINS AND NO METASTATIC DISEASE. BEFORE DAFR IMAGING AND SURGERY, PATIENTS ARE INJECTED WITH A FLUORESCENT EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR (EGFR)-TARGETED ANTIBODY, AND INTRAOPERATIVE DAFR IMAGES OF RESECTED BASAL MARGINS ARE TAKEN AND ANALYZED. OUR PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT DAFR IMAGING SYSTEM INDICATE ALMOST PERFECT DETECTION RATE OF INADEQUATE AS WELL AS CLEAR MARGINS. IN THIS PROJECT, WE PROPOSE NECESSARY IMAGING SYSTEM UPGRADES AND TO DEVELOP AN AUTOMATED DATA ANALYSIS TO REMOVE THE NEED FOR CLINICAL EXPERT MANUAL SEGMENTATION OF IMAGES. THE PROPOSED APPROACH WILL BE VALIDATED AND TESTED AGAINST STATE-OF-THE-ART SURGICAL GUIDANCE METHODS IN AN 80-PATIENT CLINICAL STUDY AT UMCG, IN TERMS OF DETECTION AND LOCALIZATION OF INADEQUATE BASAL MARGINS THROUGH ROC AND LROC ASSESSMENTS.

DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATING APOPTOSIS BY AR: ACTIVATING BAX OR INHIBITING JNK MAPK

CENTER OF ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERIES FOR A CLEAN ENERGY SOCIETY -PART 1, NON-TECHNICAL REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IS CRITICAL TO ADDRESS THE GRAND CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. RENEWABLE ENERGY INTEGRATION AND VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION, KEYS TO REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, REQUIRE ENERGY STORAGE AT SCALE WITH SAFETY AND LOW COST. THIS PIRE TEAM WILL CONDUCT FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TO ADVANCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ALL-SOLID-STATE BATTERIES (ASSBS), WHICH HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES FOR VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION AND INTEGRATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY BY OFFERING NEXT-GENERATION ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES WITH HIGHER SPECIFIC ENERGY AT BOTH BATTERY-CELL AND BATTERY-PACK LEVELS, LONGER CYCLE LIFE, LOWER COST AND SUPERIOR SAFETY COMPARED TO LI-ION BATTERIES (LIBS). THE ANTICIPATED ECONOMIC BENEFIT (REDUCTION IN THE COST OF BATTERY PACKS ON THE ENERGY BASE BY 50% OVER LIBS) ALONG WITH UNPRECEDENTED ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE (150% INCREASE IN THE SPECIFIC ENERGY) AND INTRINSIC SAFETY WILL USHER IN A NEW ERA OF VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION AND RENEWABLE ENERGY INTEGRATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY WITH CLEAN ENERGY. BY WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS FROM 7 INSTITUTIONS IN EUROPE, THE RESEARCHERS WILL ACHIEVE THE CHALLENGING GOAL OF ADVANCING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN ASSBS. THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL EXPEDITE TECHNOLOGY TRANSLATION FROM LABORATORY DISCOVERY TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS. FURTHER, THEY WILL COLLABORATE WITH SEVERAL MINORITY-SERVING ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS IN CHICAGO TO INSPIRE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY STUDENTS TO PURSUE STEM EDUCATION AND CAREER. BY WORKING WITH CITY OF CHICAGO, THE RESEARCHERS WILL LAUNCH A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, OFFERING SHORT COURSES AND WORKSHOPS TO MID-CAREER EMPLOYEES AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, WHICH CAN ACCELERATE TRANSITION OF THE WORKFORCE INTO CLEAN ENERGY, ELECTRIC VEHICLE, AND ENERGY STORAGE INDUSTRIES. PART 2, TECHNICAL TO ADDRESS THE MULTI-FACETED CHALLENGES FACED BY ASSBS, THE PIS HAVE ASSEMBLED A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM AND WILL WORK WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS WITH SYNERGISTIC EXPERTISE, PARTICULARLY WITH PROF. BRAGA AT UNIVERSITY OF PORTO, PORTUGAL ? THE INVENTOR OF A NEW SOLID LI-GLASS ELECTROLYTE WITH ULTRAHIGH IONIC CONDUCTIVITY AT ROOM TEMPERATURE (> 10-2 S/CM), WIDE ELECTROCHEMICAL WINDOW (STABLE WITH LI METAL AND RESISTANT TO OXIDATION UP TO 8 V VS. LI/LI+), AND LOW GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURE (~75OC). THE TEAM WILL INVESTIGATE AND INTEGRATE CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL CHARGE STORAGE MECHANISMS TO ACHIEVE ULTRAHIGH SPECIFIC ENERGY, HIGH POWER, LONG CYCLE LIFE ASSBS WITH INTRINSIC SAFETY. ANODE-FREE CELLS WITH LI PLATING/STRIPPING AT BOTH ANODE AND CATHODE ENABLED BY LI-GLASS ELECTROLYTE WILL BE STUDIED FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE ELECTROCHEMICAL PRINCIPLES FOR SUCH LI PLATING/STRIPPING CELLS AND THOSE FOR ANODE-FREE CELLS WITH LI PLATING/STRIPPING AT THE ANODE AND DE/INTERCALATION AT THE CATHODE WILL BE ESTABLISHED TO OFFER GUIDELINES FOR DESIGN OF ASSBS WITH UNPRECEDENTED SPECIFIC ENERGIES. IN-SITU AND EX-SITU CHARACTERIZATIONS WILL BE PERFORMED TO UNRAVEL THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS CONTROLLING INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES OF ASSBS. DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY CALCULATIONS, MOLECULAR DYNAMICS AND CONTINUUM MODELS WILL BE USED AND INTEGRATED TO ADDRESS THE MULTI-LENGTH SCALE MODELING FROM THE ELECTRODE/ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE TO SINGLE PARTICLE, MULTIPLE PARTICLES, AND EVENTUALLY TO CELL-LEVEL RESPONSES. THE ATOMIC LEVEL, SUB-CONTINUUM LEVEL AND CELL-LEVEL UNDERSTANDINGS DEVELOPED FROM THESE MODELING EFFORTS WILL ASSIST THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHEMICAL/ELECTROCHEMICAL STABILITY BETWEEN THE ELECTRODE AND LI-GLASS ELECTROLYTE, MECHANICAL CONTACT, LI PLATING/STRIPPING, LI DENDRITE FORMATION, IONIC TRANSPORT, AND DEGRADATION PHYSICS OF ASSBS. THROUGH THESE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS, THIS PIRE PROJECT WILL LAY A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR DESIGN, SYNTHESIS AND FABRICATION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE ASSBS AT SCALE IN THE FUTURE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

DE-EE0008713, ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, DESIGN, OPTIMIZATION, AND CONTROL OF A 100 KILOWATT ELECTRIC TRACTION MOTOR MEETING OR EXCEEDING DOE 2025 TARGETS

HIGH FIDELITY, FASTER THAN REAL-TIME SIMULATOR FOR PREDICTING POWER SYSTEM DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR

ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR FIBER DIFFRACTION OF MUSCLE - SYNCHROTRON SMALL ANGLE X-RAY FIBER DIFFRACTION IS THE METHOD OF CHOICE FOR OBTAINING STRUCTURAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INFORMATION IN THE SAME EXPERIMENT FROM ACTIVE MUSCLE. EXPERIMENTAL QUESTIONS ADDRESSED RANGE FROM BASIC BIOPHYSICAL QUESTIONS REGARDING MECHANISMS OF FORCE PRODUCTION AND REGULATION TO INCREASINGLY PRE-CLINICAL QUESTIONS RELATING STRUCTURE TO FUNCTIONAL PHENOTYPE IN ANIMAL MODELS FOR CARDIOMYOPATHIES AND SKELETAL MUSCLE DISEASE AS WELL AS HUMAN MUSCLE BIOPSIES. CRITICAL BARRIERS TO PROGRESS, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN THE LACK OF ROBUST, USER-FRIENDLY TOOLS FOR DATA REDUCTION AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR MODELING DIFFRACTION PATTERNS THAT CAN BE USED AS AN AID TO INTERPRET THE DATA. IN AIM 1 WE PROPOSE TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE MUSCLEX SOFTWARE PACKAGE AS A HIGHLY AUTOMATED DATA-REDUCTION SUITE FOR SMALL-ANGLE FIBER DIFFRACTION PATTERNS FROM STRIATED MUSCLE. WE WILL USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) APPROACHES TO GREATLY INCREASE EFFICIENCY, REDUCE INFLUENCE OF OPERATOR BIAS AND IMPROVE REPRODUCIBILITY. NEW FUNCTIONALITY WILL INCLUDE GLOBAL DIFFUSE BACKGROUND SUBTRACTION USING “DEEP LEARNING”, THE ABILITY TO ANALYZE MULTIPLE SUPERIMPOSED DIFFRACTION PATTERNS, AUTOINDEXING AND AUTOMATIC INTEGRATION OF DIFFRACTION PEAKS AND UNSAMPLED LAYER LINES. ROBUSTNESS AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF CODE WILL BE IMPROVED WITH RIGOROUS TESTING AND VALIDATION PROCEDURES. IN AIM 2 WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NEW TOOL, MUSICO-X FOR PREDICTING TWO-DIMENSIONAL X-RAY DIFFRACTION PATTERNS FROM STRIATED MUSCLE. MUSICO-X WILL BE A NEW EXTENSION MODULE FOR THE MULTI-SCALE SIMULATION PACKAGE MUSICO THAT PREDICTS SMALL-ANGLE X-RAY FIBER DIFFRACTION PATTERNS SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA AS A NOVEL “FORWARD PROBLEM” APPROACH TO EXTRACTING MAXIMAL INFORMATION FROM STATIC AND DYNAMIC TIME RESOLVED X-RAY FIBER DIFFRACTION EXPERIMENTS ON STRIATED MUSCLE. THIS NEW MODULE WILL ASSIGN ELECTRON DENSITIES TO COMPONENTS OF THE SARCOMERE USING PREDICTED MOLECULAR POSITIONS FROM MUSICO TO PREDICT SIMULATED DIFFRACTION PATTERNS THAT ARE TESTED AND REFINED AGAINST REPRESENTATIVE X-RAY DIFFRACTION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA SETS. THESE PROPOSED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTS ARE BROADLY APPLICABLE TO ALL MUSCLE SYSTEMS WITHOUT A SPECIFIC DISEASE FOCUS, AND WOULD NOT BE FUNDABLE THROUGH USUAL MECHANISMS AT NIAMS OR HLBI. THE AVAILABILITY OF ROBUST, USER FRIENDLY DATA REDUCTION CODE WILL INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY AND REPRODUCIBILITY DATA FROM MUSCLE FIBER DIFFRACTION EXPERIMENTS ON MUSCLE. THE PROPOSED NEW SIMULATION TOOL, ENCOMPASSING BOTH THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF MUSCLE, WILL PROVIDE A POTENT HYPOTHESIS GENERATION AND TESTING TOOL THAT CAN GREATLY INCREASE THE VALUE OF PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE X-RAY DIFFRACTION EXPERIMENTS ON MUSCLE.

THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT IS AWARDED TO IIINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IS A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (IIT), GTI ENERGY, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-CORPUS CHRISTI, PROPANE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH COUNCIL (PERC), AND INDUSTRIAL PARTNER SHV ENERGY. THE GOAL IS TO DEMONSTRATE A 5KW PROTOTYPE (4 KG/D EQUIVALENT TO 180 MJ(LHV)/DAY OF PROPANE) USING A SYSTEM OF MULTIPLE CO2 ELECTROLYZER STACKS OPERATING AT UP TO 10-BAR WITH COMPLIMENTARY PROCESS UNITS INCLUDING SEPARATION AND RECYCLE UNITS TO ACHIEVE 97% PROPANE SELECTIVITY, ENERGY TO LIQUID EFFICIENCY OF >50% AND MULTI-PASS CARBON YIELD OF > 85%, PROJECT ENTITLED, “RENEWABLE PROPANE PRODUCTION USING DYNAMIC CO2 ELECTROLYSIS (E-PROPANE)”

ADVANCED MATERIALS FOR WARFIGHTER PROTECTION: THEORY, COMPUTATION, AND EXPERIMENT

PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS TO ADDRESS OBESITY RELATED COMPLICATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS USING PEER NAVIGATORS

CDI-TYPE II: OPTIMIZATION OF ENGINEERED TISSUE GROWTH BY ACTIVE LEARNING

ENTROPY FOR END-POINT AND FFT-BASED BINDING FREE ENERGY CALCULATIONS

A SUITE OF DIAGNOSTIC AIDS BASED ON IMAGE RETRIEVAL

MANIPULATING MULTISITE ENDOGENOUS BRAIN RHYTHMS DISRUPTS EPILEPTIC SEIZURES

THICK FILAMENT REGULATION MECHANISMS IN HEALTHY AND DISEASED MYOCARDIUM - CARDIOMYOPATHIES ARE A SIGNIFICANT CAUSE OF DEATH AND MORBIDITY WITH LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS. A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION (30-60%) OF THESE CARDIOMYOPATHIES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS “DISEASES OF THE SARCOMERE” HAVING THEIR ORIGIN IN POINT MUTATIONS IN SARCOMERIC PROTEINS LEADING TO DYSREGULATION OF ACTO- MYOSIN INTERACTIONS WITH CONSEQUENT FUNCTIONAL DEFICITS. CURRENT THERAPIES ARE MOSTLY NOT DISEASE SPECIFIC AND FOCUS ON SYMPTOMS RATHER THAN ON MITIGATING THE ROOT CAUSES IN SARCOMERE DYSREGULATION. MUSCLE CONTRACTILITY IS GOVERNED BY BOTH THE CLASSIC AND EXTENSIVELY STUDIED CA2+-MEDIATED THIN FILAMENT- BASED REGULATORY MECHANISM AND NEWLY DISCOVERED, BUT VERY POORLY UNDERSTOOD, THICK FILAMENT BASED REGULATORY MECHANISMS. IN THIS PROPOSAL, OUR OVER-ARCHING HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THICK FILAMENT REGULATORY MECHANISMS ARE CRITICAL MODULATORS OF MUSCLE FUNCTION. IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THESE MECHANISMS WILL IDENTIFY NOVEL DRUG TARGETS, AND THE DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF THERAPEUTIC COMPOUNDS, THAT ARE NECESSARY TO MITIGATE THE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DEFECTS UNDERLYING MYOCARDIAL PATHOPHYSIOLOGY. WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT PORCINE MYOCARDIUM, THE CLOSEST MODEL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN HEARTS, IS AN EXCELLENT EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM FOR OUR PROPOSED STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DRIVEN STUDIES, WITH THE EXPECTED FINDINGS READILY EXTRAPOLATABLE TO HUMANS. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE THE STRUCTURAL, BIOCHEMICAL, AND MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF THICK FILAMENT REGULATION MECHANISMS FROM PORCINE MYOCARDIUM. SPECIFICALLY, IN AIM 1, WE WILL DECOUPLE CLASSICAL CA2+ DEPENDENT THIN FILAMENT-BASED REGULATION FROM THE NEWLY DISCOVERED CA2+ DEPENDENT THICK FILAMENT-BASED REGULATION MECHANISM BY EXCHANGING THE NATIVE TROPONIN COMPLEX WITH EXOGENOUS D65A TROPONIN COMPLEX THAT ABOLISHES CA2+ BINDING CAPABILITY TO REVEAL THE DETAILS OF MOLECULAR MECHANISM AND THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS MECHANISM. IN AIM 2, WE WILL EVALUATE THICK FILAMENT BACKBONE STIFFNESS FROM BOTH ACTIVELY CONTRACTED AND PASSIVELY STRETCHED PORCINE MYOCARDIUM TO INVESTIGATE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS OF MYOFILAMENT LENGTH DEPENDENT ACTIVATION. IN AIM 3, WE WILL INTERROGATE THE STRUCTURAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL CONSEQUENCES OF PORCINE MYOCARDIUM IN RESPONSE TO PKA TREATMENT. FINALLY, IN AIM 4, WE WILL EXTEND THE NEW FINDINGS REGARDING THICK FILAMENT REGULATORY PATHWAYS IN HEALTHY PORCINE MYOCARDIUM TO THE PATHOLOGICAL BASIS OF THICK FILAMENT DYSREGULATION IN HYPERTROPHIC, DILATED AND RESTRICTIVE CARDIOMYOPATHIES (HCM, DCM AND RCM RESPECTIVELY) MODEL PORCINE HEARTS. RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE IMMEDIATE TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE BY IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR SARCOMERE-BASED CARDIOMYOPATHIES.

FINLESS UCAS FLIGHT CONTROL WITH ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL EFFECTORS AND ADVANCED MANEUVER DEVELOPMENT

PROTOTYPE OF RECHARGEABLE NANOFLUID FLOW BATTERY FOR EV SYSTEMS

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-SCALE MODELING SOFTWARE FOR ENTANGLED SOFT MATTER IN ADVANCED SOLDIER PROTECTION

INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS WHO ARE HOMELESS

SCH: INTEGRATING AI AND SYSTEM ENGINEERING FOR GLUCOSE REGULATION IN DIABETES - THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP A PROTOTYPE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION MULTIVARIABLE AUTOMATED INSULIN DELIVERY (MVAID) SYSTEMS (ALSO CALLED ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS) BY INTEGRATING SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AL) TECHNIQUES THAT WILL MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF MEALS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES ,ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS INDUCEMENTS AND SLEEP IRREGULARITIES WITHOUT MANUAL INPUTS BY THE USER TO TIGHTLY REGULATE THE GLUCOSE LEVELS OF PEOPLE WITH DIABETES. THE FIRST GENERATION OF AUTOMATED INSULIN DELIVERY (AID) SYSTEMS RELIED ON HYBRID CLOSED-LOOP TECHNOLOGY, COLLECTING DATA FROM CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICES AND REQUIRING MANUAL USER INPUTS FOR MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF MEALS AND EXERCISE. THE MULTIVARIABLE AID THAT WE DEVELOPED PROVIDES A WELL-INTEGRATED NEXT-GENERATION SYSTEM THAT ANALYZES HISTORICAL AND REALTIME DATA FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES, INCLUDING CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEMS, INSULIN PUMPS, AND WEARABLE SENSORS IN WRISTBAND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TRACKERS, TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF MEALS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, AND ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS WITHOUT MANUAL INPUTS BY THE USER. MEALS, PLANNED EXERCISES, MANY PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING, ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, AND SLEEP IRREGULARITIES AFFECT BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS DIFFERENTIALLY, CHALLENGING PEOPLE WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES TO CONTINUOUSLY CONSIDER ALL THESE COMPLEX FACTORS IN MAINTAINING THEIR BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS IN THE TARGET RANGE. FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN GLUCOSE REGULATION CAN BE ACHIEVED BY DEVELOPING NOVEL, INTERPRETABLE, AND INTERACTIVE AL TECHNIQUES THAT CAN EXPLAIN THEIR PREDICTIONS TO MEDICAL CARE PROVIDERS AND AID USERS, AND BY INTEGRATING THESE AL TECHNIQUES WITH SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP AN AL-MVAID SYSTEM. THE FUNCTION OF THESE AL TECHNIQUES IS TO PREDICT THE STATE OF A PERSON BASED ON HISTORICAL TRENDS AND CURRENT DATA, AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL VALUABLE INFORMATION TO THE MVAID SYSTEM TO RELIEVE THE USERS FROM ONEROUS REPETITIVE TASKS FOR INTERPRETING THEIR CURRENT METABOLIC STATE, PREDICTING THE IMPACT OF THEIR CURRENT ACTIONS ON FUTURE VARIATIONS IN GLUCOSE LEVELS, AND TUNING THE PARAMETERS OF THE AL-MVAID CONTROLLER. THE GOAL IS TO PRODUCE A POWERFUL USERFRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY THAT INTEGRATES NOVEL AL TECHNIQUES WITH MVAID SYSTEMS FOR MINIMAL USER BURDEN IN ACHIEVING TIGHT CONTROL OF GLUCOSE LEVELS DESPITE THE MANY COMPLEX GLYCEMIC DISTURBANCES OCCURRING IN FREELIVING CONDITIONS, SUCH AS MEALS, PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, AND SLEEP IRREGULARITIES.

ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES AND THEIR SYNTHETIC MIMICS - INVESTIGATING THE MECHANISM O

DEVELOPMENT AND CLINICAL VALIDATION OF DOMAIN-AWARE ANTHROPOMORPHIC MODEL OBSERVERS FOR TASK-BASED IMAGE QUALITY ASSESSMENT - IN THIS PROJECT WE AIM TO DEVELOP DEEP-LEARNING ANTHROPOMORPHIC MODEL OBSERVERS (AMO) AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR HUMAN OBSERVERS (HO) IN STUDIES AIMED TO ASSESS IMAGE QUALITY, DEFINED IN A TASK- BASED FASHION BASED ON CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMANCE. AN ACCURATE AMO WOULD ALLOW FAST AND CLINICALLY RELEVANT PROCEDURE FOR OPTIMIZATION OF IMAGING SYSTEM AND ALGORITHM DESIGNS. THE PROPOSED AMO METHODS AIM TO ACHIEVE GOOD GENERALIZATION, I.E., AN AMO DEVELOPED FOR IMAGES RECONSTRUCTED BY ONE ALGORITHM (OR SCANNER SETUP) SHOULD PREDICT HO PERFORMANCE ACCURATELY FOR A DIFFERENT RECONSTRUCTION ALGORITHM (OR DIFFERENT SCANNER SETTING). IN OTHER WORDS, A DESIRED AMO SHOULD BE TOLERANT TO DOMAIN SHIFTS. IT IS FURTHER PROPOSED TO DESIGN AMO WHICH IS AWARE OF ITS OWN LIMITATIONS AND TYPE OF IMAGES (OR ORGANS) IT CAN BE USED ON, SO THAT IT DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO EVALUATE IMAGES IT IS UNSUITED TO JUDGE. TO THIS END, WE PROPOSE TO AUGMENT THE AMO WITH THE CAPABILITY OF DOMAIN-AWARENESS TO RECOGNIZE IMAGE DOMAIN SHIFT, AND TO PROVIDE A MECHANISM THAT CAN BE USED TO ECONOMIZE THE USE OF HO STUDIES BY MORE EFFICIENTLY ADAPTING THE AMO TO NEWLY AVAILABLE DATASETS THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO AIM TO OVERCOME COMMON CONCERNS ABOUT DEEP LEARNING BEING A “BLACK- BOX” BY LEVERAGING METHODS FROM VISUAL PSYCHOPHYSICS, SUCH AS REVERSE-CORRELATION. THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS APPROACH IS THAT THE IDENTICAL PROCEDURE HAD BEEN APPLIED TO HO, THUS ALLOWING A DIRECT COMPARISON AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTING RECEPTIVE FIELDS. TO ACCURATELY TRAIN, TEST AND CLINICALLY VALIDATE AMO WE WILL DEVELOP A RICH, IMAGE DATA SETS, ANNOTATED BY EXPERTS AND NON-EXPERTS, MIMICKING CT IMAGING OF THE LIVER. THEREFORE, A KEY COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT WILL BE DEVELOPMENT OF EXTENSIVE ANNOTATED DATASETS RANGING FROM NUMERICAL SIMULATION, ACQUISITION FROM 3D PRINTED PHANTOMS TO CLINICAL PATIENT DATA. FOR IMAGE ACQUISITION WE WILL USE SIMULATED, VIRTUAL CT AND CLINICAL (PHYSICAL) CT SCANNING FOLLOWED BY SEVERAL RECONSTRUCTION METHODS. WE CHOOSE TO USE LIVER CT IMAGING AS THE DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM FOR AMOS IN LOW-CONTRAST LESION LOCALIZATION AND DISCRIMINATION TASKS. THE CHOSEN APPLICATION IS SIGNIFICANT BY ITSELF BECAUSE, DESPITE YEARS OF RESEARCH, THERE IS STILL NO SYSTEMATIC FRAMEWORK FOR OPTIMIZATION OF THE MANY FACTORS IN IMAGING SYSTEM DESIGN FOR CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC TASKS. WE BELIEVE THAT THE PROPOSED DOMAIN-AWARE AMO APPROACH AND AMO INTERPRETABILITY METHODOLOGY WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL AND LASTING EFFECT NOT ONLY ON THE METHODOLOGY OF AMO DEVELOPMENT AND USE, BUT ALSO ON GENERAL DEEP-LEARNING APPLICATIONS IN MEDICAL IMAGING.

THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT IS AWARDED TO ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. THIS PROJECT IS A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN ILLINOIS TECH (IIT), ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY (ANL), AND RTX CORPORATION. THE GOAL OF THE FULL THREE-YEAR PROJECT IS A PROTOTYPE KWH RECHARGEABLE SOLID-STATE LI-AIR BATTERY (RSS-LAB) WITH GRAVIMETRIC ENERGY DENSITY OF >1000 WH/KG AND VOLUMETRIC ENERGY DENSITY OF >1000 WH/L, A CYCLE LIFE OF 100 ALONG WITH A DETAILED DESIGN OF A MULTI-MWH CELL PACK BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE PROTOTYPE. FOR A PROJECT ENTITLED, “1K RECHARGEABLE SOLID-STATE LI-AIR BATTERY FOR DECARBONIZING AVIATION”

PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS TO ADDRESS OBESITY RELATED COMPLICATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS USING PEER NAVIGATORS

INERTIAL NEURAL SURROGATES FOR STABLE DYNAMICAL PREDICTION

CRI: II-NEW: MYSTIC: PROGRAMMABLE SYSTEMS RESEARCH TESTBED TO EXPLORE A STACK-WIDE ADAPTIVE SYSTEM FABRIC

PARTICIPATION IN INTENSITY FRONTIER NEUTRINO PHYSICS

MULTIVARIABLE ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS SYSTEM TO DETECT AND MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF UNANNOUNCED PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS - IIT PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEMONSTRATE A VIABLE, FUNCTIONALLY INTEGRATED MULTIVARIABLE ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS THAT WILL MITIGATE MEAL, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS CHALLENGES WITHOUT ANY MANUAL INPUTS TO BETTER REGULATE GLUCOSE LEVELS OF PEOPLE WITH DIABETES. THE FIRST GENERATION OF ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS (AP) SYSTEMS, THE HYBRID CLOSED-LOOP AP, COLLECTS DATA FROM CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICES AND RELIES ON MANUAL USER INPUTS FOR MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF MEALS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES. ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND MANY OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES BESIDES PLANNED EXERCISE CAN AFFECT BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS AND CAUSE CHALLENGES TO MAINTAINING EUGLYCEMIA FOR PEOPLE WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES. VARIOUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS EVENTS AFFECT THE METABOLISM AND SENSITIVITY TO INSULIN IN DIFFERENT WAYS. HENCE, THEIR TYPES, INTENSITIES AND DURATIONS, AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL AND CONCURRENT PRESENCE MUST BE DETECTED IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE OPTIMAL INSULIN ADMINISTRATION. THE MULTIVARIABLE ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS APPROACH PROVIDES A WELL-INTEGRATED AND USER-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY WITH MINIMAL BURDEN ON THE USER AND MITIGATES THE EFFECTS OF UNEXPECTED PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AND ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS INDUCEMENTS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS TECHNOLOGY WOULD BE SAFER BY REDUCING THE NUMBER AND DURATION OF HYPOGLYCEMIC AND HYPERGLYCEMIC EVENTS, COMPARED TO APS BASED EXCLUSIVELY ON CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICE DATA. SUCH MULTIVARIABLE AP SYSTEMS CAN ONLY BE DEVELOPED BY USING A SOPHISTICATED MULTIVARIABLE APPROACH THAT USES REAL-TIME INFORMATION FROM CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICES AND PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES OBTAINED FROM WEARABLE DEVICES WORN IN FREE-LIVING DAILY LIFE.

"UNDERSTANDING THE FLOW PHYSICS OF ENERGY EXTRACTION FROM GUSTING FLOWS TO ENHANCE MICRO AIR VEHICLE PERFORMANCE"

CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH-EMPIRICAL RESEARCH--DETECTING, TRACKING, AND MODELING COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, AND METACOGNITIVE REGULATORY PROCESSES TO OPTIMIZE LE

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE COMMUNITY FOOD MOBILIZATION IN CHICAGO (CF-MOB) PROJECT INVESTIGATES MECHANISMS TOTRANSFORM THE STRUCTURES OF FOOD PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION IN WAYS THAT CENTER RACIAL JUSTICE,SOVEREIGNTY AND COMMUNITY FOOD ACCESS. IT AIMS TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT&#39;S ROLE IN INVESTING IN LOCAL, EQUITABLE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN DEVELOPMENT, WHILE EMPOWERING AND CREATING SPACE FOR BLACK, INDIGENOUS AND PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC) FOOD STAKEHOLDERS TO SELF-DETERMINE THEIR PARTICIPATION IN IT. CF-MOB LEVERAGES STRONG MULTI-SECTORAL PARTNERSHIPS AMONG FOOD PRODUCERS, WORKERS, EATERS, ADVOCATES AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE METRO CHICAGO GOOD FOOD PURCHASING INITIATIVE (GFPI). GFPI AIMS TO REORIENT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS&#39; LARGE SPENDING ON FOOD TOWARDS PRODUCTS ALIGNED WITH FIVE GOOD FOOD VALUES AND ANCHORS RESOURCES FOR BIPOC STAKEHOLDERS TO BENEFIT FROM IT. THIS MASSIVE CHALLENGE REQUIRES TARGETED RESEARCH TO IDENTIFY MECHANISMS FOR OVERCOMING RESOURCE APARTHEID AND ARTICULATING STRATEGIC ROLES FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN THIS PROCESS. THE TEAM WILL RESEARCH STRUCTURAL BARRIERS AND PRACTITIONER EXPERIENCES ALONG THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN, INCLUDING THE COMMUNITY&#39;S DIVERSE VISIONS TO DESIGN A SET OF INNOVATIVE, FOOD MOBILIZATION PATHWAYS. THEY WILL IDENTIFY A SHORTLIST OF HIGH-IMPACT, SUSTAINABLE FOOD PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN THE 300-MILE RADIUS CHICAGO FOODSHED, IDENTIFY AND MAP SUPPLY CHAIN GAPS FOR GFPI-ALIGNED PRODUCTS, AND MODEL BUDGETARY SCENARIOS AND PROCUREMENT PROCESS REFORMS ENABLING INTEGRATION OF LOCAL FOOD SUPPLIERS, ESPECIALLY BIPOC, INTO INSTITUTIONAL PROCUREMENT PROCESSES. THEY WILL DEVELOP A DIGITAL PLATFORM--METRO CHICAGO GOOD FOOD DASHBOARD--TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT FOOD PROCUREMENT AND MOBILIZATION OPPORTUNITIES, AND CONNECT THE DIVERSE CONSTITUENCIES ACROSS CHICAGOLAND.

WOUND FIELD AND HYBRID SYNCHRONOUS MACHINES FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) TRACTION WITH BRUSHLESS CAPACITIVE ROTOR FIELD EXCITATION

GRADUATE TRAINING FOR FRONTIER RESEARCH USING SYNCHROTRON RADIATION

NEW AWARD TO: ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AWARD NUMBER: DE-FE0031931 PROJECT TITLED: FACILITATING IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH-VOLUME FLY ASH USE IN PRECAST CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION TO INCREASE BENEFICIAL UTILIZATION

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION COUNSELING

"PREPARATION FOR THE IMPPLANTATION OF AN INTRACORICAL VISUAL PROSTHESIS IN A HUMAN".

TAS::97 0400::TAS "(DARPA) ALGEBRAIC STATISTICS FOR NETWORK MODELS"

A MULTI-SCALE MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM FOR THE DYNAMIC MECHANICAL RESPONSE OF TISSUE

LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD CONTROL IN PRIVATELY-OWNED HOUSING

LONG-TERM TRAINING FOR REHABILITATION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MENTALLY ILL

NRI: RECEDING HORIZON INTEGRITY-A NEW NAVIGATION SAFETY METHODOLOGY FOR CO-ROBOTIC PASSENGER VEHICLES

ADAPTIVE ANALYTIC MULTISCALE MODELING USING PSEUDOSPECTRAL WAVEPACKETS

PARTICIPATION IN HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS

CAREER: THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF TYPE II COLLAGEN BY FIBER CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

GRADUATE TRAINING FOR FRONTIER RESEARCH USING SYNCHROTRON RADIATION

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM: MS IN REHABILITATION COUNSELING

MR QUANTIFICATION OF MYOCARDIAL OXYGEN UTILIZATION IN CHRONIC MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION WITHOUT CONTRAST

THE ROLE OF LAGRANGIAN COHERENT STRUCTURES IN COUPLING THE IONOSPHERE-ATMOSPHERE DURING WEAK AND STRONG POLAR VORTICES

PASSIVE CONTROL OF NON-CANONICAL FLOWS WITH ANISOTROPIC POROUS MATERIALS.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FRAMEWORKS: MPI4AI: ENHANCING PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY OF AI SCIENCE THROUGH NEXT-GENERATION HIGH PERFORMANCE COMMUNICATION ABSTRACTIONS -THIS CSSI PROJECT IS A MULTI-UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION BETWEEN TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE, STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY, AND THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. THIS PROJECT IMPROVES HOW MASSIVELY PARALLEL COMPUTERS RUN LARGE-SCALE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) APPLICATIONS BY ENHANCING THE MESSAGE PASSING INTERFACE (MPI), A WIDELY USED STANDARD FOR COORDINATING WORK ACROSS MANY COMPUTERS IN PARALLEL PROGRAMS. CURRENTLY, THE ENABLING DATA-TRANSFER SOFTWARE USED IN AI, FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COMPUTERS ENHANCED BY GRAPHICAL PROCESSING UNITS (GPUS), ARE OFTEN PROPRIETARY AND/OR LIMITED IN SCOPE; THEY CANNOT BE EXPANDED OR ENHANCED BY AN OPEN COMMUNITY. THAT SITUATION RESTRICTS INNOVATION, MAKING IT HARDER FOR SCIENTISTS TO COLLABORATE AND ENHANCE THEIR SCIENCE OUTPUT ON LIMITED COMPUTER RESOURCES, WHILE ALSO CREATING DEPENDENCY ON A FEW VENDORS. BY CONTRAST, THIS PROJECT BUILDS ON AND ADVANCES OPEN MPI, A MAJOR OPEN-SOURCE IMPLEMENTATION OF MPI WITH A LONG HISTORY OF BROAD IMPACT, TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT, FLEXIBLE, AND BETTER SUITED FOR MODERN AI TASKS. IN ADDITION TO IMPROVING THE OPEN MPI IMPLEMENTATION, MPI4AI AIMS AT STANDARDIZING EXTENSIONS TO MPI SO ALL IMPLEMENTATIONS AND USERS OF MPI WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS PROJECT'S OUTCOME. MPI4AI INTRODUCES KEY IMPROVEMENTS TO OPEN MPI, INCLUDING NATIVE SUPPORT FOR GPU COMMUNICATION, ENHANCED COLLECTIVE (GROUP) COMMUNICATION OPERATIONS INCLUDING THOSE THAT ARE AI-ALGORITHM SPECIFIC, COMPUTE STREAM INTEGRATION, AND OPTIMIZED DATA MOVEMENT. SPECIFICALLY, THESE ADVANCES TARGET PERFORMANCE BOTTLENECKS IN THREE AI PATTERNS: NEURAL ARCHITECTURE SEARCH WITH TRANSFER LEARNING, KEY-VALUE PREFIX CACHING IN LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL INFERENCE, AND LARGE-SCALE DATA-PARALLEL TRAINING. THE PROJECT IMPROVES RESILIENCE AND MALLEABILITY THROUGH FAULT-TOLERANT MECHANISMS, ENABLING AI APPLICATIONS TO ADAPT DYNAMICALLY TO SYSTEM CHANGES AND TO USE RESOURCES MORE EFFICIENTLY. BY FORWARDING THESE ENHANCEMENTS TOWARD ADOPTION IN THE UPCOMING MPI-5 AND MPI-6 STANDARDS, THE PROJECT ENSURES LONG-TERM IMPACT ACROSS BOTH ACADEMIC RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL AI WORKFLOWS. THESE CONTRIBUTIONS WILL LOWER THE COST OF RUNNING LARGE AI WORKLOADS AND BROADEN ACCESS TO SCALABLE AI INFRASTRUCTURE. MPI4AI'S CAPABILITIES WILL ENABLE RESEARCHERS EXPLORING NEW MODALITIES OF AI COMPUTATION TO EXPRESS THEIR ALGORITHMS AND CODE EFFICIENTLY AND MORE EFFECTIVELY AS COMPARED TO EXISTING SOLUTIONS THAT WORK WITHIN THE CONFINES OF CURRENT MPI FEATURES AND VENDOR-SPECIFIC MESSAGE-PASSING LIBRARIES. UNDERLYING IMPROVEMENTS DEVISED FOR OPEN MPI WILL ALSO BE BROADLY BENEFICIAL TO OTHER USE CASES AND USERS OF THIS PARALLEL PROGRAMMING SYSTEM. OVERALL, KEY STRENGTHS OF THIS EFFORT ARE A STRONG COMMITMENT TO STANDARDIZATION AND EMPHASIS ON PERFORMANCE-PORTABILITY ACROSS VARIOUS HARDWARE PLATFORMS WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON AI-ENABLEMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

CAREER: THE EFFECTS OF POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS AND HISTONE VARIANTS ON CHROMATIN FIBER DYNAMICS

ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, TINA-CABLES BASE AWARD CONTROL NUMBER 1953 -1870 PROJECT TITLE ''SUPERCONDUCTING MOMENTARY CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER: FAULT PROTECTION WITH ULTRALOW LOSS AND ULTRAFAST RESPONSE FOR FUTURE ELECTRIC AVIATION'' THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS CABLES PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A SUPERCONDUCTING MOMENTARY CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER (SMCI) TO PROVIDE FAULT PROTECTION WITH ULTRALOW POWER LOSS (<1W), ULTRAFAST RESPONSE (<10ΜS), AND HIGH POWER DENSITY (>150KW/KG AND 100MW/M3).

PARTICIPATION IN MUON COLLIDER NEUTRINO FACTORY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERIOR CHELATION CHEMISTRY FOR 89ZR-IMMUNOPET IMAGING

COEUS: ACCELERATING SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS USING ENRICHED METADATA

SAI: STORMWATER RESILIENCE IN URBAN AREAS -STRENGTHENING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE (SAI) IS AN NSF PROGRAM SEEKING TO STIMULATE HUMAN-CENTERED FUNDAMENTAL AND POTENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH THAT STRENGTHENS AMERICA?S INFRASTRUCTURE. EFFECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR SOCIOECONOMIC VITALITY AND BROAD QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENT. STRONG, RELIABLE, AND EFFECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE SPURS PRIVATE-SECTOR INNOVATION, GROWS THE ECONOMY, CREATES JOBS, MAKES PUBLIC-SECTOR SERVICE PROVISION MORE EFFICIENT, STRENGTHENS COMMUNITIES, PROMOTES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, PROTECTS THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, ENHANCES NATIONAL SECURITY, AND FUELS AMERICAN LEADERSHIP. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS REQUIRES EXPERTISE FROM ACROSS THE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES. SAI FOCUSES ON HOW KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN REASONING AND DECISION-MAKING, GOVERNANCE, AND SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PROCESSES ENABLES THE BUILDING AND MAINTENANCE OF EFFECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IMPROVES LIVES AND SOCIETY AND BUILDS ON ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING. THE CHANGING CLIMATE IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF HEAVY RAINFALL EVENTS, CAUSING MORE FLOODS AND DECREASING WATER QUALITY OVER TIME. WITHIN MANY URBAN AREAS OF THE U.S. THERE HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY POOR INVESTMENT IN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WITH UNEQUAL IMPACTS AMONG COMMUNITIES THAT VARY IN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. THE RESULT IS GROWING DISPARITIES IN WATER QUALITY, RELIABILITY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN URBAN AREAS. NEW POLICIES AND INNOVATIVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT APPROACHES ARE NEEDED TO PREPARE FOR FUTURE URBAN FLOODING AND TO ENSURE EQUITABLE WATER MANAGEMENT. DRAWING FROM EXPERTISE IN SOCIAL SCIENCE, HYDROLOGICAL MODELING, ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, THIS SAI PROJECT IMPROVES PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING, ASSESSES STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE DISPARITIES, AND IDENTIFIES VIABLE POLICY OPTIONS MOVING FORWARD. FLOOD PREDICTION AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REQUIRES HYDROLOGICAL MODELS TO SIMULATE THE MOVEMENT OF WATER FROM PRECIPITATION INTO STREAMS THROUGH HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES UNDER VARIOUS CONTROL AND LAND MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS. THIS IS AN INHERENTLY DATA-DRIVEN PROCESS, RELYING ON MEASUREMENTS OF PRECIPITATION, DISCHARGE, LAND USAGE, WATER USAGE, AND HYDROGRAPHY THAT VARY SIGNIFICANTLY THROUGHOUT A WATERSHED. COMMON APPROACHES TO COLLECTING SUCH DATA ARE NOT SUFFICIENT FOR UNDERSTANDING LOCAL-SCALE FLOODING, ESPECIALLY URBAN FLOODING CAUSED BY RAINFALL. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE CHALLENGE BY UTILIZING TWO FORMS OF CITIZEN SCIENCE TO IMPROVE URBAN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT. ONE RELIES ON CROWDSOURCED DATA COLLECTION FOR IDENTIFYING STORMWATER FLOODING EVENTS. THE OTHER INVOLVES CITIZEN-ENGAGED HANDS-ON WATER QUALITY TESTING. CHICAGO IS USED AS THE DEVELOPMENT SITE BECAUSE OF ITS VULNERABILITY TO FLOODING AND ITS HISTORICAL PATTERN OF COMMUNITIES THAT VARY SUBSTANTIALLY IN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. TO PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENGINEERS, SCIENTISTS, AND ADVOCATES TO ADDRESS THE MOST SALIENT ISSUES IN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT, A NOVEL TRAINING PROGRAM IS DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH A BACKGROUND IN PUBLIC POLICY, HYDROLOGIC AND CLIMATE SCIENCE, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. THIS AWARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE DIRECTORATE FOR SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND ECONOMIC (SBE) SCIENCES AND THE DIRECTORATE FOR GEOSCIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

NRI: FND: THE URBAN DESIGN AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF UBIQUITOUS ROBOTS AND NAVIGATION SAFETY

CPS: MEDIUM: MANAGING LOOSELY COUPLED NETWORKED CONTROL SYSTEMS WITH EXTERNAL DISTURBANCES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CSR: MEDIUM: TOWARDS A UNIFIED MEMORY-CENTRIC COMPUTING SYSTEM WITH CROSS-LAYER SUPPORT -DATA-CENTRIC APPLICATIONS, FROM SCIENTIFIC SIMULATION TO EMERGING MACHINE LEARNING AND DATA MINING ALGORITHMS, ARE BECOMING PREVALENT. MEMORY-CENTRIC COMPUTING IS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO OVERCOME THE UNPRECEDENTED MEMORY PERFORMANCE BOTTLENECK FOR SUCH APPLICATIONS. WE PROPOSE AN INTEGRATED, FULL-STACK, CROSS-LAYER SYSTEM TO ENABLE UNIFIED MEMORY-CENTRIC COMPUTING (UNIMCC). WE TARGET SYSTEMS THAT HAVE NEAR-MEMORY DATA PROCESSORS (NDPS) AS WELL AS A DISAGGREGATED SHARED MEMORY POOL. WE WORK ON THE ENTIRE SYSTEM STACK TO UTILIZE THESE NEWLY PROPOSED HARDWARE SOLUTIONS FROM A UNIFIED VIEWPOINT OF ARCHITECTURE, SW/HW INTERFACE, CODE GENERATION AND RUNTIME SUPPORT, AND PERFORMANCE MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED UNIMCC SYSTEM IS TO MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL OF NDPS AND DISAGGREGATED MEMORIES AND LIFT MEMORY-CENTRIC COMPUTING TO A NEW LEVEL. THE OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT BROADER IMPACTS ON RESEARCH COMMUNITIES, SOCIETY, AND EDUCATION. WITH THE CROSS-LAYER COLLABORATIVE DESIGN, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH CAN BRING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES TOGETHER TO MAKE THE MEMORY-CENTRIC PARADIGM MORE FEASIBLE. THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE EXPERIMENTS AND DEPLOYMENT OF DATA-CENTRIC APPLICATIONS AT LARGER SCALES, FACILITATING RESEARCH IN THE AI AREA AND IMPROVING THE AVAILABILITY OF LARGE-SCALE DATA MINING AND MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEMS FOR SOLVING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS. BESIDES TRAINING PH.D. STUDENTS, THIS PROJECT WILL DELIVER SEVERAL COURSE DEVELOPMENTS, CURRICULAR UPDATE ACTIVITIES, AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES TO BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

ADVANCED SIMULATION TOOLS FOR MUON-BASED ACCELERATORS

CIRC: DEV: ENHANCING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE WITH NETWORK ATTESTATION AND PROVENANCE -NETWORK TESTBEDS PROVIDE SHARED PLATFORMS FOR RESEARCHERS TO CARRY OUT A WIDE RANGE OF NETWORK EXPERIMENTS. THESE PLATFORMS ARE CONSTANTLY BEING RECONFIGURED AS RESEARCHERS TEMPORARILY LEASE RESOURCES FOR THEIR EXPERIMENTS. THESE RESOURCES INCREASINGLY INVOLVE PROGRAMMABLE NETWORK HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE -- SUCH AS SMART NETWORK INTERFACES AND PROGRAMMABLE SOFT SWITCHES -- THAT ARE USED BY RESEARCHERS TO DEVELOP NEW IDEAS. MOREOVER, PROGRAMMABLE NETWORKING CAN ALSO SUPPORT THE RECONFIGURATION OF TESTBED INFRASTRUCTURE ITSELF TO PROVIDE BOTH FLEXIBILITY AND HIGH PERFORMANCE. BUT THIS DIFFUSE PROGRAMMABILITY INTRODUCES NEW CHALLENGES FOR OBSERVABILITY OF THE NETWORK'S STATE -- BOTH FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE NETWORK OPERATORS AND THAT OF ITS USERS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NEW TYPE OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR OBSERVING THE RAPID AND DIFFUSED STATE CHANGES THAT ARE POSSIBLE IN PROGRAMMABLE NETWORKS. THIS PROJECT BRINGS TOGETHER INVESTIGATORS FROM ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, SRI INTERNATIONAL, AND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, TO APPLY THREE CONCEPTS TO NETWORK TESTBEDS: (1) REMOTE DATA PLANE ATTESTATION: DEVELOP EVIDENCE GENERATION, PROVENANCE CAPTURE, AND PROGRAM STATE ATTESTATION CAPABILITIES FOR A P4 PROGRAMMABLE NETWORK DEVICE AS WELL AS TUNING PARAMETERS TO ENABLE RESEARCHERS AND TESTBED OPERATORS TO TRADE-OFF INTEGRITY ASSURANCE WITH COMPUTATIONAL OVERHEAD, (2) PROGRAMMABLE NETWORK PROVENANCE: PROVIDE TESTBED USERS (NETWORK RESEARCHERS AND TESTBED OPERATORS) TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION ABOUT PAST NETWORK CONFIGURATIONS TO ESTABLISH GROUND TRUTH, PERFORM TROUBLESHOOTING, AND ROOT-CAUSE ANALYSIS OF ABERRANT NETWORK BEHAVIOR, AND (3) USER-CENTRIC NETWORK VIEWS AND ANALYTICS: PROVIDE TESTBED USERS WITH THE CAPABILITY OF FILTERS AND FACETED QUERIES THAT PROVIDE TRUSTWORTHY VIEWS OF NETWORK EQUIPMENT STATE AND PATHS TAKEN BY NETWORK FLOWS. THIS PROJECT WILL PRODUCE THE FOLLOWING SOCIETAL ADVANCEMENTS: (1) IMPROVE THE TRUSTWORTHINESS AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF SCIENTIFIC RESULTS DISCOVERED ON PROGRAMMABLE NETWORK TESTBEDS, (2) CONTRIBUTE TO OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR ATTESTED NETWORK PROVENANCE, (3) BUILD NEW CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE PROJECT TEAM WITH THE FABRIC TESTBED RESEARCH COMMUNITY, AND (4) EDUCATE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH COURSEWORK AND INTERNSHIPS. THE MATERIALS DEVELOPED IN THIS PROJECT -- INCLUDING CODE, DOCUMENTATION, AND PAPERS -- WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AT HTTP://CREASE.CS.IIT.EDU THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION COUNSELING

LABEL-FREE NANOPORE BIOSENSOR FOR RAPID, ULTRASENSITIVE, AND MULTIPLEX DETECTION

LOW MASS DARK MATTER DETECTION WITH SAPPHIRE SUBSTRATE QUBITS

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION COUNSELING

HECURA: A DYNAMIC APPLICATION-SPECIFIC I/O ARCHITECTURE FOR HIGH END COMPUTING

CAREER: AVOIDING ACHILLES' HEEL IN EXASCALE COMPUTING WITH DISTRIBUTED FILE SYSTEMS

DYNAMICS OF ALTERED METABOLIC STATES USING A MICROFLUIDIC LIVING CELL PLATFORM

BRITE PIVOT: ENABLING EFFICIENT FUEL CELL CONTROL USING DATA-DRIVEN MODELING

TAS::89 0331::TAS RECOVERY RECOVERY ACT: WINS - A MARKET STIMULATION TOOL FOR FACILITATING WIND ENERGY INTERPRETATION

HEALTHY HOMES TECHNICAL STUDIES GRANTS

DURIP THE IIT NATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC FACILITY

DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODY CHELATOR CONJUGATES FOR TARGETED RADIONUCLIDE THERAPY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT TRIPLE-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER (TNBC) IS AN AGGRESSIVE SUBTYPE OF BREAST CANCER WITH A VERY POOR OVERALL PROGNOSIS AND LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS. THE ABSENCE OF ELEVATED EXPRESSION OF THE THREE COMMON RECEPTORS, ESTROGEN RECEPTOR (ER), PROGESTERONE RECEPTOR (PR), AND HUMAN EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR 2 (HER2) THAT ARE VALIDATED TARGETS OF THERAPEUTIC DRUGS, POSES SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES IN TREATING TNBC. BETTER THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS FOR EFFICIENT TNBC CONTROL AND IMPROVED SURVIVAL ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. IN THIS INVESTIGATION, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP ANTIBODY CHELATOR CONJUGATES (ACCS) FOR TARGETED RADIONUCLIDE THERAPY OF TNBC. THE NOVEL ACCS CONTAIN A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY WITH HIGH AFFINITY FOR A VALIDATED THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN TNBC AND A CHELATING AGENT LABELED WITH Â..EMITTING THERAPEUTIC RADIONUCLIDE (177LU OR 90Y). THE EFFICACY OF TARGETED RADIONUCLIDE THERAPY AGAINST CANCER HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN NUMEROUS CLINICAL TRIALS WITH RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS INCLUDING 177LU-BASED LUTATHERA®, 177LU-BASED PLUVICTO®, AND 90Y-BASED ZEVALIN®. CHELATION CHEMISTRY IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT IN CREATING CLINICALLY VIABLE RADIOTHERAPEUTICS WITH HIGH THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY AND SAFETY PROFILES. THE PI HAS INVENTED HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CHELATORS FOR 177LU AND 90Y IN TARGETED RADIONUCLIDE THERAPY. IN THIS INVESTIGATION, WE AIM TO UTILIZE SUPERIOR CHELATION CHEMISTRY TO CREATE 177LU- OR 90Y-BASED ACCS FOR ANTIBODY-TARGETED THERAPY OF TNBC. PROMISING ACCS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND EVALUATED FOR RADIOLABELING WITH 177LU OR 90Y, AND THE CORRESPONDING 177LU-ACCS AND 90Y-ACCS WILL BE EVALUATED FOR IN VITRO STABILITY AND RADIOIMMUNOASSAY. THE TOP 177LU-ACCS AND 90Y-ACCS WILL BE FURTHER EVALUATED FOR IN VIVO BIODISTRIBUTION, METABOLISM, RADIATION DOSIMETRY, THERAPY, AND TOXICITY USING TNBC TUMORBEARING MICE. THE PROPOSED IN VIVO STUDIES ARE ESSENTIAL BECAUSE DATA RELEVANT TO CLINICAL PROCEDURES CANNOT BE OBTAINED USING COMPUTATIONAL, INVERTEBRATE, OR IN VITRO METHODS. THIS INVESTIGATION IS PROPOSED TO GENERATE POTENT AND SAFE 177LU-ACCS AND 90Y-ACCS AS NOVEL RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS FOR TNBC THERAPY.

CONNECTING PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE: TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY & CIVICS FOR EMPOWERED CITIZENSHIP

CAREER: ADVANCING LASER POWDER BED FUSION WITH NON-SPHERICAL POWDER -THIS FACULTY EARLY CAREER DEVELOPMENT (CAREER) AWARD WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT INTENDS TO ADDRESS THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (AM) PRACTICES THAT PRIMARILY USE EXPENSIVE AND ENERGY-INTENSIVE SPHERICAL POWDERED MATERIALS. THE COLD MECHANICALLY DRIVEN METHOD EMPLOYS ATTRITION MILLING WITH A RECIPROCATING CUTTER, ACHIEVING PRECISE POWDER SIZE DISTRIBUTION, LEADING TO THE PRODUCTION OF PORE-FREE METAL POWDERS WITH REDUCED ENERGY INPUT. THE PROJECT AIMS TO: (1) ENHANCE POWDER-SPREADING DYNAMICS THROUGH MULTIMODAL PARTICLES AND A HYBRID POWDER DISPENSER, AND (2) IMPROVE LASER-POWDER INTERACTION AND MICROSTRUCTURE CONTROL. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE PROJECT OUTCOMES MAY EXPAND MATERIAL CHOICES, MAKING PRODUCTION MORE COST-EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ACROSS VARIOUS AM PROCESSES SUCH AS BINDER JETTING AND LASER/ELECTRON BEAM POWDER BED FUSION. THE PROJECT PROVIDES RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO A DIVERSE POOL OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND VETERANS. THROUGH HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, OUTREACH ACTIVITIES, AND THE CREATION OF VIDEO ANIMATIONS, THE PROJECT WILL ENGAGE UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE FIELD OF METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. THE CAREER RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS THREE FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH PROBLEMS: (1) NON-SPHERICAL POWDER CHARACTERISTICS, SUCH AS MORPHOLOGY AND SIZE, IMPACT POWDER-POWDER INTERACTIONS, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO LOWER PACKING DENSITY AND NON-UNIFORM POWDER BEDS. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED BY DEVELOPING A DEPOSITION MECHANISM USING MULTIMODAL POWDER SIZES AND AN INNOVATIVE NON-CONTACT ELECTROSTATIC POWDER SPREADER. (2) LASER-POWDER INTERACTION IS AFFECTED BY CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS SHAPE, MORPHOLOGY, AND SIZE DISTRIBUTION. THE SHIFT IN THE STABLE/UNSTABLE KEYHOLE MODE DUE TO THE SHADOWING EFFECT OF NON-SPHERICAL POWDER AT HIGHER LASER SCAN SPEEDS WILL INFLUENCE THE PROCESS MAP, AND MECHANICAL INTERLOCKING OF PARTICLES. COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATIONS INTO LASER-POWDER INTERACTIONS WILL BE UNDERTAKEN, USING IN-SITU OBSERVATIONS SUCH AS SYNCHROTRON X-RAY IMAGING AND MULTI-PHYSICS MODELING. THIS APPROACH AIMS TO UNRAVEL THE UNDERLYING PHYSICS AND FORMULATE PROCESSING STRATEGIES TO EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS ANTICIPATED DEFECTS. (3) LOCALLY REDUCED COOLING RATES FROM THE SHADOWING EFFECT INFLUENCE SOLIDIFICATION, IMPACTING MICROSTRUCTURE AND RESULTANT MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED BY ADJUSTING PROCESS PARAMETERS AND APPLYING POST-HEAT TREATMENTS, SUCH AS HOT ISOSTATIC PRESSING, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE EQUIAXED GRAIN STRUCTURES FOR IMPROVED STRENGTH AND DUCTILITY COMPARABLE TO WROUGHT ALLOYS. THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS, FOSTERING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

4D AND 5D IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION FOR CARDIAC SPECT

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING - REHABILITATION COUNSELING

OAC CORE: LABIOS: STORAGE ACCELERATION VIA DATA LABELING AND ASYNCHRONOUS I/O -DATA IS EVERYWHERE, AND IT IS GROWING EXPONENTIALLY. DATA-INTENSIVE COMPUTING IS A FIELD THAT DEALS WITH PROCESSING AND ANALYZING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF DATA FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES, SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND HEALTH CARE. HOWEVER, STORING AND ACCESSING DATA EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR DATA-INTENSIVE COMPUTING. CURRENT STORAGE SYSTEMS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO HANDLE THE DIVERSE AND COMPLEX DATA NEEDS OF DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS. THEY ARE SLOW, RIGID, AND WASTEFUL. THIS PROJECT INTRODUCES A NEW WAY OF MANAGING DATA THAT OVERCOMES THESE LIMITATIONS. IT DEVELOPS A NEW DATA REPRESENTATION AND A COMPANION STORAGE SYSTEM THAT ARE FASTER, MORE FLEXIBLE, AND MORE SCALABLE THAN EXISTING SOLUTIONS. THIS PROJECT ALSO SHOWS HOW THIS NEW APPROACH IMPROVES THE PERFORMANCE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF VARIOUS APPLICATIONS IN DIFFERENT APPLICATION DOMAINS, SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING, DEEP LEARNING, AND MICROSERVICES. IT ADVANCES THE STATE-OF-THE-ART IN DATA-INTENSIVE COMPUTING AND SERVES THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY ENHANCING SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY AND OUTPUT, INCREASING THE SCALABILITY AND RELIABILITY OF SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS THAT HANDLE MASSIVE AND COMPLEX DATA SETS, AND FACILITATING THE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION AMONG SCIENTISTS FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES BY IMPROVING THE COMPATIBILITY OF SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS THAT USE DIFFERENT DATA FORMATS, PLATFORMS, AND PROTOCOLS. THIS PROJECT CAN FOSTER INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND INNOVATION. IT ALSO SUPPORTS EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY IN COMPUTING AND DATA SCIENCE BY CREATING A WELL-TRAINED WORKFORCE AND ENHANCING THE EXISTING CURRICULA AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE A NEW INPUT/OUTPUT (I/O) PARADIGM FOR DATA-INTENSIVE COMPUTING BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF A LABEL AND A SYSTEM CALLED LABIOS. A LABEL IS A DATA UNIT THAT ENCAPSULATES AN OPERATION AND A POINTER TO ITS INPUT DATA. LABIOS IS A DISTRIBUTED STORAGE SYSTEM THAT EXECUTES LABELS ASYNCHRONOUSLY AND INDEPENDENTLY ON SERVERS THAT SUPPORT TIERED STORAGE (E.G., NON-VOLATILE MEMORY EXPRESS (NVME), SOLID STATE DRIVE (SSD), HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD), ETC.). THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES HOW TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT LABIOS TO PROVIDE ACTIVE STORAGE SEMANTICS, SOFTWARE DEFINED STORAGE SEMANTICS, AND IN-SITU AND IN-TRANSIT ANALYTICS. IT EXPLORES HOW TO USE LABIOS TO SUPPORT ELASTIC AND DYNAMIC RESOURCE PROVISIONING, INTEGRATED STORAGE ACCESS, AND PROGRAMMABLE STORAGE APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACES (APIS). THE PERFORMANCE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF LABIOS ARE EVALUATED USING VARIOUS APPLICATIONS AND WORKLOADS FROM SCIENTIFIC AND BIG DATA DOMAINS, SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING, DEEP LEARNING, AND MICROSERVICES; AND HOW LABIOS IMPROVES THE I/O EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE APPLICATIONS AND WORKLOADS ARE DEMONSTRATED. THIS PROJECT ALSO ANALYZES THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW I/O PARADIGM FOR THE EXISTING HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING (HPC) ECOSYSTEM. IT CONTRIBUTES TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF DATA-INTENSIVE COMPUTING BY PROVIDING A NOVEL DATA REPRESENTATION AND A SCALABLE STORAGE SYSTEM THAT CAN ADDRESS THE DIVERSE AND COMPLEX DATA REQUIREMENTS OF LARGE-SCALE APPLICATIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

TAS::89 0213::TAS FE NEW GRANT AWARD ENTITLED "CFD SIMULATIONS OF A REGENERATIVE PROCESS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE IN ADVANCE"

IMIDAZOLIUM FUNCTIONALIZED TRANSITION METAL PHOSPHIDE CATALYSTS FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION TO ETHANOL -ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION IS A PROMISING TECHNOLOGY FOR CONVERTING THE WASTE GREENHOUSE GAS, CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2), TO VALUABLE CHEMICAL PRODUCTS. WHEN POWERED BY SUSTAINABLE ELECTRICITY FROM SOURCES SUCH AS WIND POWER OR SOLAR ENERGY, ELECTROCHEMICAL CO2 REDUCTION REACTION (ECO2RR) TECHNOLOGY POTENTIALLY OFFERS A NEGATIVE CARBON EMISSION ROUTE TO CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING. CURRENT ECO2RR TECHNOLOGY IS LIMITED, HOWEVER, BY DEPENDENCE ON EXPENSIVE NOBLE METAL CATALYST MATERIALS, ENERGY LOSSES IN THE ELECTROCATALYTIC REACTIONS, INEFFICIENT CONVERSION OF CO2 TO TARGETED PRODUCTS, AND LOW RATES OF CO2 CAPTURE AND TRANSFER TO THE WORKING CATALYST SURFACE. THE PROJECT ADDRESSES THOSE TECHNOLOGY GAPS THROUGH RESEARCH AIMED AT DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE CATALYTIC SYSTEM BASED ON A LOW-COST TRANSITION METAL PHOSPHIDE (TMPS) CLASS OF MATERIALS MODIFIED WITH A CHEMICAL COMPOUND (IMIDAZOLIUM (IM)) THAT ENHANCES THE TRANSFER OF CO2 TO THE CATALYST SURFACE. TOGETHER THE TWO COMPONENTS PROMOTE THE CAPTURE AND CONVERSION OF WASTE CO2 TO ETHANOL FOR USE IN DOWNSTREAM FUEL AND CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS. BEYOND THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS, THE PROJECT SUPPORTS EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS EDUCATING FUTURE LEADERS IN TECHNOLOGY RELATED TO CLEAN ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY. THE PROJECT IS BUILT ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT IMIDAZOLIUM-FUNCTIONALIZED TMP CATALYSTS CAN TAILOR THE ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF SURFACE METAL ATOMS TO PROMOTE CARBON-CARBON COUPLING FOR HIGH RATE ETHANOL PRODUCTION. THE PROJECT EMPLOYS A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, COMBINING EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL STUDIES TO DESIGN AND VALIDATE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE IM-TMP CATALYTIC SYSTEM, AND TO IDENTIFY KEY FACTORS THAT PLAY CRUCIAL ROLES IN ACTIVITY, SELECTIVITY, AND STABILITY OF THE PROPOSED CATALYTIC SYSTEM. THE PROJECT EXPLOITS EXISTING COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE AIM OF ESTABLISHING A NOVEL CATALYTIC SYSTEM FOR ELECTROSYNTHESIS OF ETHANOL FROM CO2 THROUGH DIRECTED EXPERIMENTAL EFFORTS IN ELECTROCHEMICAL TESTING AND ANALYSIS. VARIOUS NANOSTRUCTURED TMP NANOPARTICLES, WITH STOICHIOMETRY OF MP (M: TRANSITION METAL)AND THEIR IM-FUNCTIONALIZED STRUCTURE, WILL BE CHARACTERIZED AND EVALUATED. THE MATERIALS COMBINATIONS ARE SELECTED BASED ON PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE INVESTIGATORS? RESEARCH SHOWING THAT IMIDAZOLIUM-FUNCTIONALIZED MOLYBDENUM PHOSPHIDE (IM-MOP) NANOPARTICLES WORK AS A UNIFIED SYSTEM TO PRODUCE ETHANOL. CRUCIAL TO THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT, IS THE COMBINATION OF CUTTING EDGE IN-SITU, EX-SITU, ATOMIC- AND MOLECULAR-SCALE EXPERIMENTS WITH DFT CALCULATIONS THAT WILL BE PERFORMED TO IDENTIFY ELECTRONIC AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF TMP SURFACE ATOMS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH IMIDAZOLIUM. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE UTILIZED TO DEVELOP ELECTRONIC?STRUCTURAL?PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE IM-TMP CATALYSTS. THE INSIGHTS GAINED FROM THE RESEARCH WILL ESTABLISH NEW METHODS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED MATERIALS FOR OTHER COMMON ELECTROCATALYTIC PROCESSES, SUCH AS NITROGEN FIXATION, AND THE OXYGEN REDUCTION AND OXYGEN EVOLUTION REACTIONS, WHERE FUNCTIONALIZING THE SURFACE OF CATALYSTS WITH ORGANIC MOLECULES MAY SHOW SIMILAR BENEFITS. FROM THE EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH PERSPECTIVES, THE PROJECT WILL INTERFACE WITH THE JOINT INITIATIVES PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EDUCATION (PURE) ON THE INVESTIGATORS? CAMPUS. ADDITIONALLY, THE INVESTIGATORS WILL COLLABORATE WITH ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY, A HBCU AND PUBLIC BACCALAUREATE INSTITUTION, TO BRING KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO MATERIALS DESIGN, SYNTHESIS, AND CHARACTERIZATION FOR VARIOUS ELECTROCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS AND PROVIDE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS COMING FROM UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS, ENCOURAGING THEM TO PURSUE ADVANCED DEGREES IN ENERGY SCIENCES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE HANDS-ON RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS OF HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM REGIONAL CHICAGO SCHOOLS THROUGH AN IMMERSIVE SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY CAREER DEVELOPMENT, GOAL PERSISTENCE, AND JOB PLACEMENT INTERVENTION PROGRAM (TECH-JOBS) FOR BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - THE IMPACT OF EDUCATION LEVEL ON EMPLOYABILITY AND WORK-LIFE EARNINGS SURPASSES THAT OF ALL OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES. THIS IS CONCERNING GIVEN THAT BLACK INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ARE THE LEAST LIKELY TO HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION. THE GOAL OF THIS 3-YEAR PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE THE UTILITY OF AN ONLINE INTERVENTION PACKAGE (TECH-JOBS) DESIGNED TO HELP AFRICAN AMERICAN/BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES PERSIST IN COMPLETING TECHNOLOGY DEGREES AND FIND GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT AND A PATHWAY TO MIDDLE-CLASS LIFE. TECH-JOBS IS A 10-WEEK ONLINE PROGRAM BASED ON SOCIAL COGNITIVE CAREER THEORY (SCCT) AND PRODUCTS ADAPTED FROM PREVIOUS RESEARCH. FOUR OBJECTIVES GUIDE THE PROJECT: (1) USING AN ITERATIVE FEEDBACK CYCLE, THE TECH-JOBS INTERVENTIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH A COMMUNITY ADVISORY TEAM (E.G., BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND A TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL). (2) THE TECH-JOBS BETA VERSION WILL BE ASSESSED VIA A FEASIBILITY PILOT STUDY (N = 10) AND FURTHER REFINED. (3) TWO WAITLIST CONTROL TRIALS WILL BE USED TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERVENTION IN HELPING STUDENTS STRENGTHEN THEIR ACADEMIC AND CAREER SELF-EFFICACY AND OUTCOME EXPECTANCIES, CRYSTALLIZE CAREER INTERESTS, AND PROMOTE GOAL PERSISTENCE (N = 60). (4) INFORMATION AND PRODUCT DISSEMINATION STRATEGIES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO SHARE THE TECH-JOBS INTERVENTIONS AND MANUAL. THE EXPECTED PRODUCTS ARE: (1) A HIGH QUALITY ONLINE INTERVENTION SERIES AND MANUAL; (2) SCCT ASSESSMENT BATTERY; (3) SERVICE PROVIDER TRAINING WORKSHOP AND MATERIALS; AND (4) PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS. THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT, WHICH ENCOURAGES THE PARTICIPATION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION IN HIGH DEMAND FIELDS, INCLUDING TECHNOLOGY.

DTIO: ENABLING COMPUTATIONAL STORAGE USING DATA-TASKS AND ASYNCHRONOUS I/O

INVESTIGATION OF NOROVIRUS CROSS-CONTAMINATION DURING FOOD SERVICE PROCEDURES USED IN THE PREPARATION OF FRESH PRODUCE

CAREER: CONTROL OF ADVANCED FUEL-FLEXIBLE MULTI-CYLINDER ENGINES

SCIENCE: THIS EFFORT WILL IDENTIFY THE EXTREME STORM (DST<-300 NT) DYNAMICS THAT CAUSE A CO-ROTATING MID-LATITUDE NIGHTTIME IONOSPHERIC LOCALIZED DENSITY ENHANCEMENT (NILE). DURING THE EXTREME STORMS OF SOLAR CYCLE 23 A "HOT SPOT" OF 10 TIMES AS MUCH TOTAL ELECTRON CONTENT (TEC) AS THE BACKGROUND NIGHTSIDE OCCURRED WITHIN A SPAN OF ONLY 500 KM IN THE GULF OF MEXICO REGION. THE MAGNITUDE AND LOCALIZATION OF A NILE AT MID-LATITUDES ADVERSELY AFFECTS THE AVAILABILITY OF GNSS-BASED AUGMENTATION SYSTEMS PROVIDING SINGLE-FREQUENCY USER AIRCRAFT PRECISION NAVIGATION SERVICE E.G. THE WIDE AREA AUGMENTATION SYSTEM (WAAS). NO FIRST PRINCIPLES IONOSPHERIC MODEL PREDICTS THE EXISTENCE OF NILES. POSSIBLE CAUSES INCLUDE AN ELECTRODYNAMIC EFFECT TIED TO THE SOUTH ATLANTIC ANOMALY OR A SUPER-FOUNTAIN ASSOCIATED WITH INTERPLANETARY ELECTRIC FIELDS. THIS PROPOSAL WILL INVESTIGATE EVENTS FROM SOLAR CYCLES 23 AND 24 TO ESTABLISH WHETHER THE PHENOMENON ONLY OCCURS DURING EXTREME STORMS DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH EVENTS ARE UNIQUE TO THE AMERICAN SECTOR AND TEST CAUSAL HYPOTHESES BY IMAGING THE PLASMA DENSITY GLOBALLY TO ESTIMATE THE DRIVERS MOST CONSISTENT WITH THE OBSERVATIONS. METHOD: THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE ADVANCED MODELS WITH SPACE-BASED DATA FROM NASA OBSERVATORIES ALONG WITH GROUND-BASED MEASUREMENTS ALL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TO ESTIMATE THE FORMATION MECHANISM USING THE LATEST DATA ASSIMILATIVE TECHNIQUES. THE FIRST PRINCIPLES MODEL FORMING THE A PRIORI STATE WILL BE SAMI3 (SAMI3 IS ALSO A MODEL OF THE IONOSPHERE). TWO DATA ASSIMILATIVE (DA) METHODS WILL SUBSEQUENTLY INGEST DATA TO UPDATE THE SAMI3 BACKGROUND: IONOSPHERIC DATA ASSIMILATION 4-DIMENSIONAL (IDA4D) AND ESTIMATING MODEL PARAMETERS FROM IONOSPHERIC REVERSE ENGINEERING (EMPIRE). WE WILL USE SAMI3 IDA4D AND EMPIRE TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES CONSISTENT WITH THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCALIZED MID-LATITUDE PERSISTENT NIGHTTIME PLASMA ENHANCEMENT. SAMI3 HAS GLOBAL FIDELITY IN PRODUCING STORM ENHANCED DENSITY A POSSIBLE PRECURSOR TO THE NILE. IDA4D WILL UPDATE THE SAMI3 BACKGROUND MODEL OF PLASMA DENSITY WITH GROUND- AND SPACE-BASED DENSITY DATA INCLUDING FROM COSMIC TO PRODUCE A GLOBAL TIMEVARYING SPECIFICATION OF PLASMA DENSITIES. EMPIRE WILL UPDATE BACKGROUND MODELS OF ELECTRIC POTENTIAL AND NEUTRAL WINDS BASED ON ELECTRON DENSITY FROM IDA4D AND MEASUREMENTS OF THE DRIVERS FROM TIMED DMSP AND C/NOFS. WITH THESE DATA COVERING THE LAST TWO SOLAR MAXIMA WE WILL EXAMINE BOTH EXTREME AND NOT EXTREME STORMS. SPACE-BASED DATA ARE KEY TO ASSIMILATION FOR DYNAMIC DRIVER ESTIMATION. DA LETS US ADDRESS THE SCIENCE GOALS BECAUSE WHILE MODELS DO NOT YET PREDICT THE NILE ITSELF OBSERVATIONALLY DRIVEN UPDATES OFFER OPTIMAL UPDATES TO THE MODELS GIVING INSIGHT INTO THE PHYSICS DISTINGUISHING NILE CONDITIONS FROM NULL EVENTS. FST CONTRIBUTIONS: THIS PROPOSAL RESPONDS TO FOCUSED SCIENCE TOPIC 4: UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE MITM SYSTEM DURING EXTREME EVENTS. GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS OF FIRST-PRINCIPLES ELECTRIC POTENTIAL BASED ON OBSERVATIONAL STORMTIME CONDITIONS WILL INDICATE THE STATES IN WHICH MODELS MOST NEED ADJUSTMENT DURING EXTREME STORMS. THE STUDY WILL HELP TO SHOW WHETHER AN EXTREME STORM IS A NECESSARY CONDITION FOR THE NILE. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF PROGRESS TOWARD ACCURATE SIMULATION OF EXTREME SPACE WEATHER EVENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS IN THE IT SYSTEM BY PROVIDING A RIGOROUS UNCERTAINTY ON THE ESTIMATED STATE FROM DA. OUTPUT COVARIANCES AND COMPARISON TO VALIDATION DATA PROVIDE METRICS FOR DETERMINING THE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME OF THE RESEARCH. WE WILL CONTRIBUTE THE ELECTRIC FIELD AND NEUTRAL WIND FIELDS PRODUCED FROM SAMI3 AND EMPIRE AND DENSITY SPECIFICATION FROM SAMI3 AND IDA4D TO THE FST. THIS EFFORT WILL CONTRIBUTE INSIGHT INTO THE LOW-TO-MID-LATITUDE ELECTRODYNAMICS DURING EXTREME STORMS BRINGING A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF A PHENOMENON THAT HAS KNOWN CONSEQUENCES FOR THE PRECISION NAVIGATION AVAILABILITY OF WAAS.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EFFORT IS TO ADVANCE NOVEL METHODS OF REMOTELY SENSING WATER AND ICE COVERAGE ON FRESHWATER SURFACES USING REFLECTED GLOBAL NAV

I-LEARN: EMPOWERING ENGINEERING LEARNERS USING VISUALIZATIONS IN MIXED REALITY AND MACHINE LEARNING ECOSYSTEMS

CAREER: MICROBIAL CONTROL OF INTESTINAL ORGANOIDS DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION -EACH DAY, AMERICANS TAKE OVER 200 MILLION ORAL PILLS. A MAJOR QUESTION HAS BEEN WHY THE SAME DRUG DOES NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE. GUT BACTERIA COULD PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELLULAR MODELS FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVING THEIR FUNCTION, BUT ARE NOT CURRENTLY UTILIZED. THEREFORE, THE GOAL OF THIS CAREER PROJECT IS TO CREATE MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES THAT CAN INCORPORATE GUT BACTERIA FOR THE CONTROLLED GENERATION OF INTESTINAL ORGANOIDS. THROUGH THIS, THE PROJECT WILL ALSO ELUCIDATE THE ROLE MICROBES PLAY IN MODULATING FUNCTIONS RELATED TO DRUG ABSORPTION. COUPLED WITH THESE EFFORTS, THE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN ENGINEERING BY REACHING THEM EARLY IN THEIR CURIOSITY. THE EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES WILL LEVERAGE THE PROJECT TO CREATE NEW COURSEWORK AND A HANDS-ON EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ?ENGINEERING BIOLOGY USING MICROFLUIDICS.? OFFERED AS ANNUAL WORKSHOPS ON DIFFERENT THEMES. THE PROGRAM WILL STIMULATE EXCITEMENT IN STEM EDUCATION, IN ADDITION TO EQUIPPING STUDENTS WITH 21ST-CENTURY SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES. ONE LONG-STANDING CHALLENGE IN MEDICINE IS THE VARIABILITY IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDICINE, WHICH IN PART IS DUE TO THE LACK OF SUITABLE CELLULAR MODELS THAT CAPTURE THE VARIABILITY IN DRUG ABSORPTION THAT COMES FROM DIVERSE GUT BACTERIAL SPECIES. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE INTESTINE, HOME TO GUT BACTERIA, IS THE PRIMARY SITE FOR THE ABSORPTION OF SMALL MOLECULE DRUGS. INTESTINAL ORGANOIDS HAVE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL TO MIMIC ORGAN FUNCTION IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, THE SELF-ORGANIZING PROCESSES UNDERLYING ORGANOID DEVELOPMENT ARE POORLY CONTROLLED, WHICH HAS LIMITED THEIR ADOPTION. A FACTOR THAT HAS BEEN LARGELY OVERLOOKED IS THE GUT BACTERIA, WHICH CAN MODULATE INTESTINAL FUNCTION AS WELL AS DRUG ABSORPTION AND METABOLISM. YET, CURRENT STEM CELL DERIVED ORGANOIDS DO NOT ACCOUNT FOR GUT BACTERIA. SINCE GUT BACTERIA ARE SYNERGISTIC PARTNERS ESSENTIAL TO ORGAN DEVELOPMENT, THEY COULD BE CRUCIAL IN STEERING THE CONTROLLED GENERATION OF ORGANOIDS. SIMILARLY, CURRENT PHARMACOKINETIC MODELS DO NOT ACCOUNT FOR GUT BACTERIA, WHICH COULD BE THE REASON FOR THE OBSERVED VARIABILITY IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DRUGS. THESE GAPS EXIST BECAUSE GROWING THE LARGELY ANAEROBIC GUT BACTERIAL SPECIES WITH INTESTINAL CELLS REMAINS A TECHNICAL CHALLENGE IN THE FIELD. RESOLVING THIS CHALLENGE COULD TRANSFORM THE FIELD. THE GOAL OF THIS CAREER PROJECT IS TO ENGINEER A MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE TO DISCOVER HOW GUT MICROBES STEER THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTESTINAL ORGANOIDS. IN PARALLEL, THE PROJECT WILL UNCOVER HOW GUT MICROBES SHAPE THE ABSORPTIVE FUNCTIONS OF THE SMALL INTESTINE EPITHELIUM. THE RESEARCH IS BUILT UPON PREVIOUS WORK IN CREATING A) A MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE WITH BIOMIMETIC FREESTANDING EXTRACELLULAR MEMBRANE THAT ENABLED THE CELLS TO REMODEL THE MICROENVIRONMENT AND B) A MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE TO SIMULTANEOUSLY CULTURE ANAEROBIC BACTERIAL SPECIES WITH INTESTINAL CELLS. THESE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES WILL SERVE AS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ENGINEERING OF SMALL INTESTINE ORGANOIDS AND PROVIDE A PLATFORM TO STUDY MICROBE-INTESTINAL SIGNALING. THE ENGINEERED MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES COULD ALSO BE LEVERAGED TO STUDY OTHER ORGAN SYSTEMS SUCH AS THE LUNG, SKIN, OVARY, AND TUMORS WHERE BACTERIAL COLONIZATION IS INCREASINGLY APPRECIATED AS A SIGNIFICANT FUNCTIONAL MODULATOR. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: ACTIVE LEARNING THROUGH RICH AND TRANSPARENT INTERACTIONS

CONTROLLING DENSIFICATION-INDUCED STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN METAL-ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS FOR SIZE-SELECTIVE SEPARATIONS

MULTIDISCIPLINARY DEVELOPMENT OF ACCELERATING STRUCTURES AND PHOTOCATHODES

PROMOTING SMALL AND MINORITY-OWNED TECHNOLOGY BUSINESSES AT UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY PARK AT IIT

ADVANCED PIXEL ARRAY DETECTOR FOR TIME-RESOLVED SAXS AND FIBER DIFFRACTION

CAREER: AUTOMATED PHYSICS-BASED DISTILLATION OF COHERENT STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS IN UNSTEADY AND TURBULENT FLOWS -IDENTIFYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANISMS THAT SUSTAIN UNSTEADY AND TURBULENT FLOWS IS IMPORTANT FOR ENSURING ACCURATE PREDICTION AND EFFECTIVE OPTIMIZATION AND CONTROL ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS FOR REDUCING DRAG ON AERODYNAMIC VEHICLES, IMPROVING EFFICIENCY IN WIND ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICES, AND IMPROVING PATIENT OUTCOMES VIA CARDIOVASCULAR FLOWS. WHILE WE HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF SUCH MECHANISMS FOR SIMPLE FLOWS, NEW TOOLS WILL BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN SIMILAR LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING FOR A BROADER RANGE OF APPLICATIONS OF REAL-WORLD RELEVANCE. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP METHODS THAT ENABLE SUCH MECHANISMS TO BE IDENTIFIED IN AN AUTOMATED AND UNAMBIGUOUS MANNER, WITH MINIMAL DATA AND COMPUTATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. THESE TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS WILL BE COUPLED WITH EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH INITIATIVES INVOLVING THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY, UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN COURSEWORK AND RESEARCH, K-12 STUDENTS, AND MEMBERS OF LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP TWO CENTRAL IDEAS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE IDENTIFIED ABOVE, WITH AN OVERALL GOAL OF DEVELOPING A METHODOLOGY TO ISOLATE DOMINANT COHERENT STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS IN AN UNAMBIGUOUS, AUTOMATED, AND COMPUTATIONALLY EFFICIENT MANNER. THE FIRST IDEA INVOLVES APPLYING SPARSITY-PROMOTING METHODS TO PHYSICS-BASED MODELING TOOLS TO UNCOVER MINIMAL-PHYSICS MODELS WITHOUT NEEDING THE HUMAN INSIGHT AND/OR TRIAL-AND-ERROR THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE REQUIRED. THE SECOND IDEA CONSIDERS METHODS TO APPROXIMATE THE BEHAVIOR OF THESE MECHANISMS USING ANALYTIC RATHER THAN NUMERICAL METHODS, LEVERAGING IDEAS FROM WAVE-PACKET PSEUDO-SPECTRAL THEORY. THIS FORMULATION IN TURN ENABLES ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS METHODS CONDUCIVE TO STUDYING A BROADER CLASS OF MECHANISMS, IN PARTICULAR ALLOWING FOR HIGHLY NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR TO BE MODELED. TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR UTILITY, THESE METHODS WILL BE APPLIED ON A RANGE OF FLUID FLOWS, INCLUDING INCOMPRESSIBLE AND COMPRESSIBLE PARALLEL SHEAR FLOWS, FLOWS WITH SECONDARY MEAN FLOW COMPONENTS INDUCED BY SIDEWALLS, AND CARDIOVASCULAR FLOWS WITH MORE COMPLEX GEOMETRIES. AN IMPROVED ABILITY TO IDENTIFY AND MANIPULATE THE COHERENT STRUCTURES THAT EXIST WITHIN TURBULENT FLOWS CAN BENEFIT A BROAD RANGE OF APPLICATIONS, WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DECREASE FRICTION DRAG ON AIR, SEA, AND GROUND TRANSPORT VEHICLES, INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF WIND TURBINES, AND ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING AND TREATMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CSR: SMALL: IRIS: A UNIFIED DATA ACCESS FRAMEWORK FOR THE MERGING OF COMPUTE-CENTRIC AND DATA-CENTRIC STORAGE

EARS: MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF RADAR / COMMUNICATIONS SPECTRUM SHARING OPPORTUNITIES

SHF: CSR: SMALL: A COOPERATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR TOPOLOGY AWARENESS ON LARGE-SCALE SYSTEMS

ANION EXCHANGE AND BIPOLAR MEMBRANES FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY CONVERSION

CAREER: COHERENT STRUCTURES IN IONOSPHERIC-THERMOSPHERIC FLOWS

EARS: PROVIDING PREDICTABLE SERVICE AND SPECTRUM ACCESS WITH REALTIME DECISION IN COGNITIVE MULTIHOP WIRELESS NETWORKS

ADVANCED ACCELERATOR RESEARCH: PHOTOCATHODE SOURCES

CAREER: BAIRD'S POLYCYCLIC ANTI-AROMATIC CHROMOPHORES & APPLICATION TO ENGINEER CRYSTALLINE DYADS FOR PHOTON UPCONVERSION IN THE SOLID STATE

CAREER: DEVELOPMENT OF ENHANCED EARLY PHOTON TOMOGRAPHY FOR CANCER STAGING

CAREER: FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES OF SUSTAINABLE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY

CAREER: TRANSFORMATION ELASTODYNAMICS AND ITS APPLICATION TO WAVE CONTROL IN SOLIDS

THIS PROJECT WILL PREDICT INDOOR EXPOSURES AND ASSOCIATED CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS OF SEVERAL INDOOR AND OUTDOOR POLLUTANTS ACROSS THE CURRENT AND FUTU

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE INTERACTIONS OF ENTERIC PATHOGENS WITH POSTHARVEST LEAFY VEGETABLES

POLYPHENOLS ARE TYPES OF PLANT COMPOUNDS FOUND IN VARIED AMOUNTS AND COMPOSITION IN THE FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND WHOLE GRAINS HUMANS CONSUME. SOME ARE ABSORBED WITHIN A FEW HOURS OF EATING, WHILE OTHERS ARE METABOLIZED BY THE BACTERIA IN THE LARGE INTESTINE TO SMALLER MOLECULES SUCH AS PHENOLIC ACIDS AND ARE ABSORBED SEVERAL HOURS AFTER EATING. THESE BACTERIA RESIDING IN THE LARGE INTESTINE ARE COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS GUT MICROBIOTA. "BIOACTIVE" COMPONENTS OF PLANT FOODS, SUCH AS CERTAIN FIBERS AND POLYPHENOLS PLAY A ROLE IN DETERMINING THE COMPOSITION AND METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEMATIC EVIDENCE BASE OF WHAT METABOLITES ARE FORMED FROM THESE BIOACTIVE COMPONENTS (POLYPHENOLS FROM STRAWBERRIES AND RED RASPBERRIES, FRUCTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDE (FOS, A TYPE OF FIBER) BY GUT MICROBIOTA, HOW THEY INFLUENCE THE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTION OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA AND WHETHER THIS RESULTS IN BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN HUMANS. TO DISTINGUISH RESPONSES TO THE BERRY POLYPHENOLS AND TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIVE EFFECTS WITH FOS, TWO ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTAL ARMS WILL BE STUDIED INCLUDING FOS ALONE AND FOS PLUS THE BERRIES TOGETHER; EACH EXPERIMENTAL ARM COMPARED AGAINST A CONTROL DIET THAT HUMAN STUDY PARTICIPANTS WILL CONSUME.ADULT MEN AND WOMEN WITH CHRONIC LOW GRADE INFLAMMATION WILL BE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY. ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO 1 OF 4 DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ARMS (22 PEOPLE PER ARM FOR A TOTAL OF 88 ENROLLED). PARTICIPANTS WILL SUPPLEMENT THEIR DIETS DAILY FOR 4 WEEKS WITH THE STUDY FOODS THAT WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE RESEARCH CENTER. BLOOD, URINE, AND FECES WILL BE COLLECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRST 24 H OF INTAKE AND THEN AGAIN OVER THE 4 WEEK PERIOD TO ACCESS: 1) CHANGES IN INFLAMMATORY STATUS USING KNOWN MARKERS OF INFLAMMATION IN THE BLOOD AND IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, 2) CHANGES IN METABOLITE POOLS (SPECIFIC POLYPHENOL METABOLITES FROM BERRIES AS WELL AS OTHER MICROBIOTA METABOLITES SUGGESTING CHANGE IN FUNCTION, SUCH AS BILE ACID METABOLITES) AND 3) CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTION OF GUT MICROBIOTA COMMUNITY. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL ANALYZE ALL THE BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES THEY COLLECT FROM THE PARTICIPANTS USING CLINICAL ANALYZERS, ADVANCED MASS SPECTROMETRIC INSTRUMENTS, AND GENE SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY.WE EXPECT TO GENERATE NOVEL DATA ON BERRY POLYPHENOL COMPONENTS, THE ROLE OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA AS A MEDIATOR OF INFLAMMATION, AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE BENEFITS BY STRATEGICALLY COMBINING BIOACTIVE FOODS/FOOD COMPONENTS WITH COMPLIMENTARY ACTIONS.

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING SALMONELLA ATTACHMENT TO FRUITS AND NUTS

SHF: CSR: SMALL: TOWARD SMART HPC THROUGH ACTIVE LEARNING AND INTELLIGENT SCHEDULING

CNS CORE: SMALL: PRACTICAL MEMORY ACCESS PATTERN OBFUSCATION WITH ALGORITHM, APPLICATION AND ARCHITECTURE CO-DESIGNS -EMERGING MEMORY ARCHITECTURES ARE PROPOSED TO ADDRESS THE SCALABILITY ISSUES OF CURRENT COMPUTING SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, THEY BRING CHALLENGES WHEN DATA SECURITY SUPPORT IS NEEDED. AN ATTACKER COULD CAPTURE SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN A PROGRAM THROUGH SIDE CHANNELS, SUCH AS MEMORY ACCESS PATTERNS. MOREOVER, EMERGING MEMORY SYSTEMS FURTHER COMPLICATE SECURITY SUPPORT DUE TO THE NEW PROPERTIES SUCH AS LARGER SHARING SPACE, DATA PERSISTENCY, AND CONCURRENT ACCESSES. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO ENABLE HIGH-PERFORMANCE AND PRACTICAL MEMORY ACCESS PATTERN OBFUSCATION FOR CURRENT AND EMERGING MEMORY ARCHITECTURES. THE APPROACHES INCLUDE CO-DESIGNS FROM THE CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS, TARGET APPLICATIONS THAT NEED PROTECTION, AND NEW MEMORY ARCHITECTURES. THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT CAN KEEP IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF CRYPTOGRAPHIC PROTOCOLS ON REAL COMPUTING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS. THE OUTCOME WILL INCLUDE A SET OF INTEGRATED, CROSS-DOMAIN SECURE ARCHITECTURE DESIGNS AND OBFUSCATION SCHEMES. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT BROADER IMPACTS ON EDUCATION, SOCIETY, AND NATIONAL SECURITY. THIS PROJECT WILL BROADEN COMPUTING PARTICIPATION BY RECRUITING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS AND OUTREACH TO UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. WITH A CLOSER INTERACTION BETWEEN SECURITY AND COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL BENEFIT A BROADER TYPE OF APPLICATIONS AND THUS HELP PROTECT NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE LONG RUN. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

A GENDER-AFFIRMING STIGMA INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND HIV RISK AMONG TRANSGENDER WOMEN - THE APPLICANT SEEKS THIS K99/R00 AWARD TO ACHIEVE RESEARCH INDEPENDENCE IN INTERVENTION SCIENCE, WITH A FOCUS ON USING COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH (CBPR) PRINCIPLES TO REDUCE THE NEGATIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SEQUELA THAT RESULT FROM STIGMA. TRANSGENDER (TRANS) WOMEN ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR HIV AND SUBSTANCE MISUSE DUE IN PART TO ELEVATIONS IN THREE INTERRELATED AREAS UNDERPINNED BY STIGMA: INTERNALIZED STIGMA, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, AND HEALTHCARE AVOIDANCE. ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY (ACT) IMPROVES INTERNALIZED STIGMA, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, AND TREATMENT ENGAGEMENT AND MAY THEREBY REDUCE SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND HIV RISK. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF A GENDER AFFIRMING ACT INTERVENTION ON INTERNALIZED STIGMA, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, HEALTHCARE AVOIDANCE, AND SUBSEQUENT SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND HIV RISK AMONG TRANS WOMEN ARE UNKNOWN. PEER-LED INTERVENTIONS ARE ESSENTIAL TO DECREASE TRANS WOMEN’S SENSE OF ISOLATION, SHARE SKILLS FOR COPING WITH DAILY SOURCES OF STIGMA, AND ENCOURAGE PRIDE IN ONE’S GENDER IDENTITY. ACT IS A PROMISING EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTION FOR PEER DELIVERY AS ACT HAS BEEN EFFECTIVELY DELIVERED BY NON-THERAPISTS BEFORE. THE APPLICANT THUS PROPOSES TO ADAPT ACT TO CREATE A GENDER-AFFIRMING WELLNESS INTERVENTION (ACT+GA) THAT TARGETS SUBSTANCE MISUSE AND HIV RISK AMONG TRANS WOMEN (K99 PHASE), CONDUCT AN OPEN PILOT TRIAL OF ACT+GA (K99 PHASE), AND THEN RUN A RIGOROUS TEST OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS, ACCEPTABILITY, APPROPRIATENESS, AND FEASIBILITY (R00 PHASE). DURING THE K99 PHASE, SHE WILL COLLABORATE WITH HER MENTORSHIP TEAM AND THE ASSEMBLED COMMUNITY- ADVISORY BOARD TO DEVELOP THE ACT+GA MANUAL BASED ON FOCUS GROUP (K = 4-6, N = 4-6 TRANS WOMEN/GROUP) AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK (N = 10-15 TREATMENT PROVIDERS, ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS, AND PEER STAFF), AND THEN ADDRESS ANY NECESSARY REFINEMENTS IDENTIFIED DURING OPEN PILOT TESTING (N = 10 TRANS WOMEN). DURING THE R00 PHASE, TRANS WOMEN WILL BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ACT+GA (N = 62) OR TREATMENT-AS-USUAL (N = 62). INTERNALIZED STIGMA, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, HEALTHCARE AVOIDANCE, SUBSTANCE USE, AND HIV RISK WILL BE ASSESSED AT BASELINE, POST- INTERVENTION, AND AT THREE AND SIX-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. THE COORDINATED TRAINING PLAN WILL ALLOW THE APPLICANT TO BUILD ON HER STRONG FOUNDATION IN CBPR AND SCHOLARSHIP OF HIV DISPARITIES IN SEXUAL AND GENDER MINORITIZED (SGM) POPULATIONS, DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS IN THREE AREAS CRITICAL TO HER INDEPENDENCE: (1) ADAPTATION OF ACT FOR TELEHEALTH DELIVERY BY TRANS WOMEN, (2) EARLY PHASE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING, (3) DEPTH OF LEARNING AND APPLICATION OF QUALITATIVE AND LONGITUDINAL QUANTITATIVE METHODS. DURING THE K99 PHASE, HER MENTORSHIP TEAM WILL DRAW ON ITS SUSTAINED TRACK RECORD IN MENTORING JUNIOR SCHOLARS TO FULL INDEPENDENCE. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH REGULAR MEETINGS, DIRECTED READINGS, HANDS-ON TUTORIALS, AND SUPPORT OF HER ACTIVITY IN WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, AND CONFERENCES. COMPLETION OF THE R00 PHASE WILL GENERATE DATA TO SUPPORT A FUTURE R01 APPLICATION TO TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT+GA ON A LARGER SCALE. THE K99/R00 AWARD WILL THUS PROVIDE THE APPLICANT WITH A PLATFORM TO LAUNCH HER INDEPENDENT CAREER IN TRANSGENDER HEALTH AND INTERVENTION SCIENCE.

REHABILITATION LONG-TERM TRAINING/REHABILITATION OF THE MENTALLY ILL

CSR: SMALL: IRON: REDUCING WORKLOAD INTERFERENCE ON MASSIVELY PARALLEL PLATFORMS

TAS::89 0319::TAS NEUP 2010 INFRASTRUCTURE AWARD

ADVANCED ACCELERATOR PHYSICS RESEARCH ON ELECTRON BEAM SOURCES

EARS: SPECTRUM EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS USING MULTISITE SPECTRUM OBSERVATORY NETWORK

REHABILITATION TECHNOLOGY

MECHANICAL ACTIVATION ENHANCED SOLID-STATE REACTION AND ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF NACRO2

TWC: SMALL: PRIVACY PRESERVING COOPERATION AMONG MICROGRIDS FOR EFFICIENT LOAD MANAGEMENT ON THE GRID

UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY PARK ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CHICAGO IL

MECHANISMS OF BACTERIAL PATHOGEN INTERNALIZATION INTO FRESH AND FRESH-CUT FRUITS

NETS: SMALL: DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE BATTERY-FREE MULTI-HOP SENSING NETWORKS

III: SMALL: QUANTIFYING MULTIFACETED PERCEPTION DYNAMICS IN ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS

PFI-TT: RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES WITH ULTRAFAST CHARGING CAPABILITY AND LONG USAGE TIME PER CHARGE

FOODBORNE PATHOGENS SUCH AS SALMONELLA, LISTERIA, AND E. COLI O157:H7 FREQUENTLY CAUSE HUMAN ILLNESSES AND OUTBREAKS LINKED TO CONTAMINATED FRESH PRODUCE. FRESH PRODUCE SAFETY IS A HIGH PRIORITY FOR FOOD SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH. DUE TO THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR PATHOGEN REDUCTION, CURRENT PRODUCE INDUSTRY RELIES MAINLY ON CHLORINATED WATER WASHES FOR SURFACE DECONTAMINATION FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. POWER ULTRASOUND IS A GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND HAS DEMONSTRATED A GREAT POTENTIAL IN ENHANCING PATHOGEN REDUCTION AT LABORATORY-SCALES. IN THIS STUDY, WE WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PLANT-SCALE POWER ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY FOR PATHOGEN REDUCTION DURING FRESH PRODUCE WASHING, AND PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR COMMERCIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS GREEN TECHNOLOGY IN INDUSTRIAL WASHING AND SANITATION PRACTICE. TREATMENTS AND CONDITIONS DURING FRESH PRODUCE POST-HARVEST PROCESSING CAN TRIGGER A NUMBER OF ADAPTATION AND STRESS RESISTANCE MECHANISMS IN PATHOGENIC BACTERIA, ALLOWING SMALL POPULATIONS OF PATHOGENS TO SURVIVE AND SUBSEQUENTLY CAUSE CROSS CONTAMINATION IN THE WASHED PRODUCTS. USING ADVANCED RNA SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF CHLORINATED WATER WASHES, COUPLED WITH POWER ULTRASOUND AS A HURDLE TECHNOLOGY, IN REDUCTION OF BACTERIAL PATHOGENS ON WASHED PRODUCE SURFACE. A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRESS RESISTANCE AND SURVIVAL MECHANISMS OF FOODBORNE PATHOGENS ON PRODUCE SURFACE AS WELL AS IN PERSISTENT RESERVOIRS WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL DATA FOR OPTIMIZING TREATMENT CONDITIONS AND DEVELOPING MODELS FOR RISK ASSESSMENT. COLLECTIVELY, THIS PROJECT WILL DELIVER HIGHLY NOVEL AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF FRESH PRODUCE.

MECHANISM AND REGULATION OF BAXDELTA2 IN COLORECTAL CANCER

TAS::57 3600::TAS "CHARACTERIZATION AND LOW-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF URBAN FLUID FLOW"

EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF AQUA-MINING FOR RECOVERY OF CRITICAL METALS USING COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR MODELING

NETS: SMALL: DYNAMIC SPECTRUM ACCESS FOR MISSION CRITICAL WIRELESS NETWORKS

FUNDAMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE MICROSTRUCTURAL PARAMETERS TO IMPROVE DYNAMIC RESPONSE IN AL-CU MODEL SYSTEM

MATRIX MEDIATED ELECTRICAL STIMULATION OF FIBROBLAST CELLS FOR RESTORING BIOMECHANICS OF VAGINAL WALL CONNECTIVE TISSUES

CHARACTERIZATION OF OLFACTORY RECEPTORS

TAS::57 3600:: "PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF WIRELESS MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS UNDER DYNAMIC HIGH INTERFERENCE"

MULTIVARIABLE CLOSED LOOP TECHNOLOGIES FOR PHYSICALLY ACTIVE YOUNG ADULTS WITH TY

ROLE OF FLAVIN RADICALS AND ONE-ELECTRON TRANSITIONS IN THE ION PUMPING MECHANISM OF THE BACTERIAL RESPIRATORY COMPLEX NA+-NQR

US-IRELAND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON NANOSTRUCTURED GALLIUM NITRIDE (GAN) POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

CAREER: BEHAVIOR-BASED COORDINATION FOR OPEN DISTRIBUTED REAL-TIME AND EMBEDDED COMPUTING

CNS CORE: SMALL: APPLICATION-ORIENTED SCHEDULING FOR OPTIMIZING INFORMATION FRESHNESS IN WIRELESS NETWORKS

ENGINEERING COLICINS TO CONTROL ANTIBIOTIC-TOLERANT BACTERIA

THERMODYNAMIC MEASUREMENTS OF BINARY AND TERNARY INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS

SCALABLE MANUFACTURING OF HIERARCHICAL SILICON/CARBON NANOCOMPOSITE ANODES FOR NEXT GENERATION BATTERIES

CAREER: MULTI-FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY CONVERSION

ACQUISITION OF INSTRUMENTATION FOR THERMAL, OPTICAL AND ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY CONV

EFFICACY OF THE MICROSPHERE-THERMO-RESPONSIVE HYDROGEL OCULAR DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

CSR: SMALL: EMPOWER DATA-INTENSIVE COMPUTING: THE INTEGRATED DATA MANAGEMENT APPROACH

THE US FROZEN FOOD ECONOMY IS A $56 BILLION VALUE ADDED MARKET WITH FROZEN VEGETABLES AND POTATO PRODUCTS ACCOUNTING FOR APPROXIMATELY 14.3% MARKET SHARE. THESE PRODUCTS ARE BLANCHED USING HOT WATER OR STEAM, TO INACTIVATE ENZYMES, EXPEL GASES, SOFTEN TISSUES, REMOVE OFF-FLAVOR OR ENHANCE COLOR PRIOR TO FREEZING BUT BLANCHING WAS NOT INTENDED AS A MICROBIAL INACTIVATION STEP TO INACTIVATE E. COLI O157:H7, SALMONELLA SPP. AND LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES NOR WAS IT A VALIDATED PROCESS. RECENT RECALLS, E.G. FROZEN GREEN BEANS AND MIXED VEGETABLES, HAVE HEIGHTENED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOODBORNE PATHOGENS IN THE INDUSTRY AFFECTING PRODUCT SOLD IN OVER 100 COUNTRIES INCLUDING USA.THE GOAL IS TO VALIDATE THE BLANCHING PROCESS AND PROVIDE VERIFICATION TOOLS FOR FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT COMPLIANCE. THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES ARE TO DEVELOP APPROPRIATE SURROGATE(S) FOR USE IN PROCESSING PLANTS TO VALIDATE BLANCHING, DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY GUIDANCE FOR VALIDATING BLANCHING OF VEGETABLES AND THE USEOF END-POINT TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT AS A CORRELATION TOOL FOR MICROBIAL INACTIVATION AND FOR PROCESS VERIFICATION. THE PROJECT TASKS INCLUDE SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SURROGATE(S) AGAINST PATHOGENS; CONDUCTING SMALL AND SCALED UP BLANCHING PROCESS EXPERIMENT USING INDUSTRY EQUIPMENT; DEVELOPMENT OF END POINT TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT AS VERIFICATION AND, DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE GUIDANCE DOCUMENT.THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE SCIENTIFICALLY VALIDATED PROCESS PARAMETERS FOR BLANCHING AND FOR IMPROVED BLANCHER DESIGN TO ENHANCE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF FROZEN VEGETABLES BY MITIGATING THE RISK POSED BY E. COLI O157:H7, SALMONELLA SPP. AND L. MONOCYTOGENES AND SERVE AS A PREVENTIVE CONTROL TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF FSMA.

POLYPHOSPHATE LOADED NANOPARTICLES FOR SUPPRESSION OF GUT PATHOGEN COLLAGENASE ACTIVITY AND PROMOTION OF POST-SURGICAL INTESTINAL HEALING

NETS: SMALL: MACHINE LEARNING MEETS WIRELESS NETWORK OPTIMIZATION: EXPLORING THE LATENT KNOWLEDGE

GOALI: FUNDAMENTALS OF HIGH TEMPERATURE DEFORMATION IN POLYCRYSTALLINE NI-AL-NB EUTECTIC ALLOYS

TOPICS IN COMPLEX FLUIDS AND BIOPHYSIOLOGY: THE ENERGETIC VARIATIONAL APPROACHES