Hope College

HOPE COLLEGE - INSTITUTIONAL PORTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND - HOPE COLLEGE

HOPE COLLEGE TRIO UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

UPWARD BOUND

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

LIVING HOPE THROUGH GRACE— GROWTH THROUGH RESPECTFUL AND CIVIL EXCHANGE

HOPE COLLEGE TRIO UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

EXTENDING THE RAST SERVER TO SUPPORT RECONSTRUCTION AND MODELING OF CELLULAR NETWORKS

TRIO - UPWARD BOUND - UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

SCHOLARSHIPS, SERVICES, AND A FRAMEWORK OF PROGRAMMATIC BELONGING CUES TO IMPROVE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS IN ENGINEERING MAJORS

PREPARING FOR HARVESTING RADIOISOTOPES FROM FRIB

RUI: DYNAMICS OF GENOMIC MOSAICISM IN NON-HOST ASSOCIATED ESCHERICHIA POPULATIONS

SCHOLARSHIPS TO SUPPORT THE HOPE STEM SCHOLARS PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IMPROVING INORGANIC CHEMISTRY EDUCATION THROUGH A COMMUNITY-DEVELOPED STUDENT-CENTERED CURRICULUM

CAREER: PHOTOCHROMIC PHOTOOXIDANTS - DEVELOPING ELECTRON DEFICIENT PHOTOCHROMES TO GATE SENSITIVITY TOWARD PHOTOINDUCED CHARGE TRANSFER

CAREER: MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME REGULATION BY NUCLEOID PROTEINS INVOLVED IN REDOX SENSING AND ONE CARBON-METABOLISM

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS

CAREER: DETECTING WARMING IMPACTS ON CARBON ACCUMULATION ACROSS A CLIMATE TRANSECT OF MICHIGAN PEATLANDS -THIS CAREER PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE HOW INCREASES IN TEMPERATURE WILL AFFECT THE CARBON (C) CYCLE IN PEATLANDS. PEATLANDS ARE WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS THAT NATURALLY STORE C DUE TO VERY SLOW DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL, AND THUS NOW STORE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF C AS ORGANIC MATTER. HOW THE C CYCLE IN THESE PEATLANDS WILL CHANGE AS CLIMATE WARMS IS UNKNOWN. MICHIGAN IS POSITIONED AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE RANGE OF BOREAL (NORTHERN) PEATLANDS, WHICH MEANS THAT MICHIGAN PEATLANDS WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST TO BE AFFECTED BY WARMING. THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A CLIMATE TRANSECT OF PEATLANDS TO HELP PREDICT HOW FUTURE WARMING WILL AFFECT THE C STORED IN THESE ECOSYSTEMS. THE TRANSECT CONTAINS SEVEN SITES, FROM PORTAGE IN THE SOUTH TO NEWBERRY IN MICHIGAN?S UPPER PENINSULA. THE SITES SPAN 5?C IN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY EQUIVALENT TO THE WARMING EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT CENTURY. THE PROJECT WILL EXPLOIT THESE NATURAL DIFFERENCES IN TEMPERATURE TO DETERMINE HOW C CYCLE PROCESSES IN PEATLANDS WILL CHANGE WITH WARMING. IN ADDITION, A NEW COURSE FOR FIRST-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE DEVELOPED, CENTERED AROUND A FIELD TRIP TO SITES ON THE PEATLAND TRANSECT IN THE WEEK BEFORE THE START OF CLASSES, TO TRAIN AND INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS. THE NET C BALANCE OF THE PEATLAND ECOSYSTEM IS DETERMINED BY THE NET BALANCE OF C INPUTS (FROM PLANT GROWTH) AND C LOSSES (THROUGH MICROBIAL DECOMPOSITION OF ORGANIC MATTER). PREDICTING FUTURE CHANGES IN THE C BALANCE HAS PROVED DIFFICULT BECAUSE BOTH OF THESE FLUXES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE WITH WARMING. C LOSSES WILL BE EVALUATED BY MEASURING CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE EMISSIONS FROM THE SOIL, AS WELL AS LITTER BAG DECOMPOSITION EXPERIMENTS. CHANGES IN C INPUTS VIA PLANT GROWTH WILL BE MEDIATED BY NITROGEN (N) AVAILABILITY, DUE TO THE STRONG N LIMITATION OF PEATLAND ECOSYSTEMS. THEREFORE, THE TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY OF N MINERALIZATION WILL BE ASSESSED IN FIELD MEASUREMENTS ACROSS THE TRANSECT. FINALLY, THE EFFECTS OF WARMING ON NET C ACCUMULATION WILL BE ASSESSED USING A GEOCHEMICAL APPROACH, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE 1?C OF WARMING THAT MICHIGAN HAS ALREADY EXPERIENCED. THE LONG-TERM ACCUMULATION RATE WILL BE COMPARED TO THE RECENT ACCUMULATION RATE, USING COMPUTER MODELING TO ACCOUNT FOR ORGANIC MATTER INCLUDED IN THE RECENT RATE THAT IS STILL UNDERGOING AEROBIC DECOMPOSITION. THIS WILL ALLOW DIRECT TESTING OF THE HYPOTHESIS THAT WARMING HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO SLOW DOWN PEAT ACCUMULATION IN MARGINAL PEATLANDS AT THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THEIR CLIMATE WINDOW. TOGETHER, THESE APPROACHES WILL PROVIDE A COMPLETE PICTURE OF HOW C INPUTS AND LOSSES FROM PEATLANDS WILL CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO THE WARMING EXPECTED OVER THE COMING DECADES. 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.

BRC-BIO: THE EFFECTS OF NANOPARTICLE MATTER IN AIR POLLUTION ON A SENTINEL SPECIES: HOUSE SPARROWS AS THE NEW CANARY IN THE COALMINE -THE RISE OF ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS ARE NOW CONSIDERED A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO POPULATION DECLINES IN WILD SPECIES. AS OF 2020, THE WORLD HAD LOST AN ESTIMATED TWO-THIRDS OF ITS ANIMAL POPULATIONS, CONSTITUTING A SIXTH GLOBAL MASS EXTINCTION EVENT. DESPITE GROWING AWARENESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF AIR POLLUTION ON HUMAN HEALTH, THERE IS LITTLE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AIRBORNE PARTICULATE MATTER AFFECTS NON-HUMAN POPULATIONS. THE RESPIRATORY ANATOMY OF AVIAN SPECIES MAKES THEM UNIQUELY SUSCEPTIBLE TO AIRBORNE PARTICULATES; SONGBIRDS CAN THEREFORE SERVE AS A SENTINEL SPECIES FOR ECOSYSTEM-WIDE AIR POLLUTION CONCERNS. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CHARACTERIZE HOW THE NANOSIZED FRACTION OF PARTICULATE MATTER IN AIR POLLUTION AFFECTS BOTH THE PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF EXPOSED ORGANISMS, IN PARTICULAR BIRDS. WHILE ADDRESSING THIS SCIENTIFIC GOAL, 4 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS PER YEAR WILL OVERSEE ALL DATA COLLECTION. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH STUDENTS AND PIS WILL ALSO PARTNER WITH EXPLOREHOPE, AN EXISTING ON-CAMPUS OUTREACH PROGRAM, TO DEVELOP AND LEAD A WEEKLONG SUMMER CAMP TITLED, ANGRY BIRD ORIGINS: HOW POLLUTION AFFECTS AVIAN COMMUNITIES. THIS CAMP WILL PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 15 LOCAL K-12 STUDENTS FROM TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS PER YEAR TO HELP FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, K-12 STUDENTS, AND UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF INCREASING THE RETENTION OF DIVERSE STUDENTS IN STEM. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON EXPERIMENTALLY INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF IRON OXIDE NANOPARTICLES (IONPS) ON A SONGBIRD MODEL, THE HOUSE SPARROW (PASSER DOMESTICUS). HOUSE SPARROWS ARE AN IDEAL MODEL ORGANISM BECAUSE THEY INHABIT HUMAN DOMINATED AREAS AND COULD BE PARTICULARLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO AIRBORNE POLLUTION. IONPS ARE ONE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE PARTICULATE MATTER FRACTION IN AIR POLLUTION. THE OVERARCHING HYPOTHESIS IS IONP EXPOSURE WILL DISRUPT THE ORGANISM?S BEHAVIOR BY EITHER DETRIMENTALLY AFFECTING AUDITORY SENSORY PROCESSING AND/OR THROUGH BIOACCUMULATION OF NANOPARTICLES. THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO TEST THE PREDICTION THAT IONP EXPOSURE DECREASES HEARING SENSITIVITY. WILD-CAUGHT BIRDS WILL BE ASSIGNED INTO EITHER A CONTROL OR TREATMENT GROUP AND WILL UNDERGO A PRE- AND POST-EXPOSURE AUDITORY TESTS. PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGESTS THAT IONP EXPOSURE DETRIMENTALLY EFFECTS HEARING THRESHOLDS. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO TEST THE PREDICTION THAT IONP EXPOSURE ALTERS SPECIES-RELEVANT BEHAVIORS. BEHAVIORAL TESTS AFTER IONPS EXPOSURE WILL ASSESS CHANGES IN FORAGING AND THE ANTI-PREDATOR RESPONSE. THESE BEHAVIORS ARE BIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT AND LINKED TO BIOLOGICAL FITNESS. THE THIRD OBJECTIVE IS TO LOCALIZE AND QUANTIFY THE ACCUMULATION OF IONPS IN RELEVANT ORGANS. WE WILL ASSESS THE ORGAN BIOACCUMULATION OF IONPS VIA INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA (ICP). THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK WILL SPAN THE BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENTS AT HOPE COLLEGE, A RESEARCH-DRIVEN UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION. 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.

BRC-BIO: THE TRANSCRIPTOMICS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY-CONTROLLED DIFFERENTIATION INTO MALE OR FEMALE IN PLANTS -PLANTS REPRODUCE VIA MALE AND FEMALE FUNCTIONS MUCH LIKE ANIMALS DO. DIFFERENTLY FROM ANIMALS, HOWEVER, MOST PLANTS (~90%) COMBINE MALE AND FEMALE FUNCTION IN ONE INDIVIDUAL. EVEN THOUGH LESS THAN 10% OF PLANT SPECIES HAVE SEPARATE MALES AND FEMALES, THIS PLANT MATING SYSTEM HAS EVOLVED REPEATEDLY IN THE HISTORY OF GREEN PLANTS AND PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND ITS EVOLUTION. MOREOVER, MANY ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROPS HAVE SEPARATE MALES AND FEMALES, AND OFTEN THE MALE OR THE FEMALE IS MORE VALUABLE THAN THE OTHER (E.G., FEMALE HOLLY, MALE GINGKO), AND THEY CAN BE DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH BEFORE MATURITY. IN OTHER SITUATIONS, KEEPING MALES AND FEMALES SEPARATE AND STABLE (E.G., FEMALE CANNABIS, FEMALE HOPS) IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF A PRODUCT. DESPITE THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ASPECT OF PLANT BIOLOGY ECONOMICALLY WE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THIS EXPRESSION IN PLANTS. THIS PROJECT WILL RESEARCH A SPECIAL GROUP OF PLANTS THAT EXHIBIT SEPARATE MALES AND FEMALES ? THOSE FOR WHICH THE ENVIRONMENT CONTROLS THE EXPRESSION OF MALE OR FEMALE FUNCTION. CHROMOSOMES THAT DETERMINE MALE OR FEMALE FLOWER TYPES ARE RARE IN PLANTS AND SPECIES WHERE THE ENVIRONMENT PLAYS A STRONG ROLE HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXPRESS EITHER MALE OR FEMALE FLOWERS, AND CHANGE FROM ONE TO THE OTHER, DURING THEIR LIVES. CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION IS THE MOST LIKELY MECHANISM CONTROLLING THIS PHENOTYPE IN THESE SPECIES THUS, THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENE EXPRESSION AND FLORAL DEVELOPMENT IN MAPLES AND MAKES COMPARISONS TO OTHER PLANT SPECIES WITH DIFFERENT PLANT MATING SYSTEMS. UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT HOW GENE EXPRESSION RELATES TO EXPRESSION OF MALE VERSUS FEMALE FLOWERS WILL HELP MAKE MORE ECONOMICAL DECISIONS AND PLAN FOR POPULATION STABILITY IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS PROJECT ALSO INVOLVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THAT INCLUDE BOTH FIELD ELEMENTS AND TRAINING IN MODERN GENETIC TECHNIQUES AND ANALYSIS. IT ALSO INVOLVES LOCAL OUTREACH WITH A FOCUS ON EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY. HISTORICALLY SEVERAL MECHANISMS THAT DETERMINE MALE VERSUS FEMALE FUNCTION IN ORGANISMS HAS BEEN CATEGORIZED: GENETIC, SOCIAL, TEMPERATURE DEPENDENT, AND ENVIRONMENTAL. THIS DIVISION HAS RESULTED IN PRIMARILY ECOLOGICALLY-BASED RESEARCH OF SPECIES WITH SUSPECTED ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION AND REINFORCED A FALSE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENT. THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES THE TRANSCRIPTOMIC UNDERPINNINGS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY-BASED PLASTICITY IN FLORAL FUNCTION AND SEEKS ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. 1. ARE THERE DIFFERENCES IN THE AMOUNT AND KIND OF GENE EXPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXPRESSION OF FLORAL TYPE? 2. TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THE TRANSCRIPTOME CHANGE DURING FLORAL DEVELOPMENT? 3. HOW SIMILAR IS THE TRANSCRIPTOMIC PROFILE OF SPECIES WITH THIS PLASTICITY IN COMPARISON TO OTHER SPECIES? IS IT MORE SIMILAR TO THOSE EXHIBITING DIOECY OR MONOECY? THROUGH THIS WORK NEW UNDERSTANDING OF HOW GENE ACTIVATION AND ACTIVITY RESPONDS TO THE ENVIRONMENT TO SHAPE FLORAL PHENOTYPE WILL OBTAIN. THIS UNDERSTANDING IS BECOMING MORE CRITICAL WITH A CHANGING CLIMATE. FURTHERMORE, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH ADDRESSES LONG-HELD QUESTIONS ON THE EVOLUTION OF PLANT MATING SYSTEMS. ALTHOUGH ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL OF FLORAL PHENOTYPE IS FREQUENTLY MENTIONED AS A POTENTIAL PATHWAY TO DIOECY, NO STUDIES HAVE EXPLORED HOW TRANSCRIPTOMICALLY SIMILAR THESE SPECIES ARE TO THOSE WITH MONOECIOUS OR DIOECIOUS MATING SYSTEMS. THIS INHIBITS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROUTE TO DIOECY, A MAJOR AND REPEATED EVOLUTIONARY TRANSITION IN PLANTS. SIMILAR EVOLUTIONARY TRANSITIONS IN ANIMALS HAPPENED TOO INFREQUENTLY AND TOO FAR BACK IN EVOLUTIONARY TIME TO FACILITATE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION, SO IF WE WISH TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY FEMALES AND MALES ORIGINATED, OUR BEST CHANCE MAY RESIDE IN THE STUDY OF PLANTS. 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.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: INVESTIGATING MICROBIAL METABOLIC AND REGULATORY DIVERSITY BY MODELING GENE ACTIVITY STATES INFERRED FROM TRANSCRIPTOME DATA

RUI: CONSTITUTIVE AND REGULATED TRAFFICKING OF THE CYSTINE/GLUTAMATE EXCHANGER, SYSTEM XC-

BRC-BIO: UNRAVELING MECHANISMS OF NEURAL REGENERATION AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN ZEBRAFISH -THE STUDY OF REGENERATION OF THE ADULT NERVOUS SYSTEM REMAINS AT THE FOREFRONT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, AS IT IS ABSENT IN MOST VERTEBRATES. ZEBRAFISH IS A WIDELY STUDIED MODEL ORGANISM, WITH ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEGREES OF NEURAL REGENERATION AMONG VERTEBRATES, MAKING IT AN IDEAL MODEL FOR STUDYING THESE PROCESSES. THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND MECHANISMS OF NEURAL REGENERATION AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN ADULT ORGANISMS. TO DO SO, THE RESEARCHERS WILL INVESTIGATE THE RECOVERY OF THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM OF ZEBRAFISH FOLLOWING INJURY, EMPLOYING AN ARRAY OF MOLECULAR, BIOCHEMICAL, IMAGING, AND BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FROM THE CALVO LAB WILL RECEIVE RIGOROUS RESEARCH-BASED TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, WHILE SOME OF THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO A COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (CURE) FOR NEUROSCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT HOPE COLLEGE. FURTHERMORE, RESEARCHERS FROM THE CALVO LAB WILL PARTNER WITH EXPLOREHOPE, AN OUTREACH OFFICE AT HOPE COLLEGE, TO DEVELOP AND LEAD A BILINGUAL STEM SUMMER CAMP FOR LOCAL LATINX K-12 STUDENTS WHO WILL RECEIVE FULL SCHOLARSHIPS TO ATTEND. ULTIMATELY, THIS RESEARCH MAY PROVIDE VALUABLE CLUES THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TO STIMULATE BRAIN REGENERATIVE STRATEGIES IN OTHER VERTEBRATES, WHILE STRENGTHENING AND DIVERSIFYING STEM EDUCATION BY FOSTERING COMMUNITY-WIDE ENGAGEMENT WITH BIOLOGY RESEARCH. THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO IDENTIFY CRITICAL FACTORS AND MECHANISMS UNDERLYING REGENERATION AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM OF ZEBRAFISH, WHICH EXPERIENCES RAPID STRUCTURAL RECOVERY FOLLOWING INJURY AND ENABLES THE INVESTIGATION OF FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY BY MEANS OF OLFACTORY-MEDIATED BEHAVIORAL ASSAYS. PRELIMINARY STUDIES SHOW THAT OLFACTORY SYSTEM INJURY CAUSES WIDESPREAD NEURODEGENERATION AND OLFACTORY LOSS, AND THAT BOTH STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ARE RECOVERED WITHIN 21 DAYS. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT FACTORS UNDERPINNING THIS OLFACTORY REGENERATION CAN BE IDENTIFIED DURING EARLY RECOVERY TIMEPOINTS, AND THAT NEUROGENESIS IS AN ESSENTIAL PROCESS FOR FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM. RESEARCHERS WILL TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS BY UNDERTAKING THE TWO EXPERIMENTAL AIMS. FIRST, THEY WILL TEST THE PREDICTION THAT CRITICAL MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR FACTORS UNDERPINNING REGENERATION AND RECOVERY OF THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM CAN BE IDENTIFIED DURING THE FIRST 7 DAYS BY MEANS OF HISTOLOGICAL, TRANSCRIPTOMIC, AND GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION CHARACTERIZATIONS THROUGHOUT EARLY RECOVERY. FOR THE SECOND AIM, RESEARCHERS WILL TEST THE PREDICTION THAT LESION-INDUCED NEWLY BORN NEURONS CONTRIBUTE TO NEURAL REGENERATION AND RECOVERY OF OLFACTORY FUNCTION, BY MEANS OF OLFACTORY-MEDIATED BEHAVIORAL TASKS FOLLOWING NEUROGENESIS ABLATION WITH A TARGETED GENETIC APPROACH. THE COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT WILL INCREASE THE UNDERSTANDING OF REGULATORS AND PROCESSES THAT ORCHESTRATE COMPLETE NEURAL REGENERATION. 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.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AT HOPE COLLEGE.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A REMOTELY ACCESSIBLE 400 MHZ SPECTROMETER

SELF-ASSEMBLE AND PROGRAMMABLE NUCLEUS PERMEABLE POLYAMIDES THAT TARGET SPECIFIC DNA SEQUENCES WITH SLOW OFF-RATES AND HIGH AFFINITY: DEVELOPMENT OF

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING CLUSTER FOR UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND TEACHING BY THE MIDWEST UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY CONSORTIUM (MU3C)

CAREER: CARBON-CARBON SINGLE BOND ACTIVATION - MECHANISTIC COMPARISONS AND REACTION DEVELOPMENT

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: DEVELOPING INTEGRATED METABOLIC REGULATORY MODELS (IMRMS) FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF METABOLIC AND REGULATORY DIVERSITY OF

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: TESTING MUTUALISM THEORY USING ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI AND THEIR HOST GRASS

RUI: QUANTIFYING FLUORESCENT PROBE DYNAMICS IN FRET EXPERIMENTS BY COMBINING SINGLE-MOLECULE AND BULK SPECTROSCOPIES WITH MOLECULAR DYNAMICS AND QUAN

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EQUIPMENT: MRI CONSORTIUM: TRACK 2 DEVELOPMENT OF A NEXT GENERATION FAST NEUTRON DETECTOR -THE STUDY OF NEUTRON-RICH ATOMIC NUCLEI CAN REVEAL EFFECTS ABOUT HOW PROTONS AND NEUTRONS INTERACT INSIDE NUCLEI. THESE PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FORMATION OF THE ELEMENTS IN THE UNIVERSE AND HELP SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND HOW THE NUCLEAR CORE OF ATOMS FORM. ONE OF THE WAYS TO INVESTIGATE THESE NUCLEI AT THE EDGE OF STABILITY IS TO MEASURE THEIR BREAKUP PRODUCTS, WHICH INCLUDES THE NEUTRONS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED TO HOLD THE SMALLER NUCLEI TOGETHER. THE DETECTION OF NEUTRONS IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO CHARGE AND ONLY INTERACT WITH THE NUCLEAR CORE OF ATOMS. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT, BUILDING, AND COMMISSIONING OF A MODULAR ARRAY BASED ON PLASTIC SCINTILLATOR FOR THE DETECTION OF FAST (BETWEEN ONE THIRD AND ONE HALF THE SPEED OF LIGHT) NEUTRONS. THE NEW DETECTOR ARRAY WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE HOW PRECISELY WE CAN DETERMINE THE NEUTRONS? POSITION COMPARED TO CURRENT NEUTRON DETECTORS BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE USE OF STATE-OF-THE-ART PHOTO-SENSORS, AND AS A RESULT ENABLE NUCLEAR STRUCTURE MEASUREMENTS WITH SUPERIOR PRECISION. THE DETECTOR MODULES WILL BE BUILT AND TESTED TO A LARGE EXTENT AT THE SEVEN PARTICIPATING UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS, ALLOWING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO LEARN KEY TECHNICAL SKILLS AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO NUCLEAR PHYSICS RESEARCH IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. SCINTILLATION DETECTORS, I.E. DETECTORS THAT MEASURE THE SCINTILLATION LIGHT THAT STEMS FROM SUBATOMIC PARTICLES INTERACTING WITHIN THE DETECTOR, ARE WIDELY EMPLOYED IN RESEARCH, INDUSTRY, AND MEDICAL IMAGING, SO THESE SKILLS CAN BE APPLIED IN MANY CRUCIAL FIELDS. CONTEMPORARY FAST NEUTRON DETECTORS USE CONVENTIONAL DETECTOR CONFIGURATIONS OF LONG PLASTIC SCINTILLATOR BARS READ OUT BY PAIRS OF PHOTO-MULTIPLIER TUBES (PMTS). THE POSITION OF THE NEUTRON INTERACTION IS DEDUCED FROM THE TIME DIFFERENCE OF THE SIGNALS MEASURED BY EACH PMT AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE DETECTOR BAR, AND FROM WHICH DETECTOR BAR HAS BEEN HIT. A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SCINTILLATION-LIGHT COLLECTION IS PURSUED IN THIS NEW DETECTOR USING ARRAYS OF SILICON PHOTO-MULTIPLIERS (SIPMS), OVERCOMING THE LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT DESIGNS AND RESULTING IN IMPROVED POSITION RESOLUTION FOR FAST NEUTRON DETECTION. THIS ALSO ALLOWS A TILED DESIGN THAT OFFERS MUCH MORE FLEXIBILITY IN ADJUSTING THE ACTIVE AREA OF THE ARRAY TO SPECIFIC EXPERIMENT NEEDS. INVARIANT-MASS SPECTROSCOPY OF NEUTRON-UNBOUND STATES IN ELEMENTS BEYOND OXYGEN REQUIRES SUCH AN EXPERIMENTAL SETUP WITH IMPROVED RESOLUTION. AS ONE MOVES TO HEAVIER UNBOUND SYSTEMS ONE FACES HIGHER LEVEL DENSITIES. TO RESOLVE THESE IN THE RECONSTRUCTED DECAY ENERGY SPECTRUM REQUIRES HIGHER MOMENTUM (AND THUS POSITION) RESOLUTION. A HIGH POSITION RESOLUTION ALSO IMPROVES THE DISCRIMINATION OF DOUBLE-SCATTERED EVENTS AND ALLOWS THE USE OF HIGHER BEAM ENERGIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT THE RARE-ISOTOPE BEAM FACILITIES SUCH AS THE FACILITY FOR RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS (FRIB). THE COMPLETED INSTRUMENT WILL SERVE THE BROAD FRIB USER COMMUNITY AND ENABLE INVARIANT MASS MEASUREMENTS AT THE RESOLUTION THAT IS REQUIRED FOR HEAVIER AND MORE EXOTIC ISOTOPES THAT ARE AVAILABLE WITH FRIB BEAMS. 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.

RUI: NUCLEAR SCIENCE WITH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS: STUDIES OF NUCLEI AT THE EXTREMES AND NEW APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES -FUNDAMENTAL NUCLEAR PHYSICS DEALS WITH QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE STRUCTURE AND BEHAVIOR OF NUCLEI. IN PARTICULAR, QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPECIFIC FORM OF THE NUCLEAR FORCE AND QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW HEAVY ELEMENTS ARE FORMED IN THE UNIVERSE ARE OF INTEREST. ONE COMPONENT OF THIS WORK WILL INVOLVE MEASURING THE STRUCTURE OF VERY NEUTRON-RICH, UNSTABLE NUCLEI AT THE FACILITY FOR RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS AS PART OF THE MONA (MODULAR NEUTRON ARRAY) COLLABORATION. THESE MEASUREMENTS ALLOW THEORISTS TO REFINE MODELS OF THE NUCLEAR FORCE. A SECOND COMPONENT WILL BE TO MEASURE HOW RADIOACTIVE NEUTRON-RICH NUCLEI DECAY WITH CARIBU AS PART OF THE SUN (SUMMING NAI) COLLABORATION AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORIES. THIS INFORMATION IS NEEDED FOR A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW HEAVY ELEMENTS ARE FORMED IN NEUTRON STAR MERGERS AND SUPERNOVAS. A RANGE OF APPLIED QUESTIONS WILL BE INVESTIGATED WITH THE HOPE COLLEGE 1.7 MV PARTICLE ACCELERATOR, WHICH IS CAPABLE OF PARTICLE-INDUCED X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY, PARTICLE INDUCED GAMMA-RAY SPECTROSCOPY, AND RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTER SPECTROSCOPY. THESE ANALYTIC TOOLS CAN BE APPLIED TO MEASURE THE ELEMENTS PRESENT IN AND OVERALL STRUCTURE OF A WIDE VARIETY OF LIQUID AND SOLID SAMPLES. LASTLY, THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT A NUCLEAR SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM TO AREA UNDER SERVED K-12 STUDENTS THE HOPE COLLEGE NUCLEAR GROUP IS VERY INVOLVED WITH TWO LARGE COLLABORATIONS: ONE IS THE MODULAR NEUTRON ARRAY (MONA) COLLABORATION (LED BY PAUL GUEYE AND OTHER FRIB RESEARCHERS ALONG WITH RESEARCHERS FROM A NUMBER OF PUI INSTITUTIONS) AND THE OTHER IS THE SUMMING NAI (SUN) GROUP (LED BY ARTEMIS SPYROU, FRIB RESEARCHERS, AND OTHER NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATORS). THE NUCLEAR GROUP WILL ALSO COLLABORATE WITH THE LPC-CAEN NUCLEAR STRUCTURE GROUP (PART OF THE SAMURAI COLLABORATION AT RIKEN) AS PART OF THE SCOPE OF THIS WORK. HOPE UNDERGRADUATES WILL PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING, RUNNING EXPERIMENTS, DATA ANALYSIS, DETECTOR DEVELOPMENT, DETECTOR CONSTRUCTION, MULTI-NEUTRON IDENTIFICATION ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT, AND MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION. IN PARTICULAR, THE NUCLEAR GROUP HAS MAJOR RESPONSIBILITY FOR MONA TRIGGER LOGIC AND SUN TAPE TARGET CONTROL. CURRENTLY THERE ARE TWO PAC-APPROVED MONA EXPERIMENTS UPCOMING AT FRIB: ONE FOCUSED ON UNBOUND 30F AND THE OTHER ON UNBOUND STATES IN 53CA. IN ADDITION TO A NUMBER OF SUN EXPERIMENTS TO BE CONDUCTED WITH CARIBU AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORIES, OF SPECIAL NOTE IS A MODULAR TOTAL ABSORPTION SPECTROMETER (MTAS) BASED EXPERIMENT WITH BEAMS AROUND 128AG AT FRIB (PAC1 ) AND A REA EXPERIMENT, BASED ON 73AS, OF WHICH PART OF THE SETUP, THE ANTI-COSMIC RAY SHIELD, WAS PREVIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED AT HOPE COLLEGE. STUDENT RESEARCHERS AT HOPE COLLEGE WILL CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE, ANALYZE (SPECIALIZING ON EXTRACTION OF BETA INTENSITY FUNCTIONS), AND PUBLISH RESULTS FROM THESE OPPORTUNITIES. THE NUCLEAR GROUP WILL ALSO WORK WITH OTHER RESEARCH GROUPS, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF HOPE, TO CHARACTERIZE SAMPLES WITH PARTICLE INDUCED X-RAY EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY (PIXE), PARTICLE INDUCED GAMMA-RAY EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY (PIGE), AND RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTER SPECTROSCOPY (RBS) ALONG WITH THE HOPE 1.7 MV ACCELERATOR, WHICH INCLUDES MICROFOCUSING ABILITY. THIS WILL INCLUDE ATTEMPTS TO IMPROVE DETECTION LIMITS OF PFAS CONTAMINATION IN WATER WITH PIGE. LASTLY THE PIS WILL PARTNER WITH THE EXPLOREHOPE ACADEMIC OUTREACH TO WORK WITH K-12 STUDENTS. THIS PROJECT ADVANCES THE OBJECTIVES OF WINDOWS ON THE UNIVERSE: THE ERA OF MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS, ONE OF THE 10 BIG IDEAS FOR FUTURE NSF INVESTMENTS. 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.

PROVIDING STEM RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR VANDERWERF HALL AT HOPE COLLEGE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A FIELD-EMISSION SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH NEEDS WITH UNDERGRADUATES AT HOPE COLLEGE

REU SITE: AN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAM IN BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH RESOLUTION LC/MS/MS TO ENABLE UNDERGRADUATE CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH ACROSS SIX DISCIPLINES IN THE NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES AT HOPE COLLEGE

RUI: FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED NUCLEAR PHYSICS WITH UNDERGRADUATES

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A COMPUTER CLUSTER FOR UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND TEACHING BY THE MIDWEST UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY CONSORT

SCALING DIGITAL GAMING TO HUMANITIES PEDAGOGY AND PRAXIS

RUI: CUTTING-EDGE NUCLEAR PHYSICS RESEARCH (COLLABORATIVE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY) AT HOPE COLLEGE

RUI: STUDIES OF UNSTABLE NEUTRON-RICH NUCLEI AND INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS WITH UNDERGRADUATES

EVALUATING THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE SAMPLE DESIGNS FOR GENETIC ASSOC

RUI: TREATING PHANTOM LIMB PAIN WITH ELECTRICALLY INDUCED SOMATOSENSATION

RUI: REVEALING THE IMPACT OF STIMULUS VARIABILITY ON THE STABILITY OF STRUCTURES MADE FROM ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIVE MATERIALS -THIS FACILITATING RESEARCH AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS (RUI) PROJECT WILL FUND RESEARCH THAT INVESTIGATES THE FUNDAMENTAL MECHANICS OF BISTABLE STRUCTURES, WHICH CAN RAPIDLY SWITCH BETWEEN STABLE CONFIGURATIONS, AND ARE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS IN BOTH NATURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, SUCH AS HUMMINGBIRD BEAKS AND ROBOTIC MECHANISMS. IN RECENT YEARS, A PROMISING DESIGN APPROACH HAS EMERGED, UTILIZING MATERIALS THAT RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI LIKE LIGHT OR HEAT, ENABLING STRUCTURES TO AUTONOMOUSLY ADAPT TO OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH INTO HOW NON-UNIFORM ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI INTERACT WITH SYSTEM DESIGN PARAMETERS TO INFLUENCE THE SWITCHING BEHAVIOR OF BISTABLE ARCH BUILDING BLOCKS. UNDERSTANDING THESE INTERACTIONS INTEND TO ENABLE THE RATIONAL USE OF NON-UNIFORMITY TO DRIVE DESIGN BREAKTHROUGHS IN AREAS OF NATIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL INTEREST, SUCH AS ADVANCED ROBOTICS, MICRO-ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS, AND NEXT-GENERATION MATERIALS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPETITIVE STEM WORKFORCE BY PROVIDING EARLY RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND MENTORING FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO FILL A CRITICAL GAP IN THE STUDY OF MORPHING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES BY ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF NON-UNIFORM THERMAL STIMULI ON BISTABLE ARCHES. WHILE MOST STUDIES ASSUME A UNIFORM STIMULUS OR RELY SOLELY ON NUMERICAL METHODS, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP GENERAL, FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES THAT CAN BE APPLIED BROADLY TO ACTIVE MULTI-STABLE STRUCTURES AND DEVICES. THE RESEARCH WILL UTILIZE NONLINEAR EULER-BERNOULLI BEAM THEORY TO CREATE ANALYTICAL AND SEMI-ANALYTICAL MODELS, PROVIDING INSIGHT INTO THE IMPACT OF THERMAL NON-UNIFORMITY AND IDENTIFYING HOW IMPERFECTIONS INFLUENCE STABILITY. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION WILL BE PERFORMED USING PHOTOTHERMALLY EXCITED BIMETAL ARCHES, HELPING TO REFINE THE MODELS AND IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF SYSTEM BEHAVIOR. THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED LOOKS TO PAVE THE WAY FOR NEW DESIGN STRATEGIES IN MODULAR MORPHING STRUCTURES AND METAMATERIALS, ADVANCING RESPONSIVE MATERIALS SYSTEMS AND DRIVING INNOVATION IN CUTTING-EDGE 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REU SITE: ACHIEVING THE NEXT LEVEL: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS

RUI: CARBON-CARBON SINGLE BOND ACTIVATION AS A ROUTE TO NEW ORGANIC TRANSFORMATIONS

MCA PILOT PUI: USE OF ADVANCED MASS SPECTROMETRY TECHNIQUES TO STUDY THE REGULATION OF THE MEMBRANE TRANSPORTER, SYSTEM XC- -THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE THE INVESTIGATOR DEDICATED TIME TO RECEIVE TRAINING IN MASS SPECTROMETRY IN ORDER TO STUDY A MEMBRANE TRANSPORT SYSTEM (SYSTEM XC-) THAT PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE ACUTE CELLULAR RESPONSE TO OXIDATIVE INSULT. THE INVESTIGATOR WILL WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH HER RESEARCH PARTNER TO USE ADVANCED MASS SPECTROMETRY TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR TAGS THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THE TRANSPORTER UNDER BASAL AND OXIDATIVE CELLULAR CONDITIONS. SINCE MEMBRANE PROTEINS ARE DYNAMICALLY REGULATED BY THESE MOLECULAR TAGS, THIS PROTEOMIC APPROACH WILL LEAD TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL AND FUNCTIONALLY RELEVANT MODIFICATIONS AND A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CELLULAR RESPONSE TO OXIDATIVE INSULT. MOREOVER, THIS PROJECT WILL SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR THE TRAINING OF HOPE COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES WHO WILL COMPLETE THIS WORK AS A PART OF THEIR COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION IN THE SCIENCES. STUDENTS WILL ENGAGE IN THIS PROJECT THROUGH INDEPENDENT RESEARCH EXPERIENCES AND COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES (CURE) IN THE INVESTIGATOR?S NEUROCHEMISTRY LAB. FINALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL FACILITATE A NEW CONNECTION BETWEEN HOPE COLLEGE AND UIC, PROVIDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOPE COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES WHO ARE INTERESTED IN POST-BACCALAUREATE TRAINING, WHILE ALSO EXPANDING THE HOPE COLLEGE AND MIDWEST COMMUNITY OF MASS SPECTROMETRY SCHOLARS. THIS OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO EMPLOY PROTEOMICS TO STUDY THE MECHANISM BY WHICH OXIDANTS RAPIDLY UPREGULATE SYSTEM XC-, A CYSTINE/GLUTAMATE EXCHANGER THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF GLUTATHIONE, AN ENDOGENOUS ANTIOXIDANT. BASED ON THE INVESTIGATOR?S PREVIOUS WORK, SHE HYPOTHESIZES THAT OXIDANTS ACTIVATE CELLULAR SIGNALING NETWORKS THAT TRIGGER CHANGES IN 1) THE POST-TRANSLATIONAL STATUS OF THE TRANSPORTER AND 2) ITS INTERACTIONS WITH TRAFFICKING PROTEINS, ULTIMATELY RESULTING IN THE TRANSLOCATION OF THE TRANSPORTER TO THE PLASMA MEMBRANE, AN INCREASE IN CYSTINE IMPORT AND GLUTATHIONE SYNTHESIS. THE INVESTIGATOR AND HER RESEARCH PARTNER WILL USE ADVANCED BOTTOM-UP MASS-SPECTROMETRY TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS (PTM) ON THE TRANSPORTER IN BASAL AND OXIDATIVE CELLULAR ENVIRONMENTS. THE FUNCTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EACH PTM WILL BE ASSESSED USING SITE-DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS COUPLED WITH A BIOCHEMICAL TRANSPORTER ACTIVITY SCREEN. FINALLY, QUANTITATIVE PROTEOMICS WILL BE USED TO IDENTIFY 1) THE SIGNALING AND TRAFFICKING PROTEINS THAT DIRECTLY INTERACT WITH THE TRANSPORTER AND 2) THE SIGNALING NETWORKS THAT ARE ACUTELY MODULATED BY OXIDANT EXPOSURE. THUS, THIS PROJECT WILL DIRECTLY ADDRESS THE CURRENT GAP IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR PROCESSES THAT ACUTELY REGULATE SYSTEM XC- AND ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CELLULAR ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE MECHANISM. 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.

RUI: HIGH IMPACT NUCLEAR PHYSICS RESEARCH WITH UNDERGRADUATES

REU SITE: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS: FROM MOLECULES TO ECOSYSTEMS

LEAPS-MPS: ION-BEAM INDUCED DEFECTS TO ENHANCE THE CRITICAL CURRENT OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS -NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: COPPER-OXIDE-BASED HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS ARE IMPORTANT MATERIALS FOR NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES. BECAUSE THEY HAVE HIGH SUPERCONDUCTING CRITICAL TEMPERATURES AND HIGH CRITICAL CURRENTS, THEY HAVE BEEN USED TO MAKE SUPERCONDUCTING ELECTROMAGNETS FOR VARIOUS DEVICES INCLUDING TOKAMAK NUCLEAR FUSION REACTORS, MEDICAL DEVICE MRI, AND A LARGE HADRON COLLIDER. TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS, ION-BEAM IRRADIATIONS HAVE BEEN USED, SINCE ION BEAM-INDUCED DEFECTS CAN FURTHER ENHANCE THE CRITICAL CURRENT. THEREFORE, THE PI PLANS TO CONDUCT A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION TO FIND AN OPTIMAL CONDITION FOR THE MAXIMUM CRITICAL CURRENT OF VARIOUS HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS USING ION BEAM IRRADIATIONS. LARGE PART OF THE RESEARCH IS PERFORMED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT HOPE COLLEGE. STUDENTS EXPERIENCE HANDS-ON RESEARCH SKILLS: OPERATING A LOCAL PARTICLE ACCELERATOR AND A 4K-CRYOSTAT (COOLING DEVICE), ATTENDING NATIONAL CONFERENCES, AND WRITING PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES. STUDENTS ARE TRAINED IN THE PI?S RESEARCH FACILITY TO BECOME FUTURE STEM PROFESSIONALS. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: ION-BEAM-INDUCED DEFECTS ACT AS PINNING CENTERS THAT CAN ENHANCE THE CRITICAL CURRENT BY LIMITING THE MOVEMENT OF MAGNETIC VORTICES. THE PI PLANS TO CONDUCT A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION TO FIND AN OPTIMAL CONDITION FOR THE MAXIMUM CRITICAL CURRENT OF VARIOUS HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS (YBCO-1237, BSCCO-2212, TBCCO-2212) USING ION BEAM IRRADIATIONS SUCH AS PROTON (0.6 ? 3.4 MEV) AND HELIUM (0.6 ? 5.1 MEV). FURTHERMORE, THE PI ALSO PLANS TO INVESTIGATE THE LONG-TERM IRRADIATION DAMAGE ISSUE THAT OCCURS IN COMPACT TOKAMAK NUCLEAR FUSION REACTORS. DUE TO THE SMALL SIZE AND POOR PLASMA CONFINEMENT OF COMPACT NUCLEAR FUSION REACTORS, THE HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRONS AND SECONDARY PARTICLES EMITTED DURING THE FUSION REACTIONS CONTINUOUSLY DAMAGE NEARBY SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS AND MAKE THEIR LIFESPAN MUCH SHORTER THAN ONE YEAR. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR THIS DAMAGE IS CLOSELY RELATED TO THE HIGH SUSCEPTIBILITY OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS TO PARTICLE-INDUCED DEFECTS DUE TO THE ANISOTROPIC D-WAVE PAIRING SYMMETRY OF THE ORDER PARAMETER. THEREFORE, UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM OF THIS LONG-TERM DAMAGE FOR VARIOUS HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS IS A NECESSARY STEP TO MINIMIZE THE LONG-TERM DAMAGE ISSUE AND TO REALIZE THE TECHNOLOGY OF COMMERCIAL COMPACT NUCLEAR FUSION REACTORS. 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.

REGULATION OF THE STEAROYL-COA DESATURASE BY DIETARY FATTY ACIDS

TO FEED OR BREED GNIH-3 STIMULATES FOOD INTAKE IN RATS

RUI: NUCLEAR PHYSICS AT HOPE COLLEGE WITH UNDERGRADUATES: NEW SCIENCE ENHANCING THE STEM WORKFORCE

RUI: EXPLORING NONPEROVSKITE PHASE GROWTH MECHANISMS IN HALIDE PEROVSKITES

RUI: AUTOMATED METABOLIC RECONSTRUCTION FOR ALL SEQUENCED MICROBIAL GENOMES

REU SITE: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN ALGEBRA, PROBABILITY, AND ANALYSIS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: THEORETICAL STUDIES OF THE ATMOSPHERES OF HIGHLY MAGNETIZED NEUTRON STARS

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF INSTRUMENTATION TO DETERMINE PROVENANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES

MRI: ACQUISITION OF AN ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE FOR MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION AT HOPE COLLEGE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PULSED X-RAY SPECTRAL AND POLARIZATION SIGNALS FROM MAGNETAR ATMOSPHERES -MAGNETARS ARE NEUTRON STARS WITH INCREDIBLY STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS, THE LIKE OF WHICH ARE NOT POSSIBLE TO RECREATE IN AN EARTH-BOUND LABORATORY. CURRENTLY ONLY ABOUT 30 HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, AND MUCH ABOUT THEM REMAINS UNKNOWN. A COLLABORATIVE GROUP OF RESEARCHERS AT RICE UNIVERSITY AND HOPE COLLEGE WILL TAKE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN INCREASING THE UNDERSTANDING OF MAGNETARS BY DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE SIMULATION STUDY OF THE EMISSION FROM STRONGLY-MAGNETIZED ATMOSPHERES STRADDLING THEIR SURFACES. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS, INCLUDING A GRADUATE STUDENT AT RICE UNIVERSITY AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT HOPE COLLEGE, A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION. AN ON-LINE MINI-COURSE ON COMPACT OBJECT ASTROPHYSICS FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WILL ALSO BE DEVELOPED. THIS PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP STATE-OF-THE-ART MODELS FOR THE ATMOSPHERIC EMISSION OF MAGNETARS. AN EXTANT MONTE CARLO SIMULATION FOR POLARIZED X-RAY TRANSPORT IN FULLY IONIZED LIGHT ELEMENT ATMOSPHERES WILL BE UPGRADED TO TREAT HYDROSTATIC SUPPORT BY GAS, RADIATION AND MAGNETIC PRESSURE, AND INCORPORATE BREMSSTRAHLUNG OPACITY AND ION CYCLOTRON ABSORPTION LINES. IT APPLIES TO ARBITRARY MAGNETIC FIELD ORIENTATIONS, ADDRESSING ALL LOCATIONS ON THE NEUTRON STAR SURFACE, FROM THE MAGNETIC POLE TO THE EQUATOR. EMISSIVITIES AND POLARIZATION SIGNALS FROM HOT ACTIVE ZONES WILL BE INTEGRATED, AND AS THE LIGHT PASSES THROUGH THE MAGNETOSPHERE, MODIFICATIONS DUE TO GENERAL RELATIVITY AND THE POLARIZED BIREFRINGENT VACUUM WILL BE TRACKED. THE PRIME OBJECTIVE IS TO DELIVER A SUITE OF SIGNAL PREDICTIONS TO ENHANCE THE INTERPRETATION OF INTENSITY AND POLARIZATION DATA FROM X-RAY TELESCOPES. TRACKING THE POLARIZATION SIGNATURES ENHANCES THE PRECISION OF RESULTS, PROFOUNDLY INCREASING THE DIAGNOSTIC POTENTIAL OF THE MODELING. SPECIFICALLY, ENCAPSULATING POLARIZATION CONTENT WILL HELP ENABLE THE DISCRIMINATION OF GEOMETRICAL ATMOSPHERE INFORMATION FROM THE SIGNATURES OF STRONG-FIELD QED PHYSICS, SUCH AS BIREFRINGENT VACUUM POLARIZATION, IN THEIR MAGNETOSPHERES. MOREOVER, IN COMBINATION WITH GENERAL RELATIVISTIC LENSING OF LIGHT, THIS IMPROVED PRECISION CAN AFFORD POTENTIAL PROBES OF THE MASS-TO-RADIUS RATIO OF MAGNETARS. 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.

RUI: MECHANISMS OF REGULATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA TRANSCRIPTION

MRI-CONSORTIUM: DEVELOPMENT OF A NEUTRON DETECTOR ARRAY BY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS FOR STUDIES OF EXOTIC NUCLEI.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING AT HOPE COLLEGE

REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN PHYSICS AT HOPE COLLEGE

REU SITE: PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN SCIENCE THROUGH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

RUI: SPATIALLY RESOLVED MICROWAVE NONLINEARITY OF SUPERCONDUCTORS INVESTIGATED BY UNDERGRADUATES

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A BENCHTOP NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING PLATFORM TO ENHANCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AT HOPE COLLEGE

RUI: ELECTROCHEMICALLY MODIFIED ELECTRODEPOSITED ALLOY MATERIALS FOR ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS

RUI: SUPERCONDUCTIVITY RESEARCH IN THE MICROWAVE REGIME WITH UNDERGRADUATES

RUI: ENABLING RATIONAL DESIGN OF SMART INTERFACES INCORPORATING METAL-ORGANIC COORDINATED ASSEMBLIES

LEAPS-MPS: EXPLORATIONS IN NONLINEAR PLASMA PHYSICS PHENOMENA AT HOPE COLLEGE -MATTER IN EXTREME-TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENTS INCLUDING STELLAR INTERIORS/ATMOSPHERES, NEBULAE, AND NUCLEAR FUSION ENERGY EXPERIMENTS ON EARTH, IS TYPICALLY FOUND IN A PLASMA STATE. PLASMA, OR ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED GAS, MAKES UP OVER 99% OF THE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE. AS SUCH, AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF PLASMA SYSTEMS HAS FAR-REACHING APPLICATIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE. DR. WILLIAMS WILL SUPERVISE THE RESEARCH OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT HOPE COLLEGE TO USE COMPUTING TOOLS TO STUDY THE MATHEMATICALLY COMPLEX, OR NONLINEAR, DYNAMICS OF PLASMA PROCESSES AS THEY APPEAR IN STARS AND NUCLEAR FUSION DEVICES. STARS ARE SUBJECT TO A VARIETY OF DYNAMICALLY INTERESTING PROCESSES THAT GOVERN HOW HEAT, ENERGY, AND PARTICLES FLOW WITHIN THE STAR OR LEAVE FROM THE STAR?S ATMOSPHERE. PART OF THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE THE MATHEMATICAL MODELS THAT DESCRIBE THESE STELLAR PROCESSES AND DISTILL THEM DOWN TO THEIR ESSENTIAL FEATURES, SIMPLIFYING DESCRIPTIONS AND IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING WITHOUT LOSING THE FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS. THIS IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING WILL ALLOW FOR A BETTER DESCRIPTION OF SOLAR PROCESSES AND POTENTIALLY INFORM PREDICTIONS OF SPACE WEATHER EVENTS LIKE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS. NUCLEAR FUSION PLASMAS ARE SUBJECT TO A WIDE RANGE OF INSTABILITIES THAT MAKE CONFINEMENT OF THE PLASMA (NECESSARY FOR COMMERCIAL FUSION ENERGY PRODUCTION) VERY DIFFICULT. THE OTHER PART OF THIS PROJECT WILL USE COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF PLASMA INSTABILITIES THAT ARISE WITHIN A SPECIFIC TYPE OF EXPERIMENTAL FUSION DEVICE CALLED THE REVERSED-FIELD PINCH. UNDERSTANDING WHAT DRIVES INSTABILITIES (AND WHAT STABILIZES THEM) WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE LARGER FIELD OF NUCLEAR FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH AND MOVE SOCIETY CLOSER TO AN AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY LANDSCAPE. THIS PROJECT INVOLVES THE COMPUTATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF NONLINEAR PLASMA PHYSICS PHENOMENON IN TWO KEY CONTEXTS. THE FIRST CONTEXT UTILIZES THE SOPHISTICATED GYROKINETIC CODE GENE TO ANALYZE MICROINSTABILITIES, TURBULENCE, AND TRANSPORT ASSOCIATED WITH THE MADISON SYMMETRIC TORUS (MST). THIS IS MOTIVATED BY SPECIFIC RECENT EXPERIMENTS ON THE MST OPERATING IN QUASI-SINGLE-HELICITY (QSH) THAT OBSERVED ANOMALOUS HIGH-FREQUENCY FLUCTUATIONS THAT ARISE IN THE IMPROVED QSH STATE. DR. WILLIAMS AND HOPE COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES WILL PERFORM SIMULATIONS TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THESE FLUCTUATIONS AND HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE TO ENERGY AND PARTICLE LOSSES. THE SECOND CONTEXT DEVELOPS AN ALTERNATIVE MATHEMATICAL FRAMEWORK FOR DESCRIBING MAGNETIZED CONVECTION AND MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN STARS LIKE THE SUN. THIS FRAMEWORK IS BASED ON EIGENMODE DECOMPOSITION, AS RECENT WORK BY THE PI AND OTHERS HAVE DEMONSTRATED STABLE EIGENMODES TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN UNDERSTANDING NONLINEAR PROCESSES. USING THE DEDALUS CODE, THE PI AND HOPE COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES WILL EXAMINE THE ROLE OF STABLE EIGENMODES IN MAGNETOCONVECTION AND RECONNECTION TO ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF STELLAR PROCESSES. 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.

RUI: MICROSTRUCTURING AND CATALYTIC BEHAVIOR OF ELECTRODEPOSITED NANOPOROUS ALLOYS

RUI: BIO-INSPIRED ARCHITECTURES ENABLING REAL-TIME FEEDBACK CONTROL IN WIRELESS SENSING AND ACTUATING NETWORKS

GENERATING AND SUSTAINING MICROPLASMA WITH MICROWAVES

BENCH TOP TO TABLE TOP: NEURAL MECHANISMS OF LIGHT PERCEPTION TO IMPROVE COMMERCIAL LIGHTING SYSTEMS TO INCREASE FERTILITY IN PEKIN DUCKS

EAGER/RUI: ONE-STEP, PROGRAMED ALIGNMENT OF LIQUID CRYSTAL ELASTOMERS BY GUEST HOST INTERACTIONS

RUI:COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RADIO X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM NEUTRON STARS

ACQUISITION OF AUTOMATED GENETIC ANALYZER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, TEACHING AND TRAINING IN MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS, BIOLOGY, AND BIOINFORMAT

THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE (GLRI) AND THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY AGREEMENT, PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 112-74. THE

TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY: ASSESSMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF LEARNING GAINS

A WORKSHOP PROMOTING INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING AT LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE AND RESEARCH FACILITIES: CENTER FOR STUDYING ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE AND SPECTROSCOPY OF OPEN-SHELL AND ELEC

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ROLE OF FLEXIBLE DESIGN AND INSTRUCTOR SUPPORTS IN IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE COURSE-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCES ACROSS DIVERSE INSTITUTION TYPES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EFFECTIVE: EXPLORING A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING COURSES ON TECHNOLOGY IN VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS

PREP FOR DAY 1: K-12 STUDENTS JUMP INTO WEST MICHIGAN WATERSHED

HOPE COLLEGE PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND HIGH ENERGY RADIATION FROM PULSAR MAGNETOSPHERES WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE GLOBAL MAGNETOSPHERE MODELS, ACCE

PULSAR MAGNETOSPHERE MODELS AND HIGH ENERGY EMISSION WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE GLOBAL, SELF-CONSISTENT MAGNETOSPHERE MODELS OF ROTATION-POWERED PULSA

EFFECT OF HSV-1 LATENT INFECTION ON LASER-INDUCED AXOTOMY

I-CORPS: DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSINESS MODEL FOR A RAPID SCREENING TEST FOR PFCS

RECENT FERMI DETECTIONS OF PULSARS SUGGEST A LARGER LOCAL DENSITY OF PULSARS THAT HAVE ESCAPED DETECTION BY RADIO SURVEYS. PAIR PRODUCTION FROM MAGNE

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND – IHES

HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND – IHES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING EFFECTIVE CYBERLEARNING WITHIN THE STEMWIKI HYPERLIBRARY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: USING PROTEIN FUNCTION PREDICTION TO PROMOTE HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN THINKING IN UNDERGRADUATE BIOCHEMISTRY EDUCATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ADVANCING UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY EDUCATION WITH DYNAMIC OPEN-ACCESS CHEMWIKI HYPERTEXTBOOKS

GOAL: FACILITATING MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EXPERIENCING AUTHENTIC DATA ANALYSIS THROUGH EXPLORATION OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL ATMOSPHERIC DATA. OUTCOMES: - CAPACITY FOR EXPLOREHOPE ACADEMIC OUTREACH TO PARTNER WITH SCHOOLS AND YOUTH SERVING

CATHODOLUMINESCENT SIGNATURES OF NEUTRON IRRADIATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: USING PROTEIN FUNCTION PREDICTION TO PROMOTE HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN THINKING IN UNDERGRADUATE BIOCHEMISTRY EDUCATION

CRUI: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEST OF MUTUALISTIC BENEFITS FUNGAL ENDOPHYTES PROVIDE THEIR HOST PLANTS

MRI: ACQUISITION OF APOTOME/FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE IMAGING SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED RESEARCH IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AT HOPE COLLEGE

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS IN SINGLE-MOLECULE FRET EXPERIMENTS

SUMMARY: TO REALIZE NASA SMD'S STRATEGIC GOALS FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION, WE MUST PREPARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS TO TAKE ON

TO SUPPORT THE PRODUCTION OF CHILDREN OF LESSER GOD BY MARK MEDOFF FEATURING GUEST ACTORS WHO ARE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING.

TO SUPPORT THE PURCHASE OF SOUND AMPLIFICATION EQUIPMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS FOR THE HOPE SUMMER REPERTORY THEATRE. 

PREPARING FOR HARVESTING RADIOISOTOPES FROM FRIB