Mece Inc

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS_CARES ACT II

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS_CARES ACT FOR IHES

SOUTHWEST EXPERIMENTAL FAST OXIDE REACTOR (SEFOR) PROJECT

MID-SCALE RI-1 (M1:IP): IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONAL SILICON CARBIDE RESEARCH FABRICATION FACILITY

ARKANSAS INTEGRATIVE METABOLIC RESEARCH CENTER - PROJECT SUMMARY FOR OVERALL SECTION OF THE ARKANSAS INTEGRATIVE METABOLIC RESEARCH CENTER (AIMRC): THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS - FAYETTEVILLE (U OF A) IS THE FLAGSHIP CAMPUS OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, BUT DOES NOT HAVE ACTIVE NIH COBRE FUNDING ON CAMPUS. A CLEAR STRENGTH IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH HAS EMERGED ORGANICALLY ON CAMPUS, WITH THE MAJORITY OF NIH FUNDING AT THE U OF A INVOLVING RESEARCH ON CELL AND TISSUE METABOLISM. THIS COLLECTION OF NIH-FUNDED RESEARCHERS ON CAMPUS WILL INITIATE AND DEVELOP A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS TITLED, THE ARKANSAS INTEGRATIVE METABOLIC RESEARCH CENTER (AIMRC). DR. KYLE QUINN, AN ESTABLISHED LEADER IN THE FIELD OF METABOLIC IMAGING AND BIOMEDICAL OPTICS, WITH ONGOING COLLABORATIONS WITH THE OTHER NIH-FUNDED METABOLIC RESEARCHERS ON CAMPUS WILL DIRECT THE CENTER. THE SCIENTIFIC THEME OF THE AIMRC IS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF CELL AND TISSUE METABOLISM IN DISEASE, DEVELOPMENT, AND REPAIR THROUGH RESEARCH INVOLVING ADVANCED IMAGING, BIOENERGETICS, AND DATA SCIENCE. BY ELUCIDATING THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN METABOLISM AND DIFFERENT DISEASE STATES USING ESTABLISHED BIOENERGETICS ASSAYS, ADVANCED LABEL-FREE IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND CUTTING-EDGE DATA SCIENCE APPROACHES, NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS CAN BE IDENTIFIED TO ESTABLISH NEW TREATMENT APPROACHES FOR A VARIETY OF DISEASES. THE AIMRC WILL HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE CORE, THREE RESEARCH CORES, AND FOUR RESEARCH PROJECTS LED BY JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR PROJECT LEADERS. THE ADMINISTRATIVE CORE WILL COORDINATE CENTER ACTIVITIES, OVERSEE THE RECRUITMENT AND MENTORING OF JUNIOR FACULTY, AND COORDINATE A PILOT PROJECT PROGRAM. THE AIMRC WILL INVEST IN EXISTING STATE-OF-THE-ART MICROSCOPY SERVICE CENTERS ON CAMPUS TO ESTABLISH AN IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY CORE FOCUSED ON LABEL-FREE METABOLIC IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY. A BIOENERGETICS CORE WILL EMPLOY STATE-OF-THE-ART LIVE CELL METABOLIC ASSAY PLATFORMS IN CONJUNCTION WITH ESTABLISHED FLOW CYTOMETRY TOOLS TO PROVIDE QUANTITATIVE INSIGHTS INTO THE MITOCHONDRIAL AND METABOLIC HEALTH OF THE CELLS. A DATA SCIENCE CORE WILL ALSO BE ESTABLISHED BY LEVERAGING OUR HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE ON CAMPUS TO ASSIST RESEARCHERS WITH ANALYZING, INTEGRATING, AND SYNTHESIZING LARGE DATASETS GENERATED BY THE RESEARCH CORES AND CENTER MEMBERS. THE AIMRC WILL SUPPORT FOUR JUNIOR FACULTY MEMBERS TO LEAD RESEARCH PROJECTS TO STUDY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF CELL AND TISSUE METABOLISM THAT INCLUDE: UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS OF BREAST CANCER INNERVATION, EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS IN BREAST CANCER, EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF METHIONINE METABOLISM IN MELANOMA, AND ELUCIDATING CELL SIGNALING AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS DURING EPITHELIAL MORPHOGENESIS. THE NEAR-TERM GOAL IS TO FOLLOW A CENTER ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN TO ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION OF THE CENTER BY RECRUITING, DEVELOPING, AND MENTORING JUNIOR INVESTIGATORS. ULTIMATELY, WE PLAN TO GROW THE CENTER TO A CRITICAL MASS OF RESEARCHERS THAT SUSTAINS THE CENTER AND ALLOWS IT TO BE COMPETITIVE FOR A WIDE RANGE OF EXTRAMURAL SUPPORT IN METABOLIC RESEARCH.

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO INTEGRATABLE, COMPOSABLE AND EVOLVABLE CYBERSECURITY IN ENERGY DELIVERY SYSTEMS

(NO IDC) SILICON CARBIDE SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH FABRICATION LINE

UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTERS

MANIPULATION OF ATOMIC ORDERING FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTORS (MU-ATOMS)

(NO IDC) RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION (RI) PROGRAM: SILICON CARBIDE SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH FABRICATION LINE

R&D, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, IN THE AREA OF METALLURGY AND MATERIALS

COLLEGE READY IN MATH AND PHYSICS PARTNERSHIP

NOVEL MATERIALS FOR BIO-SENSORS AS A DEFENSE AGAINST BIOLOGICAL THREATS TO AMERICA

RII TRACK-2 FEC: MEMBRANE PURIFICATION PLATFORM FOR CONTINUOUS BIOMANUFACTURING OF VIRAL VECTORS AND VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES IN ARKANSAS AND BEYOND -BIOLOGICS ARE LARGE MOLECULE THERAPEUTICS AND HAVE BEEN USED TO TREAT A VARIETY OF DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER, DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, GENETIC AND OPHTHALMOLOGIC DISEASES TO NAME A FEW. BIOLOGICS INCLUDE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES (MABS) AND OTHER THERAPEUTIC PROTEINS, VACCINES SUCH AS MRNA VACCINES, CELL AND GENE THERAPIES PRODUCTS SUCH AS STEM CELLS, AND VIRAL VECTORS. THE IMPACT OF BIOLOGICS ON HUMAN HEALTH HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS WITH THE SUCCESS OF MRNA VACCINES FOR COVID-19 AS AN EXAMPLE. THE MARKET FOR BIOLOGICS IS INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY, REACHING OVER $300 BILLION AS OF TODAY. THE LARGE DEMAND FOR BIOLOGICS PLACES GREAT CHALLENGE ON THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THE TOTAL COST FOR DOWNSTREAM PROCESS ACCOUNTS FOR UP TO 80% OF THE TOTAL MANUFACTURING COST. THE VISION OF THIS RII TRACK-2 FEC PROJECT IS TO CREATE A MEMBRANE-BASED DOWNSTREAM PURIFICATION PLATFORM FOR THE FUTURE LARGE SCALE BIOMANUFACTURING OF VIRAL VECTORS AND VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES (VLPS) FOR GENE THERAPY AND VACCINE APPLICATIONS. THIS PLATFORM WILL BE USED TO REPLACE THE CURRENT PROCESSES SUCH AS CENTRIFUGATION AND RESIN-BASED CHROMATOGRAPHY THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SCALE UP. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE AND PRACTICAL UNIT OPERATIONS THAT COULD BE PART OF A PLATFORM FOR THE DOWNSTREAM PURIFICATION OF THESE VIRUS PARTICLE-BASED THERAPEUTICS. THE PROJECT BRINGS TOGETHER MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHERS WITH COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE FROM THREE EPSCOR JURISDICTIONS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS (ARKANSAS), CLEMSON UNIVERSITY (SOUTH CAROLINA) AND UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY (KENTUCKY). EACH OF THE THREE INSTITUTIONS OFFERS UNIQUE FACILITIES AND RESOURCES THAT CAN RAPIDLY CATALYZE THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES ON THE ENTIRE STATE OF ARKANSAS AS WELL AS ON KENTUCKY AND SOUTH CAROLINA WILL BE SIGNIFICANT. REGIONAL INCUBATOR CENTERS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY OF TOMORROW WILL BE ESTABLISHED IN THE THREE EPSCOR STATES. SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-PRODUCTIVITY MEMBRANE PURIFICATION PLATFORM IS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH BY IMPROVING ACCESS TO REVOLUTIONARY TREATMENTS FOR GENETIC AND CHRONIC DISEASES FOR MID- AND LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE FUTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, A COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS, AND A FOCUS ON EARLY CAREER FACULTY MENTORSHIP ARE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES TO DEVELOP THE STEM WORKFORCE IN THIS FIELD. IN ADDITION, ALL THREE UNIVERSITIES WILL OUTREACH TO THE RESPECTIVE MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS IN THE STATE TO FOSTER COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. DEVELOPMENT OF COST-EFFECTIVE LARGE SCALE BIOMANUFACTURING FOR THE PURIFICATION OF VIRAL VECTORS AND VIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES (VLPS) IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE. MEMBRANE BASED UNIT OPERATIONS ARE ATTRACTIVE; HOWEVER, MEMBRANE CAPACITY, FOULING AND LACK OF COMMERCIAL MEMBRANES AS WELL AS THE ROBUSTNESS OF MEMBRANE PERFORMANCE UNDER A RANGE OF OPERATING CONDITIONS HAVE LIMITED APPLICATIONS BY INDUSTRIAL PRACTITIONERS. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS KEY ISSUES AND OVERCOME CRITICAL BARRIERS FOR DEVELOPING A MEMBRANE-BASED BIOPROCESSING PLATFORM FOR VIRAL VECTORS AND VLPS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO OVERCOME THE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC BARRIERS AT MULTIPLE FRONTS AND INVOLVE CLOSE COLLABORATIONS AMONG RESEARCHERS AT THREE DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS IN THREE EPSCOR JURISDICTIONS. MORE SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES INCLUDE (1) FEEDSTOCK PRODUCTION OF TWO COMMON VIRAL VECTORS FOR GENE THERAPY APPLICATIONS AND VLPS FOR VACCINE APPLICATIONS; (2) ADVANCED MICROFILTRATION OPERATIONS FOR BIOREACTOR HARVESTING; (3) HIGH CAPACITY AFFINITY MEMBRANE DESIGN, FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION; (4) DOWNSTREAM MEMBRANE CHROMATOGRAPHY FOR SEPARATING FULL AND EMPTY VIRAL CAPSIDS; (5) MODULE DESIGN, PROCESS OPTIMIZATION AND PROCESS INTENSIFICATION; (6) EMPLOYING STATE-OF-THE-ART BIOANALYTICAL METHODS FOR DETECTION AND QUANTIFICATION; AND (7) A TECHNOLOGY READINESS AND ACCEPTANCE STUDY. THROUGH THE PROJECT'S COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EFFORTS ACROSS THREE UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCHERS WILL BUILD UPON EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AT EACH INSTITUTION, EXPANDING IT FAR BEYOND CURRENT CAPABILITIES. 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.

RESTORING SENSATION WITH A NEURAL-ENABLED PROSTHETIC HAND SYSTEM FOR DAILY USE: A MULTISITE CLINICAL TRIAL. NEW AWARD.

BII: HOST-VIRUS EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS INSTITUTE (HVEDI)

UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTERS

TOWARDS A SIC CMOS PROCESS FOR ADVANCED INTEGRATION

RII TRACK-2 FEC: SYSTEMS GENETICS STUDIES ON RICE GENOMES FOR ANALYSIS OF GRAIN YIELD AND QUALITY UNDER HEAT STRESS

CENTER FOR PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

REHABILITATION CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM

CYBERSECURITY CONSORTIUM FOR INNOVATION. THE CYBERSECURITY CONSORTIUM FOR INNOVATION WILL ENHANCE THE ENERGY SECTOR'S CYBERSECURITY THROUGH SPECIALIZED EDUCATION, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DRIVEN THREAT MONITORING, IMMERSIVE TRAINING EXERCISES, AND THREAT SHARING INNOVATION PROGRAM.

PURPOSE:THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO PURCHASE HIGH CAPACITY-HIGH PERFORMANCE STRUCTURAL TEST EQUIPMENT TO UPGRADE THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRADY E. HARVELL CIVIL ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER (CEREC) TESTING LABORATORY. THESE NEW COMPONENTS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE CAPABILITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE LAB, ALLOWING ARKANSAS TO TEST LARGER SCALE SPECIMENS AT HIGHER LOADS AND LOADING RATES.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:THE APPLICATION DESCRIBES THE FACILITY AND PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF NEW COMPONENTS TO BE PURCHASED INCLUDING ONE VERY LARGE CAPACITY (1.0 M LBS.) SERVO-HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR WITH A LONG (40 IN.) STROKE. A NUMBER OF SMALLER CAPACITY LONG STROKE SERVO-HYDRAULIC ACTUATORS ARE IDENTIFIED TO ALLOW TESTING OF SMALLER LABORATORY SCALE SPECIMENS OR SPECIFIC COMPONENT PORTIONS OF LARGER SPECIMENS. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM IN THE TESTING LAB WILL DOUBLE THE FLOW RATE AVAILABLE IN THE LAB, NECESSARY FOR LARGE STROKE ACTUATORS. CORRESPONDING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM CONTROLS ALSO ARE IDENTIFIED TO PERMIT ADVANCED HYBRID TESTING PROTOCOLS.A HIGH STIFFNESS, VERY HIGH-CAPACITY COMPRESSION TEST MACHINE (2.2M LBS.) WILL BE ADDED TO THE CEREC TO TEST LARGE COMPONENTS. LASTLY A PHYSICAL MODIFICATION TO THE LABORATORY WILL BE CONDUCTED TO BUILD AN OPERATIONS CONTROL ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF CEREC. THIS IS COMMON PRACTICE IN LARGER LABORATORIES TO HAVE AN OPS CENTER ABOVE THE TESTING FLOOR.EXPECTED OUTCOMES:THE PROPOSED TESTING COMPONENTS WILL PLACE THE CEREC AMONG THE BEST TESTING LABORATORIES IN THE COUNTRY. THIS GRANT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND THE CAPACITY OF THE LAB AND PROVIDE THE PI?S WITH THE CAPABILITY TO COMPETE WITH LARGER SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY FOR SCARCE RESEARCH FUNDING. THE PI?S HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF BEING ABLE TO ATTRACT FUNDING; THIS NEW EQUIPMENT SHOULD GREATLY AID THEM IN THEIR PROPOSAL EFFORTS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES:LOCAL STUDENTS, BUSINESSES, K12 SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND UNIVERSITIES WILL BENEFIT FROM BEING ABLE TO WITNESS STATE-OF-THE-ART ENGINEERING RESEARCH IN ACTION. THIS RESOURCE WILL PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT TO ENGINEERINGUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGYMATERIAL MEASUREMENT LABORATORY100 BUREAU DRIVE, MS 8300GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND 20899FIRMS, THE STEEL INDUSTRY IN ARKANSAS, THE ARKANSAS DOT AND US ARMY ERDC TO GET LARGE AND COMPLEX SPECIMENS TESTED LOCALLY IN THE STATE.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS ONLY TO MAKE EQUIPMENT PURCHASES.

PURPOSE:THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO PROCURE EQUIPMENT RELATED TO INNOVATION IN FUTURE WOOD PRODUCTS FOR THE ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (E.G., WOOD FIBER INSULATION, THERMALLY MODIFIED WOOD CLADDING, AND WAVE LAMINATED TIMBER TO ACHIEVE LOCALLY SOURCED PRODUCTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. IN ADDITION, THE EQUIPMENT PROCURED IN THIS GRANT WILL BE USED TO EDUCATE FUTURE WORKFORCE, SUPPORT THE US FOREST SERVICE, AND ENABLE PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTURE FIRMS ON NEW HOUSING PRODUCTS AND MANUFACTURING ROUTES.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:THIS GRANT WILL SUPPORT THE PROCUREMENT OF VARIOUS EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO OUTFIT THE NEW ANTHONY TIMBERLANDS CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS. THESE EQUIPMENT ITEMS WILL INCLUDE WOOD FABRICATION TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, METAL FABRICATION TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, 3D PRINTING CAPABILITIES, ROBOTICS, HEAVY EQUIPMENT SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE (LIFTS, ETC.), SCANNING AND TEST EQUIPMENT, WORKSPACES FOR STUDENTS, AND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT ENABLING CONSTRUCTION OF STRUCTURES ON SITE. ONCE THE EQUIPMENT IS RECEIVED, THE GRANTEE WILL CONDUCT SAFETY INSPECTIONS PRIOR TO USE BY STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND COLLABORATORS.EXPECTED OUTCOMES:THE EQUIPMENT PROCURED BY THIS GRANT WILL BE USED IN THE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH, FOR TRAINING OF FUTURE WORKFORCE, AND IN SUPPORT OF THE FOREST PRODUCTS AND CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS INDUSTRY, BOTH IN ARKANSAS AND BEYOND.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES:COMPANIES IN THE ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES WILL BENEFIT FROM THE AVAILABILITY OF THE EQUIPMENT PROCURED UNDER THIS GRANT THROUGH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. SPECIFIC EMPHASIS ON SUSTAINABILITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING WILL BENEFIT THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN LOW INCOME AREAS.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.

NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK J PHASE 2: CULTIVATE IQ - EMPOWERING REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS -DISRUPTIONS IN FOOD SUPPLY LINKED TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC, CONFLICT, AND CLIMATE CHANGE HAVE EXPOSED VULNERABILITIES IN THE GLOBALIZED AGRICULTURAL-FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN RESULTING IN AN INCREASED FOCUS ON THE RISKS TO DOMESTIC FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY. THIS PROJECT WILL ADVANCE THE PRACTICE OF USE-INSPIRED CONVERGENCE RESEARCH AND NOVEL DATA-DRIVEN TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS THE RESILIENCY OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS. FINDINGS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL EXTEND UNDERSTANDING OF BARRIERS TO WHOLESALE AND INSTITUTIONAL PROCUREMENT OF LOCAL FOOD AND HOW TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS CAN BE EMPLOYED. THIS PROJECT WILL DEMOCRATIZE ACCESS TO DATA INSIGHTS BY HARNESSING THE CAPABILITIES OF ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING (AI/ML) TECHNIQUES, ENSURING USABILITY BY HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED GROUPS, INCLUDING FARMERS OF COLOR AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED WILL SUPPORT RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE ECONOMIC LIVELIHOODS OF SMALL FARMERS AND FOOD BUSINESSES. FURTHERMORE, ENHANCED KNOWLEDGE OF CONSUMER INSIGHTS AND MARKET CHANNELS WILL REDUCE FOOD LOSSES AND ENHANCE CROP DIVERSIFICATION, SUPPORTING CLIMATE-SMART RESILIENCY IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS. MORE BROADLY, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY OF SAFE AND NUTRITIOUS LOCAL FOOD, SUPPORTING INTEGRATIVE HEALTH IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH PROJECT ENTAILED EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF USER NEEDS AND LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTIVATE IQ, A DATA-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE RESILIENCY OF REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS. IN THE SECOND PHASE, WE WILL BUILD THE PLATFORM COMPONENTS, INCLUDING REFINEMENT OF THE COMPUTATIONAL MODELS LEVERAGING AI/ML TO FORECAST MARKET PRICES AND DEMAND, AND DELIVER OTHER PRODUCTION AND CONSUMER DATA INSIGHTS TO FOOD DISTRIBUTORS, SUCH AS FOOD HUBS, AND SMALL AND MID-SIZED FARMERS. THE PROJECT TEAM INCLUDES ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND KEY COLLABORATORS FROM THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR WHO WILL DEPLOY A TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION AT A SCALE THAT HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE GRAND CHALLENGE OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY. THE PROJECT AIMS TO SUPPORT PRODUCERS? ACCESS TO COST OF PRODUCTION PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS, AS WELL AS USER-FRIENDLY DASHBOARDS FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY RELEVANT AND ACTIONABLE DATA INSIGHTS ACROSS KEY DECISION POINTS IN THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN, SUCH AS PRICE AND CONSUMER DEMAND FORECASTING FOR SPECIALTY CROPS (FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND NUTS), REGIONALLY GROWN AND PROCESSED MEAT, AND VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS. THIS KEY DATA WILL INFORM SMALL FOOD AND FARM BUSINESS DECISIONS BY UTILIZING AI/ML TECHNIQUES SUCH AS PREDICTIVE MODELS FOR FUTURE FOOD DEMAND. ADDITIONALLY, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL LEVERAGE ADVANCES IN AI/ML COMPUTER VISION, ALONGSIDE GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND IMAGERY, TO ANALYZE CROPS, INCLUDING THE IDENTIFICATION OF CROP TYPES AND ANOMALIES, VEGETATION INDEX, AND THE ESTIMATION OF CROPLAND SIZES ACROSS A REGION. CULTIVATE IQ?S MARKET INSIGHTS WILL CREATE REGIONAL SUPPLY EFFICIENCIES AND SUPPORT PRODUCTION PLANNING TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR LOCAL AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS. 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.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL MULTIFERROIC 2D SENSORS: PHASE 1, 2D FERROELECTRIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION WORKFORCE

CYBER-CENTRIC MULTIDISCIPLINARY SECURITY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

NEW START CO-OP BASED ON PROPOSAL SILICON CARBIDE SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH FABRICATION LINE

SIGESNPB SEMICONDUCTOR FAB FOR ROOM TEMP ELECTRO-OPTIC INFRARED (IR) SENSORS

THE COMBINATION OF CONTINUED GLOBAL POPULATION GROWTH, WITH AN ADDITIONAL 3 BILLION PEOPLE OVER THE NEXT 40 YEARS, AND EXPECTED INTENSIFICATION OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND RESULTING VARIABILITY IN RELIABLE WATER RESOURCES REQUIRES THAT WATER RECYCLING BECOME AN INTEGRATED PART OF AGRICULTURAL WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. FURTHER, IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS ARE LOST TO WASTEWATERS BUT COULD BE RECYCLED AND REUSED FOR FOOD PRODUCTION. ABSENT A CONCERTED EFFORT TO RECYCLE THESE NUTRIENTS, THE FOOD SUPPLY DEMAND WILL INHERENTLY CREATE A LESS RESILIENT AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY. WATER TREATMENT AND NUTRIENT NEEDS WILL VARY GEOGRAPHICALLY AND BASED ON PRODUCTION. THUS, A USER-DRIVEN STRATEGY FOR FOOD PRODUCTION SUPPORTED BY WASTEWATER AND NUTRIENT RECYCLING INHERENTLY DEMANDS NOT ONLY A SYSTEMS-BASED APPROACH, BUT A FLEXIBLE DECISION-MAKING APPROACH. WE WILL STUDY INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR LIQUID MANURE WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND NUTRIENT RECOVERY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A DECISION-MAKING TOOL THAT ALLOWS TECHNOLOGY SELECTION BASED ON REGION-SPECIFIC NEEDS FOR WATER RECYCLING AND FOOD PRODUCTION. THE TOOL WILL BE BUILT UPON AN ECONOMIC AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT MODEL THAT GUIDES THE USER TO TECHNOLOGY SELECTION BASED ON USER-BASED KNOWLEDGE OF SOIL CHEMISTRY, FERTILIZATION NEEDS, CROP SELECTION, LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION, DESIRED LEVEL OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT, WATER USE, WASTEWATER PRODUCTION, AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.

UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTER

THE ARKANSAS SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM (ASGC) CONSISTS OF 17 AFFILIATE MEMBERS ACROSS THE JURISDICTION NOT ONLY EXPANDING OUR RESEARCH AND OUTREACH CAPABILITIES BUT ALSO INCREASES OUR PRESENCE IN COMMUNITIES.

SIGESNPB SEMICONDUCTOR FAB FOR ROOM TEMP ELECTRO-OPTIC INFRARED (IR) SENSORS

SEFOR - PHASE I - CHARACTERIZATION & LICENSE TERMINATION PLAN

SIGESN SEMICONDUCTOR FAB FOR ROOM TEMP ELECTRO-OPTIC INFRARED (IR) SENSORS-PHASE 3A

TOPOLOGY OF FERROIC MATTER

UOFA FAYETTEVILLE FFY2020 SECTION 5307 CARES ACT OPERATIONS AND CAPITAL

SIGESNPB SEMICONDUCTOR FAB FOR ROOM TEMP ELECTRO-OPTIC INFRARED (IR) SENSORS - PHASE 2

IMAGE-GUIDED WORKSTATION AND TOOLS FOR THE TREATMENT OF BONE DEFECTS

E-RISE RLL: ARKANSAS SMART TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INCUBATOR THROUGH DATA ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE -NEXT GENERATION TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SYSTEMS INCLUDE THOSE THAT ARE AUTONOMOUS, ELECTRIFIED, INTERCONNECTED, AND SHARED. THESE SYSTEMS ARE TRANSFORMING TRADITIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS. THE ARKANSAS SMART TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INCUBATOR THROUGH DATA ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE (AR-STRIDES) PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE STATEWIDE RESEARCH CAPACITY. AR-STRIDES ALSO AIMS TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS IN ARKANSAS THROUGH STATEWIDE NETWORK BUILDING, USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH, AND SYNERGISTIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RELATED TO DATA-DRIVEN SUPPLY CHAIN TECHNOLOGIES AND DATA ANALYTICS SOLUTIONS FOR NEXT GENERATION TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS. RECENT GROWTH IN DATA ANALYTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND COMPUTING EXPERTISE IN ARKANSAS WILL BE LEVERAGED TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS ECOSYSTEM ACROSS ARKANSAS. PROJECT OUTCOMES HAVE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT AND SUSTAINABLE TRACTION FOR THE ARKANSAS? INNOVATION ECONOMY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ARKANSAS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY PLAN. PROJECT PARTNERS INCLUDE THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF, AND NORTH ARKANSAS COLLEGE. AR-STRIDES WILL ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS INDUSTRY IN ARKANSAS BY STRENGTHENING ARKANSAS' RESEARCH COMPETITIVENESS AND CAPABILITIES IN COMPUTING AND DATA ANALYTICS. EMPLOYED RESEARCH METHODS WILL INCLUDE ACCESS CONTROL MODELS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, BIG DATA TECHNOLOGIES, CRYPTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES, DATA REPLICATION AND BACKUP STRATEGIES, MACHINE LEARNING, REAL-TIME DATA PROCESSING, SCALABLE STORAGE ARCHITECTURES, SECURITY AUDITS, AND STATISTICAL MODELS. THE ARKANSAS HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING CENTER WILL PROVIDE EXPERTISE, HARDWARE, STORAGE, SUPPORT SERVICES, AND TRAINING TO ENABLE COMPUTATIONALLY- AND DATA-INTENSIVE RESEARCH. THE SCIENTIFIC VISION HAS POTENTIAL TO BREAK DOWN SILOS ACROSS ARKANSAS INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY BY CREATING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DATA SCIENCE AND ANALYTICS RESEARCHERS AND TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS STAKEHOLDERS. EXPECTED JURISDICTION-WIDE IMPACTS WILL RESULT IN ARKANSAS BEING POSITIONED AS A NATIONAL LEADER IN ITS DEFINED DOMAIN: A STATEWIDE NETWORK DELIVERING MODERN DATA-CENTRIC SOLUTIONS TO NEXT-GENERATION TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS CHALLENGES. USE-INSPIRED PERSPECTIVES AND SOCIETAL IMPACTS WILL BE INTEGRATED ACROSS RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES LEADING TO EXPANDED EMPLOYER ACCESS TO SKILLED AND RETAINED TALENT IN ARKANSAS. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE EPSCOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM: EPSCOR RESEARCH INCUBATORS FOR STEM EXCELLENCE (E-RISE). E-RISE SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPACITY IN EPSCOR JURISDICTIONS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE, HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN, OR PROBLEM-DRIVEN RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE COMPETITIVENESS IN STEM FIELDS. 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.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY IN ARKANSAS AND WEST VIRGINIA (CI TRAIN)

CENTER FOR PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

NRT-QISE: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN 2D QUANTUM MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING IN STEM EDUCATION -THE CONVERGENT FIELD OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM MATERIALS IS RAPIDLY GROWING IN IMPORTANCE AS AN INCUBATOR FOR MATERIALS WITH NEW PROPERTIES AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS FROM QUANTUM COMPUTING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY. HOWEVER, THERE IS SHORTAGE OF TRAINED WORKFORCE IN THE NATION THAT IS SUFFICIENTLY QUALIFIED TO DEVELOP AND COMMERCIALIZE THE RESULTING TECHNOLOGIES. THIS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH TRAINEESHIP (NRT) AWARD TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS WILL PROVIDE A NEW, INTERDISCIPLINARY, AND SUSTAINABLE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM MATERIALS AND DEVICES (2D-QMAD) FOR STEM STUDENTS THROUGH A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO GRADUATE EDUCATION OF FUTURE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT OF BOTH TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL ?SOFT SKILLS?. THE PROJECT WILL TRAIN FIFTY-SEVEN (57) MASTERS AND DOCTORAL STUDENTS, INCLUDING TWENTY-SEVEN (27) FUNDED TRAINEES. THIS WILL BE IN DIRECT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS?S INTERDISCIPLINARY MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (MSEN) GRADUATE PROGRAM AND THE MONARK QUANTUM FOUNDRY (AN NSF FUNDED PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS TO DEVELOP A FOUNDRY-LIKE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF 2D MATERIALS AND DEVICES.) THIS WORK INHERENTLY BRIDGES THE DISCIPLINES OF MSEN, PHYSICS, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, AS WELL AS CHEMISTRY, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING. THE UNIQUE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THIS TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM CAN PRIMARILY BE BROKEN DOWN INTO SEVERAL KEY COMPONENTS. THESE ARE: A) INCLUSION OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND SOFT-SKILLS TRAINING VIA THE REQUIRED SEMINAR COURSES; B) CREATION AND UTILIZATION OF INDUSTRY INSPIRED COHORTS AND SMALL TEAMS LED AND MENTORED BY UPPER-LEVEL DOCTORAL STUDENTS; AND C) STRONG EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY. THESE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS ARE ENHANCED BY D) A CORE AND ELECTIVE CURRICULUM DEVELOPED AND TAUGHT BY OVER 50 FACULTY FROM 11 SUPPORTING DEPARTMENTS AND THREE SCHOOLS/COLLEGES, WITH E) INTEGRATED RESEARCH BY THE SAME FACULTY THAT FEEDS BACK INTO COMPONENT A BY LENDING MATERIAL FOR PRACTICING THE SOFT-SKILLS TRAINING. THE TRAINEES WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND GIVE FEEDBACK TO WIDELY VARYING RESEARCH TOPICS AND INDIVIDUAL POINTS OF VIEW. THE GOAL IS TO CULTIVATE TRAINEES WHO BECOME THE BRIDGE BETWEEN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITHIN THE RAPIDLY GROWING FIELD OF 2D QUANTUM MATERIALS. THE PROPOSED CURRICULUM FOR THE TRAINEES (INCLUDING: QUANTUM MECHANICS; QUANTUM COMPUTING; QUANTUM TRANSPORT; MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION; AND MACHINE LEARNING, IN ADDITION TO THE MATERIALS CORE COURSES) WILL FACILITATE RESEARCH PROGRESS IN THE AREA OF QUANTUM MATERIALS AND MORE SPECIFICALLY IN 2D QUANTUM MATERIALS, WHILE GIVING THE TRAINEES THE REQUIRED SKILLS TO MAKE FUTURE DISCOVERIES. THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE A NEW PERMANENT CONCENTRATION OF STUDY, 2D-QMAD, WITHIN THE MSEN GRADUATE PROGRAM. THE NSF RESEARCH TRAINEESHIP (NRT) PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BOLD, NEW POTENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE MODELS FOR STEM GRADUATE EDUCATION TRAINING. THE PROGRAM IS DEDICATED TO EFFECTIVE TRAINING OF STEM GRADUATE STUDENTS IN HIGH PRIORITY INTERDISCIPLINARY OR CONVERGENT RESEARCH AREAS THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE TRAINEESHIP MODELS THAT ARE INNOVATIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED, AND ALIGNED WITH CHANGING WORKFORCE AND RESEARCH NEEDS.? THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY NRT AND THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR). ? 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.

MULTILEVEL CYBERSECURITY FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS

REACH:RETOOLING EDUCATORS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS TO ACHIEVE TEACHER CREDENTIALING

ENHANCING SENSORIMOTOR INTEGRATION USING A NEURAL ENABLED PROSTHETIC HAND SYSTEM

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS: NEW CIRCUITS AWARD. CONTROL NUMBER: 1727-1566 TITLE: ''RELIABLE, HIGH POWER DENSITY INVERTERS FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT APPLICATIONS'' THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS WILL DESIGN A WORLD-LEADING DUAL-INVERTER SYSTEM (2×250 KW) FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT APPLICATIONS THAT AIMS TO ACHIEVE APPROXIMATELY 4-5 TIMES THE VOLUMETRIC (KW/L) AND GRAVIMETRIC (KW/KG) POWER DENSITY OVER THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ART THROUGH A NUMBER OF DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS. ----------

PROJECT SOAR: STRATEGICALLY ORGANIZED FOR EL ACADEMIC RESULTS

PROJECT CONNECT?CREATING ORGANIZED NETWORKS NEEDED TO EFFECTIVELYINCREASE EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER PERFORMANCE

TRIBAL FOOD SAFETY ALLIANCE - NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES OUTREACH, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING TO ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY AND FSMA

UNIVERSITY CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND SERVICE - 2017

A RELIABLE, COST-EFFECTIVE TRANSFORMERLESS MEDIUM-VOLTAGE INVERTER FOR GRID INTEGRATION OF COMBINED SOLAR AND ENERGY STORAGE

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

UNIVERSITY CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS EDUCATIONAL TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

HABITAT AND COINFECTION AS DRIVERS OF HETEROGENEITY IN CROSS-SCALE WILDLIFE INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROCESSES

NEW AWARD TO UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS CONTROL NO. 2998-1526 DE-FOA-0002998:(ULTRAFAST) PROJECT TITLE: HETEROGENEOUSLY INTEGRATED POWER MODULES

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD LAW RESEARCH AND OUTREACH: UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AND RURAL AGRICULTURAL STAKEHOLDERS

GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

INFEWS/T3: CRITICAL NUTRIENT RECOVERY AND REUSE: NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS RECYCLING FROM WASTEWATERS AS STRUVITE FERTILIZER

CORE GRANT

ELEVATE - ENSURING LEARNER EQUITY VIA ADVOCACY AND TEACHER EDUCATION

LEADERS FOR TRANSITION

CENTER FOR PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

BEYOND DISCOVERY: BAT BEHAVIOR AND VIRUS SHEDDING AS DRIVERS OF SPILLOVER RISK - PROJECT SUMMARY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS REINFORCED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND SECURITY. BATS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH-PROFILE VIRAL EMERGENCE EVENTS, INCLUDING SARS-COV-2 (THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF COVID-19), EBOLAVIRUSES, AND A VARIETY OF ZOONOTIC AND ALMOST INVARIABLY LETHAL LYSSAVIRUSES. WHILE MUCH RECENT RESEARCH HAS INVESTIGATED VIRUS DIVERSITY IN BATS, IT IS LARGELY UNKNOWN HOW INFECTION PROCESSES IN BATS AND THEIR BEHAVIOR SHAPE VIRUS EXPOSURE RISK FOR OTHER SPECIES. EXPOSURE IS THE OBLIGATORY FIRST STEP FOR PATHOGEN SPILLOVER AND ONE OF THE STRONGEST POINTS FOR INTERVENTION IN THE PROCESS LEADING TO THE EMERGENCE OF NEW HUMAN DISEASES. FURTHER, BAT DISPLACEMENTS ARE COMMONLY USED TO MITIGATE HUMAN RISKS POSED BY BAT- BORNE VIRUSES IN LOW-INCOME SETTINGS. YET, HOW DISPLACEMENTS AND OTHER PERTURBATIONS AFFECT VIRAL EXPOSURE AND SPILLOVER RISK IS NOT KNOWN, LARGELY BECAUSE THE NECESSARY LONGITUDINAL MONITORING IS RARELY UNDERTAKEN AND IS FRUSTRATED BY CHALLENGES OF APPROPRIATE CONTROLS AND MONITORING RARE VIRUSES IN DIFFICULT TO CAPTURE ANIMALS. THIS PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THREE IMPORTANT AND UNUSUALLY TRACTABLE HOST-VIRUS SYSTEMS: CORONAVIRUSES, RABIES VIRUS, AND BOMBALI EBOLAVIRUS IN THEIR WILD BAT HOSTS IN TAITA HILLS, KENYA AND ORANGE WALK, BELIZE. WE WILL USE A COMBINATION OF LONGITUDINAL MONITORING, BAT BEHAVIOR STUDIES, AND FIELD EXPERIMENTS TO EXAMINE HOW VIRUS SHEDDING DYNAMICS IN BAT POPULATIONS AND BAT USE OF ANTHROPOGENIC STRUCTURES SHAPE VIRUS EXPOSURE RISK FOR HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS THAT CAN ACT AS INTERMEDIATE HOSTS. TO EXPLORE GENERALIZABILITY ACROSS VIRUSES AND ASSESS WHETHER PERTURBATION TRIGGERS THE SHEDDING OF LATENT VIRUSES, WE WILL FURTHER USE PROTEOMIC AND METAGENOMIC APPROACHES TO CHARACTERIZE STRESS AND IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO PERTURBATIONS AND MEASURE VIRAL DIVERSITY SHIFTS AT A COMMUNITY LEVEL. OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH WILL CONFRONT FIELD-COLLECTED VIRUS SEROLOGICAL, SHEDDING, AND SEQUENCE DATA WITH COMPETING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MODELS TO ELUCIDATE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES DRIVING VIRAL INFECTION AND SHEDDING FROM BATS (AIM 1); EMPLOY ANTHROPOGENIC ROOST SELECTION AND USE SURVEYS TO IDENTIFY LOCAL- AND LANDSCAPE-LEVEL AREAS WHERE HUMAN ENCOUNTERS WITH BATS AND VIRUS ARE GREATEST (AIM 2); AND CONDUCT CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTAL DISPLACEMENTS OF WILD BATS THROUGH ROOST EVICTIONS TO QUANTIFY THE RESPONSES OF BAT STRESS, IMMUNITY, AND VIRAL COMMUNITIES TO THIS COMMON OCCURRENCE (AIM 3). TOGETHER, THESE STUDIES WILL REPRESENT AN UNUSUALLY COMPREHENSIVE AND DETAILED INVESTIGATION INTO THE DYNAMICS OF VIRUSES IN WILD BAT POPULATIONS AND PROVIDE A CRITICAL ADVANCE TOWARDS EVIDENCE-BASED RISK EVALUATION AND PREVENTION.

THE PURPOSE OF THE ARKANSAS DISABILITY AND HEALTH PROGRAM, IF FUNDED, WOULD BE TO PROMOTE INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AND R

UPWARD BOUND 1

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

DETERMINATION OF FUNCTIONAL AND MOLECULAR BIOMARKERS OF TREATMENT RESISTANCE WITH MULTIMODAL OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY

DESC: TYPE II: CHIPLETS360: DATACENTER OPTIMIZATION THROUGH WHOLE-STACK NOVEL ACCOUNTING, DESIGN, REUSE, AND HETEROGENEOUS PROVISIONING OF CHIPLETS -DATA CENTERS PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN MODERN COMPUTING, SUPPORTING EVERYTHING FROM PERSONAL INTERNET USE TO A WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES. AS DEMAND FOR COMPUTING POWER GROWS, NEXT-GENERATION DATA CENTERS MUST BE DESIGNED WITH SMARTER, MORE PRECISE INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE PROCESSING SPEED, DATA HANDLING, AND POWER MANAGEMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, DATA CENTERS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY COSTLY TO OPERATE, DUE TO HIGH ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND THE USE OF RARE MATERIALS?BOTH OF WHICH PRESENT GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS CHIPLETS AND 2.5D INTEGRATION, OFFER NEW POSSIBILITIES BY CLOSELY COMBINING MEMORY, SPECIALIZED ACCELERATORS, AND GENERAL-PURPOSE PROCESSORS TO ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER PERFORMANCE. HOWEVER, ACHIEVING ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND RESOURCE-CONSCIOUS COMPUTING WITH THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES REMAINS A COMPLEX CHALLENGE. IT REQUIRES INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO INTEGRATING POWER DELIVERY AND SIGNAL INTEGRITY ALONGSIDE COMPUTING FUNCTIONS, AND COMBINING DIFFERENT MATERIALS ? SUCH AS TRADITIONAL SILICON WITH ADVANCED COMPONENTS LIKE GALLIUM NITRIDE POWER ELECTRONICS AND CUTTING-EDGE MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES. THE ECOCHIPLETS PROJECT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE DESIGN OF NEXT-GENERATION DATA CENTERS THROUGH NOVEL CHIPLET AND 2.5D INTEGRATION PRACTICES. THE PROJECT WILL APPLY ECONOMIC CONCEPTS SUCH AS DEPRECIATION TO COST AND LIFETIME CONCERNS OF SYSTEMS. THIS PROMOTES APPROACHES THAT ADVANCE CAPABILITIES IN NEWLY DEPLOYED COMPUTE SERVERS. THESE SERVERS WILL LEVERAGE NOVEL CHIPLET-BASED DESIGN FROM THE GROUND UP TO PROVIDE NEW HIGHER PERFORMANCE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPROACHES ALONG WITH OFTEN IGNORED CONCERNS SUCH AS THERMAL, POWER DELIVERY, AND SIGNAL INTEGRITY, CRITICAL FOR SYSTEM LONGEVITY DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS PROJECT. THESE RESULTS WILL LEAD TO ADVANCES IN HETEROGENEOUS SYSTEMS IDEAL FOR AGILE VIRTUAL HARDWARE DESIGN AND HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION ALLOWING FOR COLLECTING DATA CENTER RESOURCES TO BUILD VIRTUAL OR DISAGGREGATED RESOURCES ALLOWING COMPUTE SOFTWARE TO MATCH WORKLOADS SEAMLESSLY TO VARIOUS TECHNOLOGIES AND HETEROGENEOUS CHIPLETS IN THE SAME PACKAGE. THIS PROJECT TAKES A FULL STACK APPROACH BY MODELING COSTS AND INTEGRATING CRITICAL COMPONENTS PREVIOUSLY IGNORED IN DESIGN AND SIMULATION TOOLS, SUCH AS POWER ELECTRONICS AND ASYNCHRONOUS CIRCUITS. THE RESULT IS HARDWARE AGILITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH ADAPTABILITY TO NEW COMPUTE ALGORITHMS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PROMOTING LONG EQUIPMENT LIFETIMES AND REDUCING COSTS. 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 OF ARKANSAS STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROJECT

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

DE-CR0000003 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AWARD TITLED AVIRA: AUTOMATED VULNERABILITY INTELLIGENCE AND RISK ASSESSMENT.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM- AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN

TIME-CRITICAL HEMORRHAGE MONITORING AND CONTROL WITH NOVEL WEARABLE SENSOR DEVICE

METABOLIC REGULATION OF MODS IN PEDIATRIC MITOCHONDRIAL DISORDERS - PROJECT SUMMARY DEVASTATING HUMAN PRIMARY MITOCHONDRIAL DISORDERS ARE CAUSED BY PATHOGENIC MTDNA VARIANTS AND FREQUENTLY EVOLVE INTO ORGAN FAILURES REFERRED TO, AS MITOCHONDRIAL-INDUCED MULTIPLE ORGAN DYSFUNCTION SYNDROME (MIMODS). THE UNDERLYING PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC MECHANISMS ARE MORE COMPLEX THAN A MERE DECREASE IN ATP PRO- DUCTION AND VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THESE COMPLEX PROCESSES IN A TISSUE-SPECIFIC MANNER. THERE IS THUS AN URGENT UNMET NEED TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THE WIDESPREAD MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN MULTIPLE TISSUES LEADING TO MIMODS. WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED DELETERIOUS OUTCOMES OF WIDESPREAD MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION (LOWERED BIOENERGETICS HEALTH INDEX, ABNORMAL MITOCHONDRIAL MORPHOLOGY, ELEVATED PUTRESCINE LEVELS) IN MULTIPLE PEDIAT- RIC PMD DERMAL FIBROBLASTS CARRYING UNIQUE PATHOGENIC MTDNA VARIANTS. BASED ON OUR FINDINGS, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ELEVATED PUTRESCINE LEVELS CAUSE OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSE AND WIDESPREAD MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION THAT CONTRIBUTES TO MIMODS IN CELLULAR MODELS OF PRIMARY MITOCHONDRIAL DISORDERS. OUR COLLABORATIVE TEAM WILL DE- SIGN EXPERIMENTS AND BUILD UPON ESTABLISHED EXPERTISE IN MITOCHONDRIAL GENETICS AND PHYSIOLOGY, STEM CELL BIOL- OGY AND DIFFERENTIATION, NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING ANALYSIS AND METABOLITE PROFILING TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH AIMS: IN AIM 1, WE WILL COMPREHENSIVELY ASSESS MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN TWENTY PEDIATRIC DISEASED FIBROBLASTS WITH A CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF PMDS, ALONG WITH FIVE AGE MATCHED CONTROLS. WE WILL ASSESS THE OXIDA- TIVE STRESS MARKERS, NAD/NADH REDOX BIOCHEMISTRY, METABOLOMICS, MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION AND MORPHOLOGY. IN AIM 2, WE WILL SEEK TO UNDERSTAND TISSUE-SPECIFIC ABNORMALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN NEURONS, CARDIOMYOCYTES AND PODOCYTES. IN AIM 3, WE WILL ASSESS THE EFFECT OF TARGETED INTERVENTIONS OF REDUCING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND IMPROVING MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION IN MULTIPLE DIFFERENTIATED CELL TYPES THAT EXHIBIT ELE- VATED PUTRESCINE LEVELS; AND IN MULTIPLE TISSUES FROM PRECLINICAL MOUSE MODELS OF PMD. THE COMPLETION OF THESE AIMS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A NEWER UNDERSTANDING OF PUTRESCINE METABOLISM IN MULTIPLE ENERGY-INTENSIVE CELL TYPES DERIVED FROM PATIENTS WITH PEDIATRIC PMD AND ITS ROLE IN TRIGGERING MIMODS. IN THE LONG-TERM, OUR STUDIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUALIZED TESTING OF PATIENT CELLS WITH CANDIDATE THERAPEUTICS TO DRIVE RATIONAL, PERSONALIZED THERAPIES.

HASHTAG HPV: ENGAGING PARENTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA TO INCREASE HPV VACCINATION

DESCRIPTION:THIS ACTION PROVIDES FUNDING UNDER THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA) IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,889,339 TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS WITH IMPROVING THE WATER QUALITY OF THE GULF OF AMERICA. THE PURPOSE OF THIS AWARD IS TO ASSESS BIOCHAR-AMENDED POULTRY LITTER'S ABILITY TO REDUCE AGRICULTURAL NUTRIENT RUNOFF WITH LABORATORY TESTING, FIELD TRIALS, AND WATERSHED-SCALE WATER QUALITY MONITORING. THROUGH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS WITH LOCAL FARMERS AND COMMUNITIES, IT WILL EVALUATE BIOCHAR'S EFFECTIVENESS AS AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO IMPROVING BOTH WATER QUALITY AND FARM PRODUCTIVITY. ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDE LABORATORY-LEVEL EXPERIMENTS TO ASSESS THE NUTRIENT REMOVAL CAPACITY OF BIOCHAR AS WELL AS WATER QUALITY MONITORING - AT A FIELD-SCALE, MEASURING NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS IN PASTURELANDS AMENDED WITH BIOCHAR, AND AT A WATERSHED-SCALE TO QUANTIFY THE CONTAMINANT LOADS OF DOWNSTREAM WATERWAYS. COMMUNITY-WIDE ENGAGEMENT WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DISCOVERY FARM TO REACH LOCAL RESIDENTS AND LANDOWNERS WITH TRAINING, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. SUBRECIPIENT:SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE INSTALLING AND MONITORING WATER QUALITY MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS ON DEMONSTRATION FARMS, PERFORMING FIELD AND LABORATORY SAMPLE ANALYSIS, AND HOSTING TRAINING, WORKSHOPS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS, WHERE INVOLVEMENT WILL BE TRACKED AND RESULTS PROCESSED INTO INFORMATIONAL MULTI-MEDIA PUBLIC DISTRIBUTIONS.OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE THE ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY INDICATORS ACROSS DIFFERENT SCALES TO DEMONSTRATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND OPERATIONAL BENEFITS OF BIOCHAR-AMENDED POULTRY LITTER TO FARM FIELD APPLICATIONS, INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION EFFORTS. WATER AND SOIL TESTS WILL BE PERFORMED IN THE LABORATORY TO EXAMINE THE NUTRIENT RETENTION PROPERTIES OF POULTRY-LITTER-DERIVED BIOCHAR WITH THE EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO SHOW HOW BIOCHAR MIXED WITH POULTRY LITTER CAN REDUCE PHOSPHORUS AND OTHER ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS. TO IMPLEMENT FIELD-SCALE APPLICATION TRIALS, A DISCOVERY FARM WILL BE DEVELOPED TO EXAMINE BIOCHAR'S ABILITY TO REDUCE EDGE-OF-FIELD NUTRIENT LOSS. FOUR FIELD SITES WITH DIFFERENT TREATMENT RATIOS WILL BE SAMPLED DURING WATER RUN-OFF EVENTS AND COMPARED FOR NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT COMPOSITION WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT, ALONG WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN SOIL HEALTH PARAMETERS AND FORAGE YIELD, TREATMENT SITES WILL ACHIEVE A 15-25% REDUCTION IN NITRATE LOSS AND A 5-10% DECREASE IN PHOSPHORUS LOSS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL. FURTHERMORE, TO DOCUMENT WATER QUALITY BENEFITS AT THE WATERSHED-LEVEL, SAMPLES FROM RECEIVING WATERWAYS, DOWNSTREAM OF THE PROJECT'S TREATMENT SITES, WILL BE ANALYZED FOR NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS FOR COMPARISON TO DATA FROM CONTROL WATERSHEDS OUTSIDE OF THE STUDY AREA. THESE RESULTS ARE ANTICIPATED TO SHOW A 5-10% REDUCTION IN NUTRIENT LOSS FOR SITES WITH BIOCHAR TREATMENT. THE DISCOVERY FARM WILL ALSO PROVIDE A MAIN VENUE FOR THE PROJECT'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS WHICH ARE EXPECTED TO RESULT IN 15 PRODUCERS IMPLEMENTING VOLUNTARY ON-SITE BIOCHAR APPLICATIONS FOR APPROXIMATELY 50 ACRES OF FARMLAND. SUPPORT RESOURCES AND DECISION-MAKING TOOLS WILL BE DEVELOPED IN CONJUNCTION WITH INCREASED COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT TO STREAMLINE EFFICIENCY AND SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, THEREBY INCREASING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND PARTNERING IN VOLUNTARY CONSERVATION PRACTICES WHICH PLAY A KEY ROLE IN PROVIDING SAFE, HEALTHY DRINKING WATER TO THE PUBLIC AND ENSURING ACCESS TO CLEAN, ABUNDANT WATER RESOURCES TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. AS THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES, THE RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITIES IN THE BRUSH CREEK-BEAVER LAKE WATERSHED WITHIN MADISON AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES, ARKANSAS, WILL BENEFIT FROM IMPROVED WATER QUALITY, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS.

NASA STRATEGIC GOAL 4: ENHANCE CAPABILITIES AND OPERATIONS TO CATALYZE CURRENT AND FUTURE MISSION SUCCESS. NASA INVESTMENTS IN STEM ENGAGEMENT ARE FOCUSED ON BUILDING A FUTURE STEM WORKFORCE THROUGH PROGRAM ELEMENTS DESIGNED TO BOLSTER CAPACITY AND TO ATTRACT ENGAGE AND ENABLE STUDENTS TO MOVE TOWARD STEM CAREERS THROUGH NASA-UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES.

UPWARD BOUND

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH - DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (GRFP)

UPWARD BOUND 1

MEDIATORS OF MUSCLE REJUVENATION WITH AGING - PROJECT SUMMARY TISSUE FUNCTION DECLINES WITH AGE WHICH HAS DELETERIOUS EFFECTS THAT CAN BE MITIGATED BY EXERCISE. THE MOLECULAR CAUSES OF FUNCTIONAL DECLINE WITH AGE AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH TISSUE AGING CAN BE MITIGATED BY EXERCISE IS UNCLEAR. THE REVERSAL OF CELLS TO A YOUNGER EPIGENETIC AND PHENOTYPIC AGE IS CONTROLLED BY YAMANAKA FACTORS (OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, AND MYC, OR “OKSM”). IN SKELETAL MUSCLE, THE MOST VOLUMINOUS TISSUE IN THE BODY, MYC IS THE ONLY YAMANAKA FACTOR INDUCED BY EXERCISE. MYC ALSO BECOMES LESS RESPONSIVE TO EXERCISE WITH ADVANCING AGE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO EXAMINE THE ROLE THAT MYC PLAYS IN SKELETAL MUSCLE FUNCTIONAL, METABOLIC, CELLULAR, AND MOLECULAR PLASTICITY THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN. TO ANSWER OUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS, WE DEVELOPED A MOUSE MODEL THAT ALLOWS FOR PULSATILE CONTROL OF MYC SPECIFICALLY IN SKELETAL MUSCLE FIBERS SIMULTANEOUS WITH FLUORESCENT LABELING OF MUSCLE FIBER NUCLEI (MYONUCLEI) FOR PURIFICATION AND DOWNSTREAM ANALYSES. WE ALSO DEVELOPED A NOVEL MURINE MODEL OF VOLUNTARY EXERCISE FOR AGED MICE. WE WILL PERFORM: 1) FUNCTIONAL, BIOENERGETIC, AND CELLULAR ANALYSES, 2) SINGLE MYONUCLEAR RNA-SEQUENCING, AND 3) GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND METHYLATION CLOCK ANALYSES IN MYONUCLEI AFTER WEEKLY PULSATILE MYC INDUCTION AND EXERCISE THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT MYC INDUCTION IN MUSCLE WILL MIMIC FUNCTIONAL AND CELLULAR ASPECTS OF EXERCISE ADAPTATION THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN AND AMPLIFY THE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE TRAINING. MYC WILL MEDIATE YOUTHFULNESS AT SEVERAL MOLECULAR LEVELS, INCLUDING BIOLOGICAL AGING DETERMINED BY DNA METHYLATION “CLOCK” AGE. FURTHEMORE, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT MYC INDUCTION LATE IN LIFE IS SUFFICIENT TO REVERSE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ASPECTS OF MUSCLE AGING. OUR EXPERIMENTS WILL PROVIDE FUNDAMENTAL INFORMATION ON THE ROLE OF MYC IN SKELETAL MUSCLE AND ITS CAPACITY FOR EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL AGE REVERSAL IN MYONUCLEI. WE EXPECT THAT OUR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND COMPREHENSIVE HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN -OMICS ANALYSES WILL SERVE AS A FOUNDATION FOR UNDERSTANDING SKELETAL MUSCLE MASS REGULATION WITH AGING, AND PROVIDE NEW DIRECTIONS FOR EXPLORING WHAT MEDIATES THE AGE-DEFYING EFFECTS OF EXERCISE.

SYSTEMS MECHANOBIOLOGY MODELING FOR PATIENT-SPECIFIC CARDIAC FIBROSIS PREDICTIONS

UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTER - RURAL TRANSPORTATION

IN VIVO LABEL-FREE CHARACTERIZATION OF AGED SKIN TO PREDICT DELAYED WOUND HEALING

PROPERTIES OF MULTIFERROIC NANOSTRUCTURES FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES

ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR SPINAL DECOMPRESSION AND INTERBODY FUSION - SUMMARY THE GOAL OF THIS APPLICATION IS TO DEVELOP A ROBOTIC WORKSTATION WITH INTEGRATED, NOVEL IMAGING AND VISUALIZATION CAPABILITIES TO PERFORM COMPLEX TASKS IN MINIMALLY-INVASIVE SPINE (MIS) SURGERY THAT CANNOT BE CURRENTLY PERFORMED WITH CONVENTIONAL SURGICAL TOOLS AND APPROACHES. THE SPECIFIC FOCUS OF THIS APPLICATION WILL BE TWO COMPLEX SURGERIES: LAMINECTOMY DECOMPRESSION AND TRANSFORAMINAL LUMBAR INTERBODY FUSION (TLIF) SURGERY. WE PROPOSE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMAGE-GUIDED PROTOTYPE ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR PLANNING, REAL-TIME INTRAOPERATIVE MONITORING, NAVIGATION, AND UPDATING OF THE PLANS. THERE ARE OVER 5 MILLION SPINAL OPERATIONS PERFORMED WORLDWIDE ANNUALLY, WITH 1.3 MILLION SURGERIES IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE. IN THE LOW BACK (LUMBAR SPINE), DECOMPRESSION AND FUSION ARE COMMONLY PERFORMED TO TREAT A VARIETY OF PATHOLOGIES THAT RESULT IN SPINAL STENOSIS (COMPRESSION OF NERVES), INCLUDING: DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE, SPONDYLOSIS (SPINAL ARTHRITIS), SPONDYLOLISTHESIS (TRANSLATIONAL INSTABILITY) AND SPINAL DEFORMITIES SUCH AS SCOLIOSIS. AS THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES CONTINUES TO AGE, SPINAL FUSION SURGERY HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY MORE COMMON OVER THE LAST DECADE. SPINAL FUSION IS A SURGICAL TECHNIQUE THAT CREATES AN OSSEOUS (BONY) UNION BETWEEN TWO OR MORE VERTEBRAL BONES TO ELIMINATE ANY INTERSEGMENTAL MOTION. IN THE MODERN ERA, THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY PLACEMENT OF PEDICLE SCREWS (ANCHORS IN INDIVIDUAL VERTEBRAL BODIES) CONNECTED WITH RODS THAT SPAN ACROSS MULTIPLE VERTEBRAL BONES. ADDITIONALLY, PLACEMENT OF A MECHANICAL DEVICE IN THE DISC SPACE IS FREQUENTLY PERFORMED TO FACILITATE DIRECT BONE GROWTH BETWEEN THE VERTEBRAL BODIES. A POPULAR APPROACH TO PERFORMING THIS PROCEDURE IS KNOWN AS A TRANSFORAMINAL LUMBAR INTERBODY FUSION OR “TLIF.” PLACEMENT OF SCREWS AND INTERBODY DEVICES ARE TECHNICALLY CHALLENGING DUE TO THEIR CLOSE PROXIMITY TO VITAL NEURAL AND VASCULAR STRUCTURES. THE CURRENT COMMERCIAL ROBOTIC SYSTEMS FOCUS ON GUIDING PEDICLE SCREWS ONLY. THESE SYSTEMS GENERALLY RELY ON PREOPERATIVE IMAGING THAT IS MERGED WITH INTRAOPERATIVE POSITIONING DATA FOR CALIBRATION AND TRAJECTORY PLANNING. THE PLANNED SCREW TRAJECTORY IS EXECUTED BY THE SURGEON MANUALLY. IN COMPLEX TASKS IN SPINAL SURGERY SUCH AS TLIF (WHERE THE INTERVERTEBRAL DISC IS REMOVED, BONY END PLATES ARE PREPARED, AND BIOMECHANICAL IMPLANTS ARE PLACED THROUGH INTERFERENCE FIT TO FACILITATE FUSION), SURGEONS ARE LIMITED IN THEIR VISUALIZATION AND APPROACH BY THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE ANATOMY. IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS, SURGEONS FREQUENTLY CREATE COLLATERAL DAMAGE ON NORMAL ANATOMICAL STRUCTURES. WE PROPOSE THAT AN ACTIVE SURGICAL ROBOTIC SYSTEM INTEGRATED WITH CONTINUUM DEXTEROUS MANIPULATORS (CDM) MAY PROVIDE THE ABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH COMPLEX SPINAL SURGICAL TASKS SUCH AS SPINAL DECOMPRESSION AND TLIF WITH LESS DISRUPTION TO SURROUNDING TISSUES, AND THUS, RESULT IN REDUCTION OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL, OPEN SURGERY AND TRADITIONAL MIS SPINAL SURGERY.

UPGRADING TO A SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR RESEARCH COMPUTING

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

NEW AWARD ENTITLED, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SILICON CARBIDE FAULT CURRENT LIMITER

DEVELOPMENT OF TARGETED APPROACHES IN PREVENTION OF CANCER-CACHEXIA

CEREAL DROUGHT STRESS RESPONSE AND RESISTANCE NETWORKS

VETERANS UPWARD BOUND

EFFICIENT AND ACCURATE FORCE FIELDS FOR COMPUTER-AIDED DRUG DESIGN

NON-INVASIVE AUTOMATED WOUND ANALYSIS VIA DEEP LEARNING NEURAL NETWORKS - PROJECT SUMMARY: EACH YEAR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS DEVELOP CHRONIC WOUNDS, WHICH REQUIRE ADVANCED WOUND CARE THAT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED TO COST $50 BILLION ANNUALLY. HOWEVER, OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CHRONIC WOUNDS AND HOW TO TREAT THEM HAS BEEN LIMITED BY A LACK OF ESTABLISHED METHODS TO OBJECTIVELY CHARACTERIZE AND MEASURE WOUND FEATURES. DETAILED ASSESSMENTS OF WOUNDS IN THE CLINIC AND RESEARCH LABORATORY OFTEN OCCUR THROUGH HISTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF TISSUE BIOPSIES. THIS INFORMATION CAN PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO CELLULAR MIGRATION INTO THE WOUND, CELLULAR PROLIFERATION AT THE EDGE OF THE WOUND, INFECTION, AND FIBROSIS. HOWEVER, THE COLLECTION, CREATION, AND ANALYSIS OF HISTOLOGY SECTIONS IS INHERENTLY INVASIVE, TIME-CONSUMING, AND QUALITATIVE. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP AN IMAGE ANALYSIS PIPELINE THAT CAN PROVIDE AUTOMATED QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF WOUNDS AND LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR A NON- INVASIVE REAL-TIME “OPTICAL BIOPSY” THAT CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION IDENTICAL TO STANDARD HISTOPATHOLOGY. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPROACHES USING DEEP LEARNING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS CAN BE COUPLED WITH IN VIVO MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY AND EXISTING QUANTITATIVE IMAGE ANALYSIS METHODS TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL WITH THE SAME ACCURACY AS TRADITIONAL BIOPSIES WITH HISTOLOGICAL STAINING AND EXPERT ANALYSIS. IN AIM 1, WE WILL TRAINING AND VALIDATE NEURAL NETWORKS CAPABLE OF SEGMENTING AND QUANTIFYING STANDARD WOUND HISTOLOGY BASED ON TRAINING FROM THREE INDEPENDENT WOUND HEALING RESEARCH LABS. IN AIM 2, WE WILL ADAPT THIS NETWORK TO PERFORM SEGMENTATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF IN VIVO LABEL-FREE MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY IMAGES OF SKIN WOUNDS TO PROVIDE RAPID READOUTS OF WOUND ORGANIZATION AND METABOLIC FUNCTION. FINALLY IN AIM 3, WE WILL DEVELOP AND VALIDATE A NETWORK CAPABLE OF GENERATING VIRTUAL HISTOLOGY IMAGES FROM OUR STAIN-FREE NON-INVASIVE IN VIVO MPM IMAGES, WHICH CAN BE COUPLED WITH THE NETWORKS DEVELOPED IN AIM 1 AND 2 TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF WOUND MICROSTRUCTURE AND METABOLISM. IN THE NEAR-TERM, THIS PROPOSAL WILL DEVELOP A SERIES OF ROBUST ANALYSIS TOOLS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO EXISTING H&E-STAINED OR UNSTAINED SKIN TISSUE SECTIONS COMMONLY STUDIED BY WOUND HEALING RESEARCHERS. IN THE LONG-TERM, THE COMBINATION OF LABEL-FREE MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY AND MACHINE LEARNING-BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS WILL ENABLE COMPLETELY NON-INVASIVE WOUND HISTOLOGY THAT CAN BE PERFORMED IN REAL-TIME AT THE POINT OF CARE TO GUIDE DEBRIDEMENT AND WOUND CARE.

SUPERCONDUCTOR/SEMICONDUCTOR GATEMON QUBITS IN GERMANIUM: SUPER-GEMON COLLABORATORY

NATIVE OUTREACH FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT

PROTEIN TARGETING TO THE CHLOROPLAST THYLAKOID MEMBRANE: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF A TARGETING . . .

THE IMPACTS OF ADVERSE PROVIDER CONDITIONS ON PROVIDER BIAS AND HEALTH DISPARITIES - PROJECT SUMMARY HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES THAT ADVERSELY AFFECT PATIENTS FROM RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIZED GROUPS ARE OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO PROVIDER LEVEL FACTORS SUCH AS IMPLICIT BIAS. HOWEVER, EFFORTS TO REDUCE DISPARITIES HAVE BEEN HINDERED BY AN INCOMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF FACTORS THAT LEAVE PROVIDERS MORE VULNERABLE TO BIAS AND THEIR UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. THIS PROPOSAL WILL ADDRESS THIS CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE GAP BY IDENTIFYING SITUATIONS THAT INCREASE BIAS AMONG HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS THAT CAN BE INTERVENED ON AT THE PROVIDER AND SYSTEM LEVEL. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH LEVERAGES THEORY FROM PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY TO DOCUMENT THE IMPACT OF THREE ADVERSE PROVIDER CONDITIONS (APCS) THAT COULD INCREASE PROVIDER BIAS: (1) WORKPLACE DEMANDS (E.G., HEIGHTENED LEVELS OF STRESS OR BURNOUT), (2) CONCERNS ABOUT ONE’S OWN HEALTH, AND (3) INCREASED INFLAMMATION OCCURRING DURING ILLNESS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT WHEN PROVIDERS EXPERIENCE HIGHER (VERSUS LOWER) WORKPLACE DEMANDS, ARE MORE (VERSUS LESS) CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR OWN HEALTH, AND EXPERIENCE HIGHER (VERSUS LOWER) ACUTE INFLAMMATION, THEY WILL DEMONSTRATE MORE BIAS AGAINST PATIENTS FROM RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIZED GROUPS. WE WILL TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS IN THE CONTEXT OF ABDOMINAL PAIN TREATMENT IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ATTENDING PHYSICIANS, NURSE PRACTITIONERS, PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANTS, AND RESIDENTS IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE AND INTERNAL MEDICINE HOSPITALISTS WHO TREAT ABDOMINAL PAIN FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE ADMITTED. WE WILL ADDRESS THREE SPECIFIC AIMS TO DOCUMENT EFFECTS OF APCS ON QUALITY OF CARE DISPARITIES. TO ADDRESS AIM 1, WE WILL USE A CORRELATIONAL DESIGN TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN APCS AND STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS OF BIAS (IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT BIAS, PERCEPTION OF OTHERS’ PAIN, AND SOCIAL AVOIDANCE). TO ADDRESS AIM 2, WE WILL USE A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED INTERVENTION DESIGN; WE WILL USE THE INFLUENZA VACCINE TO SIMULATE ILLNESS BY EXPERIMENTALLY INCREASING INFLAMMATION (INDEXED BY PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE LEVELS). INCREASES IN CYTOKINES ARE HYPOTHESIZED TO BE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS OF BIAS. TO ADDRESS AIM 3, WE WILL USE A PROSPECTIVE, LONGITUDINAL DESIGN TO TRACKS PROVIDER ILLNESS SYMPTOMS, STRESS, BURNOUT, AND LOCAL CASES OF INFECTIOUS ILLNESS OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR. THESE PROVIDER DATA WILL BE CORRELATED WITH PATIENT DATA FROM ABDOMINAL PAIN CASES TREATED BY THE PROVIDER ON THOSE DAYS. THIS STUDY HAS HIGH ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY AND FINDINGS WILL IDENTIFY DISTINCT CONTRIBUTIONS OF APCS TO LOWER QUALITY OF CARE, ESPECIALLY FOR PATIENTS FROM RACIAL AND MINORITIZED GROUPS. OVERALL, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL HAVE WIDESPREAD POSITIVE IMPACT BY OUTLINING PATHS FOR NOVEL INTERVENTIONS AT MULTIPLE LEVELS AND DOMAINS OF INFLUENCE WITHIN THE NIMHD RESEARCH FRAMEWORK, SUCH AS BY ENGAGING ADMINISTRATOR AND CLINICAL MANAGEMENT STAKEHOLDERS IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CONSEQUENCES OF STAFFING POLICIES FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES.

CAREER: THE ROLE OF MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN DRIVING BIDIRECTIONAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND OFFSPRING IMMUNE PHENOTYPE.

D18AP00010

INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF METABOLIC REWIRING IN BREAST TUMOR INNERVATION - PROJECT SUMMARY WHILE PRIMARY, EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER IS CURABLE, METASTATIC BREAST CANCER REMAINS A CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM. RECENT ANALYSES OF CLINICAL SAMPLES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE INCREASED INFILTRATION OF SYMPATHETIC AND SENSORY NERVE FIBERS INTO THE MAMMARY TUMORS, A PHENOMENON KNOWN AS TUMOR INNERVATION, IS HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH METASTATIC POTENTIAL OF BREAST CANCER. DESPITE RECENT INTERESTS IN UNDERSTANDING BREAST TUMOR INNERVATION, THERE STILL EXISTS A CRITICAL GAP IN FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS OF BREAST TUMOR INNERVATION. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ADDRESS THIS GAP IN KNOWLEDGE BY STUDYING METABOLIC REGULATIONS OF BREAST TUMOR INNERVATION AND SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS ON METASTASIS. A WEALTH OF LITERATURE SUGGESTS THAT METABOLIC DYSREGULATION COULD IN FACT BE LINKED TO TUMOR INNERVATION AND HEIGHTENED METASTATIC POTENTIAL. FOR INSTANCE, METABOLIC REWIRING SUCH AS AEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS AND GLUTAMINE ADDICTION OF CANCER CELLS LEADS TO CHANGES IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT THAT INCREASES SECRETION OF NEUROTROPHINS SUCH AS NERVE GROWTH FACTOR AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR, AS WELL AS PRO-AXONOGENIC EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX COMPONENTS. DESPITE THE OBVIOUS IMPLICATIONS OF BLOCKING TUMOR INNERVATION TO REDUCE METASTATIC FREQUENCY, THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF TARGETING METABOLIC REWIRING TO PREVENT BREAST TUMOR INNERVATION AND CURB METASTASIS HAS NOT YET BEEN CAREFULLY EVALUATED. THEREFORE, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT AEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS AND GLUTAMINE ADDICTION IN BREAST CANCER PROMOTES BREAST TUMOR INNERVATION LEADING TO HEIGHTENED METASTASIS. TO TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS, WE WILL UTILIZE OUR TISSUE-ENGINEERED 3D CULTURE PLATFORMS THAT HAVE BEEN OPTIMIZED IN-HOUSE TO STUDY TUMOR INNERVATION. OUR PLATFORMS COMPRISE TUMOR-MIMETIC COLLAGEN FIBER ORGANIZATION AND BREAST TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT-MIMETIC DECELLULARIZED ADIPOSE TISSUE MATRICES. NOTABLY, OUR PLATFORM CAN BE MONITORED LONGITUDINALLY LIVE USING OPTICAL REDOX IMAGING TO DETERMINE CELL TYPE-SPECIFIC METABOLIC CHANGES AND ITS CORRELATION WITH INNERVATION. WE WILL EVALUATE THE LINK BETWEEN METABOLIC REWIRING IN TUMOR CELLS AND HEIGHTENED INNERVATION (AIM 1) AND METASTATIC POTENTIAL OF BREAST CANCER CELLS AS A FUNCTION OF THE AMOUNT OF TUMOR INNERVATION (AIM 2). AIM 3 WILL FOCUS ON ANALYSIS OF DEIDENTIFIED PATIENT SAMPLES FROM PRIMARY AND METASTATIC BREAST TUMORS TO UNRAVEL ASSOCIATION AMONG METABOLIC PROFILES, INNERVATION, AND CLINICAL METASTATIC OUTCOMES. MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS WILL BE GAINED VIA PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITIONS AND GENETIC DELETIONS OF TARGET METABOLIC ENZYMES AND NEUROTROPHIN RECEPTORS. OUTCOMES OF OUR RESEARCH MAY LEAD TO NOT ONLY KNOWLEDGE GAIN ON CORRELATIONS AMONG METABOLIC REWIRING, INNERVATION AND METASTASIS, BUT ALSO NOVEL STRATEGIES TO CURB METASTATIC BREAST CANCER PROGRESSION VIA INTERFERENCE ON DYSREGULATED CELLULAR METABOLISM AND INNERVATION. IMPORTANTLY, OUR PLATFORMS CAN BE BROADENED TO STUDY METABOLIC REGULATIONS OF CANCER-NERVE CROSSTALK IN OTHER TYPES OF NON-NEURAL CANCERS WITH PROVEN MALIGNANT CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NERVES VIA TUMOR INNERVATION (E.G., LUNG, PANCREAS, COLORECTAL, HEAD AND NECK, SKIN, ETC.).

NEW AWARD TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS. AWARD NUMBER: DE-EE0008707, PROJECT ENTITLED: INTEGRATION METHODS FOR HIGH-DENSITY INTEGRATED ELECTRIC DRIVES.

LEADERS FOR TRANSITION

PATIENT-SPECIFIC HUMAN INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS FOR MITROCHRONDRIAL DISEASES

UPWARD BOUND 2

ENHANCEMENT OF STEM TEACHER AGENCY THROUGH AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

PHASE II IUCRC AT UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS: CENTER FOR MEMBRANE SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (MAST)

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS COLLEGE PROJECT TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY ACCESS TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE

TRIO UPWARD BOUND VETERANS PROGRAM

VETERANS UPWARD BOUND

UPWARD BOUND VETERANS PROGRAM

FAYETTEVILLE UOFA FFY2018 5307 5339 OPERATIONS PREMAIN PARATRANSIT PROCUREMENT

FAYETTEVILLE - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FFY2019 5307 5339 OPERATIONS PREVMNTC PARATRANSIT AND PROCUREMENT

TRACK 2, GK-12: TEACHING THE SCIENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE

CAREER: THE ROLE OF LIGHT ENVIRONMENT AND GENETICS IN SHAPING VISUAL AND BEHAVIORAL PLASTICITY -MANY ANIMALS RELY ON VISUAL CUES TO GUIDE BEHAVIORS SUCH AS FINDING FOOD, FINDING MATES, AND AVOIDING PREDATORS. THE DETECTABILITY OF VISUAL CUES IS INFLUENCED BY ENVIRONMENT, AS HABITATS HAVE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS AND QUALITIES OF AMBIENT LIGHT. DUE TO HABITAT-SPECIFIC VARIATION IN AMBIENT LIGHT, IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE EYES OF SPECIES THAT SHARE THE SAME HABITAT ARE ADAPTED TO BE MOST SENSITIVE TO THE COLORS OF LIGHT IN THAT HABITAT. THIS VISUAL TUNING MAY BE THE RESULT OF GENES UNDERLYING VISION AS WELL AS RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, SUCH AS INDUCED CHANGES IN SENSORY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT VISION. HOWEVER, IT REMAINS UNCLEAR HOW GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CUES WORK TOGETHER TO PRODUCE THE DIVERSE ADULT VISUAL SYSTEMS WE SEE. USING BUTTERFLIES, AN ECOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT GROUP OF POLLINATORS, THE PROJECT WILL DETERMINE THE GENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE RESPONSIVENESS OF ANIMAL VISUAL SYSTEMS TO CHANGES IN LIGHT ENVIRONMENT. THE PROJECT WILL THEN EXAMINE THE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS OF VARIATION IN VISION ON POLLINATOR FOOD SELECTION AND MATE SELECTION, THUS CONNECTING GENES, HABITAT, AND BOTH FORAGING AND MATE SELECTION BEHAVIOR. TO ENHANCE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT ON ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND POLLINATOR ABUNDANCE, THE RESEARCHER WILL UTILIZE THE CHARISMATIC NATURE OF BUTTERFLIES TO ENGAGE HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS IN A COMMUNITY SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECT. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES THE SEASONAL BEHAVIOR AND LIGHT RESPONSES OF BUTTERFLIES IN COLLABORATION WITH A LOCAL NON-PROFIT BOTANICAL GARDEN, FACULTY IN THE HUMANITIES, AND COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM BOTH SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES COURSES. THIS PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY THE ROLE OF GENETICS AND AMBIENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL LIGHT ENVIRONMENTS IN SHAPING VISUAL ABILITY AND SUBSEQUENT FLOWER PREFERENCE AND MATE SELECTION IN BUTTERFLIES, A PROMINENT GROUP OF POLLINATORS. AMBIENT LIGHT ENVIRONMENT IS KNOWN TO INFLUENCE WHAT COLORS OF LIGHT ARE EASIEST FOR ANIMALS TO SEE, YET THE ABILITY OF ANIMALS TO MODIFY THEIR VISION TO MATCH CHANGES IN LIGHT ENVIRONMENT IN RESPONSE TO DEVELOPMENTAL CUES REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. NEITHER THE ENVIRONMENTAL CUES INDUCING VISUAL TUNING NOR THE GENES UNDERLYING THESE PROCESSES ARE WELL DESCRIBED. USING AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH THAT COMBINES DEVELOPMENTAL AND GENETIC MANIPULATION, TRANSCRIPTOMICS, BEHAVIOR, AND FIELD ECOLOGY, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 1) DOES THE DEVELOPMENTAL LIGHT ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCE VISUAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND SUBSEQUENT FORAGING AND MATING BEHAVIOR IN BUTTERFLIES? 2) WHAT GENES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO VARIATION IN LIGHT? 3) DO CONSPECIFIC VISUAL SIGNALS VARY WITH LIGHT ENVIRONMENT, IMPROVING DETECTABILITY AND VISUAL TUNING? 4) DO POLLINATOR COMMUNITIES EXHIBIT VISUAL TUNING CORRESPONDING TO SEASONAL CHANGES IN AMBIENT LIGHT AND BACKGROUND COLOR? BY CHARACTERIZING THE ROLE OF LIGHT ENVIRONMENT IN SHAPING VISUAL SYSTEMS AND DETERMINING WHETHER SEASONAL SPECIES ASSEMBLAGES EXHIBIT SHIFTS IN VISUAL TUNING THAT MATCH SEASONAL SHIFTS IN LIGHT ENVIRONMENT, THIS WORK WILL ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC AND AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES? ABILITY TO PREDICT POLLINATOR BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO CHANGES IN LAND USE AND LIGHT ENVIRONMENT. 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.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

THIS APPLICATION IS FOR FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2020 SECTION 5307 AND 5339 FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.OUR AGENCY IS A DIRECT RECIPIENT OF SECTIONS 5307 AND 5339 FEDERAL ASSISTANCE SUBALLOCATED BY MPO NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION (NARPC SPLIT LETTER DATED 04/03/2020).FFY20 5307 FEDERAL FUNDS AMOUNT $1184285: FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR OPERATING EXPENSES PREVENTIVEMAINTENANCE EXPENSES PARATRANSIT EXPENSES AND PROCUREMENT OF ROLLING STOCK.FFY20 5339 FEDERAL FUNDS AMOUNT $156609: FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR PROCUREMENT OF ROLLING STOCK.REIMBURSEMENT RATE FOR ADA ACCESSIBLE BUSES IS 85/15.LOCAL MATCH FUNDING WILL COME FROM STATE FUNDING CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE AND UNIVERSITY ALLOCATIONS.VEHICLES WILL OPERATE WITHIN OUR 18-SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA IN FAYETTEVILLE AR.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:FUNDS WILL BE UTILIZED TO HELP COVER THE COSTS --INCLUDING THE PROCUREMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A SAFE EFFECTIVE ROLLING STOCK FLEET-- OF PROVIDING FIXED ROUTE PARATRANSIT SERVICE TO OUR RIDERSHIP IN FAYETTEVILLE AND THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY.EXPECTED OUTCOMES:AWARD FUNDS WILL ENABLE US TO CONTINUE PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE AT THE LEVELS AND QUALITY EXPECTED BY OUR COMMUNITY.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES:OUR TRANSIT PASSENGERS WILL BENEFIT DIRECTLY FROM OUR SERVICES WHICH ENABLE THEM TO ACCESS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES GOVERNMENT OFFICES WORK SCHOOL SHOPPING ENTERTAINMENT OR RECREATIONAL VENUES. OUR CITYS GENERAL POPULACE WILL BENEFIT INDIRECTLY FROM DECREASES IN TRAFFIC AND POLLUTION BROUGHT ABOUT BY REDUCING THE NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILES ON THE ROAD.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:N/A

UAFS SSS STEM

PHYSICS-BASED CHARACTERIZATION OF FUNCTIONALLY RELEVANT PROTEIN CONFORMATIONAL DYNAMICS - PROJECT SUMMARY WITH RECENT ADVANCES IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY AND SUPERCOMPUTING TECHNOLOGY, ALL-ATOM MOLECULAR DYNAMICS (MD) SIMULATION TECHNIQUE HAS GAINED MOMENTUM AS A PROMINENT TOOL FOR THE STUDY OF PROTEIN STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS. BRUTE-FORCE MD, HOWEVER, IS NOT CAPABLE OF ADEQUATELY SAMPLING MOST FUNCTIONALLY RELEVANT BIOMOLECULAR PROCESSES SUCH AS LARGE-SCALE PROTEIN CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES. VARIOUS APPROACHES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES TO ADDRESS THE “TIMESCALE GAP” THAT HINDERS THE USE OF MD IN REAL- WORLD APPLICATIONS. FREE ENERGY CALCULATION METHODS, ENHANCED SAMPLING TECHNIQUES, AND PATH-FINDING ALGORITHMS ARE EXAMPLES OF UMBRELLA TERMS THAT DESCRIBE MANY OF THESE METHODS. THIS PROJECT SPECIFICALLY AIMS AT EMPLOYING, TAILORING, AND FINE-TUNING STATE-OF-THE-ART ENHANCED SAMPLING AND PATH-FINDING ALGORITHMS TO ADDRESS IMPORTANT BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL QUESTIONS. THE OVERALL AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AND EMPLOY ROBUST AND PRACTICAL SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS PROTOCOLS TO STUDY FUNCTIONALLY RELEVANT CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES OF VARIOUS PROTEINS FROM FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR TO CORONAVIRUS SPIKE PROTEIN. OUR PROPOSED METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK SPECIFICALLY TAKES ADVANTAGE OF (1) ROBUST THEORETICAL FORMALISMS ROOTED IN NONEQUILIBRIUM STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY; (2) SYSTEM-SPECIFIC ENHANCED SAMPLING PROTOCOLS THAT ARE TUNABLE FOR THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM AT HAND; AND (3) AND INTEGRATIVE AND SYNERGISTIC APPROACH TO EXPERIMENTAL (SPECIFICALLY SMFRET) AND COMPUTATIONAL (SPECIFICALLY MD) TECHNIQUES. SOME OF THE SYSTEMS PROPOSED TO BE STUDIED HERE INCLUDE PROTON-COUPLED OLIGOPEPTIDE TRANSPORTERS, INFLUENZA HEMAGGLUTININ, ATP-BINDING TRANSPORTERS, CORONAVIRUS SPIKE PROTEINS, MECHANOSENSITIVE CHANNEL OF LARGE CONDUCTANCE, MEMBRANE INSERTASE YIDC, SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER, AND FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR (FGF) PROTEIN. THE COMMON THEME IN ALL OF THESE PROJECTS IS THE LARGE-SCALE CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES INVOLVED IN THE FUNCTION OF THESE PROTEINS. THE SUCCESSFUL USE OF THE METHODOLOGY PROPOSED IN THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THESE CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL AND PAVE THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE ROUTINE APPLICATION OF STATE-OF-THE-ART ENHANCED SAMPLING TECHNIQUES IN THE STUDY OF REAL WORLD BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS.

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE DROSOPHILA AXON GUIDANCE RECEPTOR ROBO2

EDUCATION RESEARCH PROGRAM

FAYETTEVILLE UOFA FY17 5307 5339

MODULATING AND MONITORING THE FOREIGN BODY RESPONSE TO IMPLANTS

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS - FORT SMITH UPWARD BOUND CLASSIC

TRIO - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES - STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES PROGRAM

WILDSNAP: WILDLIFE IN SOLAR THROUGH NATIVE PLANTING A. PROJECT OBJECTIVES WITH THE RAPID EXPANSION OF SOLAR ENERGY ACROSS THE U.S., IT IS VITAL FOR SOLAR OPERATIONS TO PROVIDE POSITIVE ECOLOGICAL VALUE BY MAXIMIZING BIODIVERSITY WITHIN ARRAYS; YET, OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW SOLAR INSTALLATIONS MIGHT SERVE AS WILDLIFE HABITAT IS CURRENTLY LACKING. THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE THAT SOLAR FACILITIES CAN PROVIDE VALUABLE HABITAT FOR SOME WILDLIFE, SUCH AS POLLINATORS, AND THESE POSITIVE EFFECTS APPEAR TO BE LINKED TO MANAGEMENT FOR NATIVE VEGETATION WITHIN ARRAYS.

UPWARD BOUND

UPWARD BOUND MATH & SCIENCE

UPWARD BOUND MATH AND SCIENCE

UPWARD BOUND 2

CAREER: GENETIC DISSECTION OF STRESS SIGNALING AND DEFENSE IN YEAST

SCC-CIVIC-FA TRACK A: A COMMUNITY-BASED FRAMEWORK TO DEVELOP SHARED MICROMOBILITY FOR AFFORDABLE-ACCESSIBLE HOUSING (SMILIES)

YOU TEACH PHYSICAL SCIENCE: NOYCE SCHOLARS ENHANCING TECHNICAL CAPACITY IN ARKANSAS

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION WORKFORCE

ADVANCE ADAPTATION: UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS EMPOWERING NETWORKED GROUPS FOR ARKANSAS GENDER EQUITY (ENGAGE)

APPLICATION PURPOSE: THIS APPLICATION IS FOR FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2021 SECTION 5307 FEDERAL ASSISTANCE. FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR OPERATIONS PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PARATRANSIT AND ROLLING STOCK.; ACTIVITIES PERFORMED: FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR:-OPERATING ASSISTANCE-PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE OF ROLLING STOCK AND THE OPERATIONS FACILITY-NON-FIXED ROUTE ADA PARATRANSIT SERVICE-PROCUREMENT OF 1 NEW REPLACEMENT TRANSIT BUS-PROCUREMENT OF 1 NEW EXPANSION TRANSIT BUS; EXPECTED OUTCOMES: AWARD FUNDS WILL ENABLE US TO CONTINUE PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE AT THE LEVELS AND QUALITY EXPECTED BY OUR COMMUNITY.; INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: OUR TRANSIT PASSENGERS WILL BENEFIT DIRECTLY FROM THIS FUNDING. TRANSIT ENABLES THEM TO ACCESS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES GOVERNMENT OFFICES WORK SCHOOL SHOPPING ENTERTAINMENT OR RECREATIONAL VENUES. OUR CITYS GENERAL POPULACE WILL BENEFIT INDIRECTLY FROM DECREASES IN TRAFFIC AND POLLUTION BROUGHT BY REDUCING THE NUMBER OF AUTOMOBILES ON THE ROAD. ; SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: N/A

CAREER: NEUROPEPTIDERGIC CONTROL OF LIFE CYCLE TRANSITION IN CNIDARIA

INTEGRATED PROCESS OPTIMIZATION FOR BIOCHEMCIAL CONVERSION

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

PROTEIN TARGETING TO THE CHLOROPLAST THYLAKOID MEMBRANE: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF A TARGETING COMPLEX

CAREER: TEASING APART THE TEMPO AND MODE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION WITH A DEFINED ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT AND EVOLUTIONARY REPLICATION ACROSS MULTIPLE TIMESCALES

HIGH FREQUENCY DEVICES AND CIRCUITS FOR NANOTUBES AND NANOWIRES

MRI TRACK 1: ACQUISITION OF A REPLACEMENT MULTICOLLECTOR ICP-MS FOR ENHANCED RESEARCH IN GEOLOGY, ARCHEOLOGY, AND PALEOBIOLOGY -ACQUISITION OF A NEW MULTICOLLECTOR INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETER (MC-ICP-MS) WILL REPLACE AN AGING INSTRUMENT MAINTAINED BY THE TRACE ELEMENT AND RADIOGENIC ISOTOPE LAB (TRAIL) AT UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS. THE NEW INSTRUMENT WILL SUPPORT CRITICAL ADVANCES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PB-ZN (LEAD-ZINC) ORE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL PB-ISOTOPE TECHNIQUES FOR REPATRIATING HUMAN REMAINS TO NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLES. THE ACQUISITION OF THIS NEW MC-ICP-MS EXTENDS THESE IMPACTFUL EFFORTS AND SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMS RELEVANT TO GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY, ARCHEOLOGY, AND PALEOBIOLOGY. THESE INCLUDE RESEARCH ON QUANTIFICATION OF METAL LOADS TRANSPORTED BY STREAMS DRAINING LEAD AND ZINC MINING DISTRICTS IN THE SOUTHERN OZARK REGION, WHICH PROVIDES CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIETAL NEED FOR RESIDENTS OF OKLAHOMA, ARKANSAS, AND MISSOURI. THE NEW EQUIPMENT SUPPORTS ONGOING BROADER IMPACTS FOR NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES IN THE TRI-STATE LEAD AND ZINC MINING DISTRICT. THIS DISTRICT HAS HAD A HISTORY OF UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES, WHICH LED TO LONG-LASTING EFFECTS ON THE PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE CHEROKEE, MIAMI, AND QUAPAW NATIONS. THE TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE IS THE ONLY TRIBAL-LED RECLAMATION OF THE NATION. THEREFORE, THIS WORK PROVIDES CRITICAL INFORMATION FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT. IN ADDITION, PB-ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS ALLOWS IDENTIFICATION OF THEIR ANCIENT HUMAN GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS AND THEIR CULTURAL AFFILIATIONS. IN COLLABORATION WITH TRIBES THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A., CO-PI SAMUELSEN?S ASSESSMENT OF CONTAMINATION AND NOVEL MC-ICP-MS TECHNIQUE WILL CONTINUE ENABLING THE SUCCESSFUL REPATRIATION OF HUMAN REMAINS. THE REPLACEMENT MC-ICP-MS WILL HAVE A TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT ON RESEARCH AT INSTITUTIONAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE LEVELS. AT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL, THE ACQUISITION WILL SUPPORT SEVERAL EARTH SCIENCE-, ARCHEOLOGY-, AND BIOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF A DIVERSE TEAM CONSISTING OF ONE EARLY-CAREER ARCHEOLOGIST, FOUR NSF-FUNDED MID-CAREER GEOSCIENTISTS, AND FOUR ADDITIONAL UA FACULTY MEMBERS. THESE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: (1) CONSTRAINING THE SOURCES AND GENESIS OF HYDROTHERMAL PB-ZN ORE DEPOSITS, (2) DETERMINING THE PROVENANCE OF NATIVE AMERICAN ARTIFACTS, HUMAN REMAINS, AND ANCIENT ANIMALS, (3) DEVELOPMENT OF SPLIT-STREAM LASER ABLATION TECHNIQUES FOR ANALYSIS OF ZIRCON AND MONAZITE FOR CONSTRAINING THE EVOLUTION OF CONTINENTAL CRUST AND PROVENANCE OF CLASTIC SEDIMENTS, (4) ANALYSIS OF BIOGENIC PHOSPHATE AND FOSSIL BONE FOR CONSTRAINING RATES AND MECHANISMS OF FOSSILIZATION AND THE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF BONE BEDS, (5) IN SITU CHRONOLOGY AND ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS OF APOLLO MOON ROCKS, AND (6) DETERMINING THE SOURCE AND QUALITY OF ARKANSAS WATERS. AT THE REGIONAL AND STATE LEVELS, SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF THE NEW ACQUISITION PERMITS THE TRAIL FACILITY TO BECOME ONE OF LESS THAN TWENTY LASER ABLATION SPLIT-STREAM FACILITIES IN THE U.S. AND ENABLE NEW ADVANCES IN THIS EMERGING FIELD. TRAIL HAS A POSITIVE HISTORY OF INSTRUMENT MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY WITH STRONG INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT. SINCE 2016, THE FACILITY HAS BEEN SERVING A DIVERSE AND REGIONAL GROUP OF USERS WITH CRITICAL INSTRUMENTAL NEEDS BEYOND OUR EPSCOR INSTITUTION. THE NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART MC-ICP-MS WILL ENHANCE TRAINING OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SCIENTISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS. IN ADDITION, IT WILL BE USED IN UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE COURSE WORK RELATED TO GEOCHEMISTRY, PETROLOGY AND LOABORATORY METHODS IN ARCHEOLOGY TO ENHANCE TECHNICAL SKILS OF STUDENTS.THIS AWARD IS FUNDED BY THE DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES AND THE INSTRUMENTATION AND FACILITIES PROGRAMS. 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.

ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION GRANTS

TEAMING FOR TRANSITION - PREPARING YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES FOR COMMUNITY AND WORK

CAREER: EXPLORING NEW GENE EMERGENCE AND FUNCTIONAL INNOVATION THROUGH THE GENETIC ORIGINS, REGULATORY INTEGRATION, AND EVOLUTIONARY TRAJECTORIES OF FISH ANTIFREEZE PROTEINS -THIS CAREER PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE ONE OF BIOLOGY?S MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS: HOW ENTIRELY NEW GENES WITH NOVEL BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS ARISE AND HELP ORGANISMS ADAPT TO CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROJECT USES FISH ANTIFREEZE PROTEINS, MOLECULES THAT ALLOW SOME FISHES TO SURVIVE IN ICY SEAWATER, AS A WINDOW INTO HOW EVOLUTION REPEATEDLY SOLVES THE SAME PROBLEM THROUGH DIFFERENT GENETIC ROUTES. BY REVEALING HOW GENOMES GENERATE NEW FUNCTIONS, THE WORK WILL ADVANCE BASIC KNOWLEDGE IN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AND GENOMICS, WITH BROADER RELEVANCE TO BIOTECHNOLOGY AND DATA-INTENSIVE BIOLOGY. THE PROJECT ALSO SERVES THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY STRENGTHENING STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. IT WILL BRING HANDS-ON EVOLUTION OUTREACH TO K?12 STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN ARKANSAS THROUGH ANNUAL MUSEUM EVENTS, INTEGRATE PROJECT-GENERATED MULTI-OMIC DATASETS INTO CLASSROOM RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR MORE THAN 100 COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND PROVIDE MENTORING AND RESEARCH TRAINING FOR STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS. TOGETHER, THESE ACTIVITIES WILL EXPAND PUBLIC SCIENTIFIC LITERACY, BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN GENOMICS, AND PREPARE FUTURE SCIENTISTS TO ANALYZE COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL DATA. THE RESEARCH WILL USE TYPE I ANTIFREEZE PROTEINS (AFPI), WHICH OCCUR IN FOUR DISTANTLY RELATED FISH LINEAGES AND APPEAR TO HAVE EVOLVED INDEPENDENTLY DESPITE THEIR SIMILAR PROTEIN SEQUENCES AND FUNCTIONS. THE PROJECT WILL COMBINE COMPARATIVE GENOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS, EPIGENOMICS, AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSES TO DETERMINE HOW THESE GENES ORIGINATED, HOW THEY ACQUIRED REGULATORY ELEMENTS AND BECAME INTEGRATED INTO GENE NETWORKS, AND HOW THEY WERE MAINTAINED, DIVERSIFIED, OR LOST UNDER DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. SPECIFICALLY, IT WILL ANALYZE STRATEGICALLY SELECTED AFPI-BEARING SPECIES AND CLOSE AFPI-LACKING RELATIVES TO IDENTIFY PRECURSOR SEQUENCES AND MECHANISMS OF GENE BIRTH; MAP GENE EXPRESSION, OPEN CHROMATIN, HISTONE-MARKED REGULATORY REGIONS, AND PROMOTER-ENHANCER INTERACTIONS TO RECONSTRUCT REGULATORY INTEGRATION; AND USE BROADER TAXONOMIC SAMPLING TO TEST HOW NATURAL SELECTION SHAPED GENE FAMILY EXPANSION/CONTRACTION, RETENTION, PSEUDOGENIZATION, AND LOSS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOME IS A GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING NEW GENE EMERGENCE, REGULATORY INNOVATION, AND FUNCTIONAL EVOLUTION ACROSS LINEAGES, EXTENDING BEYOND ANTIFREEZE PROTEINS TO OTHER ADAPTIVE TRAITS. 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.

LSAMP BD: UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS ARK-LSAMP

I/UCRC FOR EXCELLENCE IN LOGISTICS AND DISTRIBUTION, PHASE III

RICE IS A SIGNIFICANT FOOD CROP THAT IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR 8% OF GLOBAL ANTHROPOGENIC METHANE EMISSIONS DUE TO ITS CULTIVATION IN ANAEROBIC SOIL ENVIRONMENTS. THERE IS STILL CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY TO THE METHANE EMISSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH RICE

CLOSING THE STEM LABOR GAP THROUGH A PATH TO GRADUATION FOR LOW INCOME, RURAL STUDENTS

ARKANSAS NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (RID) 2022

GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM(GRFP)

ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR MATH, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING K-12 TEACHERS

COLLABORATIVE: CELDI RENEWAL

TOWARD OPTICAL QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT ON A 2D FERROELECTRIC/FERROELASTIC PLATFORM

THE PURPOSE OF THIS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT IS TO FUND RESEARCH TO THE RECIPIENT TO CARRY OUT A PUBLIC PURPOSE OF SUPPORT OR STIMULATION OF DARPA, DSO

EXPLORATION OF SOLID-STATE NANOPORE READING LABELED LINEAR DNA SEQUENCE

UNDERSTANDING NITROGENASE MATURATION AND ACTIVITY IN METHANOGENS

OPTOELECTRONIC VALLEY-SPIN QUBITS WITH AMBIPOLAR QUANTUM DOTS

SCH:LARGE-SCALE MULTI-MODALITY LEARNING SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY TOBACCO ADDICTION AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS -THE INCREASING PROMOTION OF TOBACCO-RELATED CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTES TO THE RISING PREVALENCE OF TOBACCO USE, PARTICULARLY AMONG YOUTH. DESPITE THIS, LIMITED RESEARCH HAS EVALUATED THE CRITICAL CONNECTION. UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOBACCO USE AND ABUSE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION IS VITAL FOR ADVANCING COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP NOVEL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)-BASED APPROACHES, INCLUDING MULTI-MODALITY, PRIVACY-PRESERVED MACHINE LEARNING, AND HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP METHODOLOGIES, TO AUTOMATICALLY DETECT TOBACCO PROMOTION AND ASCERTAIN THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TOBACCO ON SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND THE ONSET OF YOUTH TOBACCO USE AND ABUSE. THE PROJECT OUTCOMES WILL ENCOMPASS SYSTEM ACCURACY AND PORTABLE AI-BASED SOFTWARE FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF TOBACCO PROMOTION THREADS ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, THEREBY PROTECTING YOUTH ACROSS THE UNITED STATES FROM HARMFUL EXPOSURE. DESPITE THE URGENT NEED TO IDENTIFY THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TOBACCO PROMOTION AND USE AND ABUSE, LIMITED RESEARCH HAS EXPLORED ADVANCED AI TECHNIQUES FOR ANALYZING TOBACCO-RELATED CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. UTILIZING AI FOR THIS PURPOSE RAISES SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS REGARDING FAIRNESS AND TRUSTWORTHINESS, AS DEVELOPED ALGORITHMS MUST AVOID AMPLIFYING EXISTING BIASES TO ALIGN WITH THE BROADER GOALS OF RESPONSIBLE AI IN HEALTH APPLICATIONS. TO ADDRESS THESE LIMITATIONS, THIS PROJECT WILL INTRODUCE NEW THEORIES AND TECHNICAL APPROACHES FOR EXTENSIVE MULTIMODAL LEARNING ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. INITIALLY, A COMPREHENSIVE DATA COLLECTION PIPELINE FOR TOBACCO-RELATED CONTENT WILL BE ESTABLISHED TO GATHER A LARGE-SCALE MULTIMODAL DATASET. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP MULTIMODAL AI MODELS USING ADAPTIVE VISION-LANGUAGE TRANSFORMERS AND DEBIASED LEARNING TO ENSURE EQUITABLE ANALYSIS ACROSS DIVERSE CONTENT AND DEMOGRAPHICS. MOREOVER, A NOVEL PRIVACY-PRESERVING FEDERATED LEARNING SYSTEM, INTEGRATED WITH DIFFERENTIAL PRIVACY AND SECURE MULTI-PARTY COMPUTATION, WILL BE INTRODUCED TO PROTECT DATA PRIVACY. LASTLY, THE RESEARCH WILL PROPOSE A NEW FAIRNESS CONTINUAL LEARNING SYSTEM THAT INCORPORATES HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP INTEGRATION TO ENSURE ETHICAL ALIGNMENT WHILE ADAPTING TO EVOLVING DATA. ALL ALGORITHMS DEVELOPED WILL BE DEPLOYED AS CLOUD SERVICES AND RELEASED AS OPEN SOURCE TO ADVANCE AI RESEARCH IN PUBLIC HEALTH. THIS PROJECT WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR NEW THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES, BRIDGING BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS TO ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTH TOBACCO USE AND GUIDE TARGETED INTERVENTIONS. 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.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION TO PREPARE STEM STUDENTS FOR DATA SCIENCE CAREERS

ADVANCING HIGH VOLTAGE WIDE BANDGAP POWER MODULE PACKAGING FOR TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION

SYNTHETIC AMINO ACIDS ARE GENERALLY PROHIBITED IN CERTIFIED ORGANIC POULTRY PRODUCTION. METHIONINE IS THE ONLY SYNTHETIC AMINO ACID ALLOWED IN ORGANIC POULTRY FEED (UNTIL THE NEXT SUNSET REVIEW IN 2026) AT RESTRICTED LEVELS IN ORGANIC POULTRY DIETS DUE TO ITS HIGH BIOLOGICAL REQUIREMENT. FINDING A NATURAL, COST-EFFECTIVE SOURCE OF METHIONINE HAS BEEN A HIGH PRIORITY FOR ORGANIC FARMERS. HARVESTED INSECTS ARE LOW-COST, READILY AVAILABLE PROTEIN SOURCE RICH IN METHIONINE. HOWEVER, A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF HARVESTED INSECTS AS AN ORGANIC PROTEIN/METHIONINE SOURCE HAS NOT BEEN INVESTIGATED. IN ADDITION TO HARVESTED INSECTS, WE WILL ALSO EVALUATE COMMERCIALLY RAISED CRICKETS, WHICH PRELIMINARY DATA SHOWED BOTH TO HAVE IMMENSE POTENTIAL AS SUSTAINABLE SOURCES OF METHIONINE FOR ORGANIC POULTRY DIETS. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) COLLECT AND PREPARE INSECT MEAL FROM WILD HARVESTED INSECTS AND PERFORM MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY AND NUTRIENT ANALYSIS OF THE MEAL TO FORMULATE BROILER RATIONS 2) EVALUATE GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND MEAT QUALITY OF BROILER CHICKENS FED WITH INSECT-BASED DIETS 3) CONDUCT AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF INSECT MEALS AS A VIABLE SOURCE OF METHIONINE 4) CONDUCT ON-FARM TESTING FOR ASCERTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TREATMENTS IN ORGANIC POULTRY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE GOALS OF ORG-FY 2024, PRIORITY 3: DEVELOP CULTURAL PRACTICES AND OTHER ALLOWABLE ALTERNATIVES TO SUBSTANCES RECOMMENDED FOR REMOVAL FROM NOP'S NATIONAL LIST OF ALLOWED AND PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES. EDUCATIONAL AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO DISSEMINATE RESULTS AND STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIC PRODUCERS WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH TRAIN THE TRAINER PROGRAMS, ELECTRONIC AND PRINTED MATERIAL, AND WORKSHOPS.

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

CS10K: TRAINING ARKANSAS COMPUTING TEACHERS (TACT)

UPWARD BOUND MATH AND SCIENCE COMPETITION

LONG-TERM TRAINING FOR MASTERS LEVEL REHABILITATION COUNSELORS

PROMOTING HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION THROUGH LOW-VOLTAGE SILICON CARBIDE CIRCUITS AND OPTICAL ISOLATION

CHARACTERIZING AND CONTROLLING DOMAIN WALLS IN EMERGING SILICON‐COMPATIBLE FERROELECTRICS (CODEC)

SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY: IMPACTS OF STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS ON FUNCTION IN A MOBILE ENZYME SEQUESTRATION PLATFORM (MESP)

DIRECTED GRANTS

TEAMING FOR TRANSITION

THE REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER ON AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION - THE REHABILITATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER ON AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION (THE RERC ON AAC) WILL GENERATE USER-CENTERED, EVIDENCE-BASED AAC TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER SUPPORTS OVER THE FIVE-YEAR SPAN OF THE PROJECT. THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO PROMOTE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION AND LANGUAGE AND LITERACY LEARNING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES WHO USE OR WOULD BENEFIT FROM AAC THROUGH HIGH QUALITY RESEARCH, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, STATE OF THE ART TRAINING, AND EFFECTIVE DISSEMINATION AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE TO CONTRIBUTE RIGOROUS AND RESPONSIVE INNOVATIONS IN AAC RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND DISSEMINATION, IN DIRECTION COLLABORATION WITH PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES WHO USE OR WOULD BENEFIT FROM AAC. ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT ARE: (A) NEW AAC CAPABILITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AND THEIR COMMUNICATION PARTNERS; (B) INCREASED EMPIRICAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL FOR THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AAC TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER SUPPORTS; AND (C) MORE EFFECTIVE, MORE COLLABORATIVE FUTURE AAC RESEARCHERS AND DEVELOPERS. THE EXPECTED PRODUCTS FROM THE PROJECT INCLUDE: (A) NOVEL AAC FEATURES AND OTHER SUPPORTS MADE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE IN COLLABORATION WITH MANUFACTURERS; (B) FREELY AVAILABLE PROTOTYPES FOR EXPLORATION AND FURTHER TESTING; AND (C) PUBLICATIONS, LEARNING MODULES AND OTHER INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS, A STATE OF THE SCIENCE CONFERENCE, AND A FREELY AVAILABLE DOCTORAL TRAINING COURSE.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM

INNOVATION TRAINING AND SCHOLARSHIPS TO IMPROVE STUDENT RETENTION AND GRADUATION IN STEM FIELDS

CONTROL OF EPITHELIAL MORPHOLOGY AND BIOENERGETICS BY TOLL RECEPTORS DURING DYNAMIC TISSUE REMODELING - PROJECT SUMMARY DURING DEVELOPMENT, EPITHELIAL CELLS UNDERGO PROGRAMMED CHANGES IN MORPHOLOGY AND POSITION TO CREATE COMPLEX TISSUES. STUDIES IN MODEL ORGANISMS HAVE IDENTIFIED A CONSERVED SET OF EFFECTOR PROTEINS THAT DIRECTLY ALTER CELL SHAPE, ALTHOUGH THE UPSTREAM PATHWAYS THAT COORDINATE THESE PROCESSES ACROSS LARGE GROUPS OF CELLS REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. A PARADIGM FOR STUDYING EPITHELIAL REMODELING IS CELL INTERCALATION IN THE DROSOPHILA NEURECTODERM, AND IT WAS SHOWN THAT THREE MEMBERS OF THE HIGHLY CONSERVED TOLL RECEPTOR FAMILY ARE EXPRESSED IN OVERLAPPING STRIPED PATTERNS TO ORGANIZE RAPID CELL REARRANGEMENTS IN THIS TISSUE. TOLL RECEPTORS ARE WIDELY EXPRESSED THROUGHOUT HUMAN EPITHELIA, AND THEY HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVELY STUDIED IN THE CONTEXT OF INNATE IMMUNE SIGNALING. HOWEVER, THE CONTROL OF CELL MORPHOLOGY BY TOLL RECEPTORS HAS RECEIVED VERY LITTLE ATTENTION. THE FOCUS OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW NON-UNIFORM TOLL RECEPTOR EXPRESSION AFFECTS CORTICAL TENSION, CELL-CELL ADHESION, AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS TO CONTROL CELL SHAPE AND BEHAVIOR DURING EPITHELIAL REMODELING. WE WILL USE NEWLY DEVELOPED CRISPR/CAS9-DERIVED GENETIC BACKGROUNDS AND ANTIBODIES TO CHARACTERIZE HOW TOLL RECEPTORS CONTROL CELL POLARITY TO TRIGGER INTERCALATION; WE WILL APPLY NON-DESTRUCTIVE TECHNIQUES TO CHARACTERIZE THE BIOENERGETICS OF EPITHELIAL REORGANIZATION IN INTACT LIVING EMBRYOS; AND WE WILL INVESTIGATE UNADDRESSED LINKS BETWEEN TOLL RECEPTOR, RHO, AND G PROTEIN-COUPLED RECEPTOR SIGNALING. OUR FIRST HYPOTHESIS IS THAT NEIGHBORING CELLS SENSE DIFFERENCES IN THE EXPRESSION OF INDIVIDUAL TOLL RECEPTOR TYPES TO INCREASE CORTICAL TENSION AND DECREASE CELL-CELL ADHESION. WE HAVE DEVELOPED A GENETIC SYSTEM FOR EXPRESSING INDIVIDUAL RECEPTORS IN A SINGLE STRIPE THAT WE WILL USE TO SYSTEMATICALLY CHARACTERIZE AND COMPARE THE EFFECTS OF EACH TOLL RECEPTOR TYPE ON CELL MORPHOLOGY AND TO IDENTIFY THE PROTEIN DOMAINS NECESSARY FOR MODULATING CELL SHAPE. OUR SECOND HYPOTHESIS IS THAT RAPID CELLULAR REARRANGEMENTS DURING NEURECTODERM ELONGATION REQUIRE CHANGES IN MITOCHONDRIAL SIGNALING TO DRIVE CYTOSKELETAL AND JUNCTIONAL REORGANIZATION. TO TEST THIS, WE WILL USE MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY TO VISUALIZE THE ENDOGENOUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE OF METABOLIC COFACTORS TO QUANTIFY CELLULAR REDOX STATE IN LIVE EMBRYOS DURING EPITHELIAL REMODELING, AND THEN USE GAIN- AND LOSS-OF-FUNCTION TECHNIQUES TO DETERMINE WHAT ROLE MITOCHONDRIAL FUSION AND FISSION PLAY IN EPITHELIAL REORGANIZATION. OUR THIRD HYPOTHESIS IS THAT TOLL RECEPTOR AND GPCR SIGNALING CONVERGE TO ACTIVATE RHO KINASE AND TRIGGER CELL INTERCALATION IN THE NEURECTODERM. WE WILL USE GAIN- AND LOSS- OF-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES TO DETERMINE HOW THESE TWO SIGNALING PATHWAYS INTERSECT TO CONTROL CORTICAL TENSION, CELL- CELL ADHESION, AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS DURING EPITHELIAL REMODELING. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL GIVE US A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TOLL RECEPTORS FUNCTION AT A MOLECULAR LEVEL TO CONTROL CELLULAR BIOMECHANICS AND BIOENERGETICS DURING DYNAMIC TISSUE REMODELING.

CLIMATE WARMING AND THE COLLAPSE OF TRADE-OFFS MEDIATING SPECIES COEXISTENCE -THIS PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE HOW TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN COMPETITION AND AVOIDING PREDATORS MAY BE AFFECTED BY CLIMATE WARMING. NO SINGLE SPECIES CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY BE BEST AT EVERYTHING IT HAS TO DO TO SURVIVE. INDEED, PERFORMING WELL AT ONE FACET OF LIFE OFTEN MEANS DOING POORER AT ANOTHER. ONE SUCH TRADE-OFF IS THAT SPECIES THAT ARE BETTER AT AVOIDING PREDATORS ARE OFTEN POORER COMPETITORS. LIKEWISE, SPECIES THAT ARE STRONG COMPETITORS ARE OFTEN BAD AT AVOIDING PREDATORS. THIS TRADE-OFF HELPS MAINTAIN BIODIVERSITY IN COMMUNITIES SINCE IT PREVENTS ANY ONE SPECIES FROM DOMINATING. HOWEVER, COMPETITION AND PREDATION ARE SENSITIVE TO TEMPERATURE AND NOT ALL SPECIES MAY RESPOND IDENTICALLY TO WARMING. CONSEQUENTLY, THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN COMPETITION AND PREDATOR AVOIDANCE MAY CHANGE IN A WARMING CLIMATE. ALTERING THIS TRADE-OFF MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY AND CRITICAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. THIS PROJECT WILL TRAIN FUTURE K-12 SCIENCE EDUCATORS IN SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WILL INVOLVE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN RESEARCH AND WILL TEACH GRADUATE STUDENTS ABOUT MODERN RESEARCH TECHNIQUES. TOGETHER, THE EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC TRAINING WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CITIZENS TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT WHY BIODIVERSITY IS BEING ALTERED ON OUR CHANGING PLANET. MANY STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT CLIMATE WARMING CAN CHANGE THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF SPECIES THAT LIVE TOGETHER IN ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES. YET, THE MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO THESE CHANGES IN SPECIES COEXISTENCE ARE UNCLEAR. THIS RESEARCH WILL USE EXPERIMENTS ON FRESHWATER DAMSELFLIES TO DEVELOP A MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CLIMATE WARMING AFFECTS TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN COMPETITION AND PREDATION. THE PROJECT WILL USE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE HOW COMPETITION AND PREDATION ARE AFFECTED BY INCREASED TEMPERATURE. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A QUANTITATIVE GENETIC STUDY THAT WILL ASSESS THE GENETIC BASIS OF THE TRAITS INVOLVED IN THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN COMPETITION AND PREDATION. LAST, THE PROJECT WILL USE FIELD EXPERIMENTS TO TEST HOW WARMING AFFECTS SPECIES COEXISTENCE IN LARGE MESOCOSMS. TRADE-OFFS ARE A CENTRAL PRINCIPLE IN BOTH COMMUNITY ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY. AS SUCH, THE RESULTS WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW AND WHY COMMUNITIES ARE STRUCTURED AND MAY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. FURTHER, THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS HOW SPECIES HAVE EVOLVED TO PERSIST IN COMMUNITIES. COLLECTIVELY, THE STUDIES ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT BUILDS A MECHANISTIC FOUNDATION TO CONNECT THE BEHAVIORAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES THAT DETERMINE HOW CLIMATE WARMING WILL IMPACT THE ABILITY OF SPECIES TO COEXIST. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY POPULATION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY, THE ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCOR), AND EVOLUTIONARY 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.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PURSUIT: STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS: PHYLOGENY, SYSTEMATICS, AND ADAPTATION OF MARINE EPIZOIC DIATOMS TO ENDANGERED MEGAFAUNAL HOSTS -ANIMALS ARE COVERED IN MICROBES. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MICROBES IN AND ON THE HUMAN BODY NUMBER IN THE TRILLIONS, OUTNUMBERING OUR OWN CELLS. SEA TURTLES, WHALES, DOLPHINS, AND MANATEES REPRESENT SOME OF OUR MOST CHERISHED MARINE MEGAFAUNA, AND THESE, TOO, ARE COVERED IN DIVERSE MICROBES. THESE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO PROTECTING THESE ANIMALS FROM INFECTIONS AND DISEASE AND INCLUDE BACTERIA AND DIATOMS, A GROUP OF MICROSCOPIC ALGAE THAT PRODUCES 20% OF EARTH?S OXYGEN. MICROBES REPRESENT MOST OF EARTH?S BIODIVERSITY, BUT MOST OF THESE SPECIES ARE YET TO BE DISCOVERED. THIS PROJECT WILL DOCUMENT THE DIATOM AND BACTERIAL SPECIES LIVING ON MARINE MEGAFAUNA, DESCRIBING AND NAMING MANY NEW DIATOM SPECIES FOR THE FIRST TIME. GENOME SEQUENCING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENTS WILL SHOW HOW THE DIATOMS ARE RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER, HOW THEY MOVE BETWEEN HOST ANIMALS, AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH BACTERIA TO USE THE UNIQUE RESOURCES OFFERED BY THEIR HOSTS. SINCE MANY OF THESE DIATOMS RESIDE ONLY ON THREATENED OR ENDANGERED ANIMAL SPECIES, THE FATES OF THESE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ARE TIED TO THEIR HOSTS. THE DISCOVERIES MADE THROUGH THIS PROJECT MAY ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO GROW THESE DIATOMS IN THE LAB, CREATING A PERMANENT LIVING RECORD SHOULD THEIR HOSTS SUFFER EXTINCTION. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY TRAINING FOR STUDENTS, PREPARING THEM FOR JOBS IN INDUSTRY OR ACADEMIA. A DOCUMENTARY FILM WILL INTRODUCE THE COMPLEX MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES STUDIED IN THIS PROJECT TO A GENERAL AUDIENCE. THROUGH THIS PROJECT, AN ESTIMATED 50 DIATOM SPECIES WILL BE DOCUMENTED AND DESCRIBED, DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF KNOWN EPIZOIC DIATOM SPECIES. GENOME SEQUENCING OF CULTIVABLE AND UNCULTIVABLE SPECIES WILL BE USED TO PLACE EPIZOIC DIATOMS ONTO THE BROADER DIATOM PHYLOGENY, WHICH WILL PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK TO: (1) INFER HOW MANY TIMES FREE-LIVING ANCESTORS HAVE COLONIZED AND DIVERSIFIED ON ANIMAL HOSTS, (2) REVEAL PATTERNS OF HOST SWITCHING TO DISCERN EPIZOIC GENERALIST AND SPECIALIST DIATOM SPECIES, AND (3) CHARACTERIZE MECHANISMS OF HOST SPECIALIZATION IN ONE MODEL LINEAGE THAT SPECIATED AND UNDERWENT A RADICAL TROPHIC SHIFT FOLLOWING A HOST TRANSITION. THE BROAD PHYLOGENOMIC FRAMEWORK, COMBINED WITH COMPLEMENTARY METAGENOMIC, METATRANSCRIPTOMIC, AND METABOLOMIC PROFILES WILL REVEAL THE ROLE OF HOST SKIN MICROBIOME IN SHAPING TROPHIC STRATEGIES AND OTHER ADAPTIVE CHANGES BY DIATOMS, FACTORS THAT LIKELY COMBINE TO FACILITATE OR CONSTRAIN HOST SWITCHING AND SPECIATION ON EVOLUTIONARY TIMESCALES. 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.

NEW AWARD WITH UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS DE-FE0000804 - INTEGRATION OF WATER RESOURCE MODELS WITH FAYETTEVILLE SHALE DECISION SUPPORT AND INFORMATION S

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAM

IUCRC PHASE I: UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS: CENTER FOR HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRONICS AND CIRCUITS FOR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (CHECCS)

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING (BHWET) PROGRAM

MRI-R2: ACQUISITION OF AN INTEGRATED INSTRUMENT FOR COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

SECONDARY CONDITIONS-IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

OPENING PATHWAYS TO EMPLOYMENT THROUGH NONTRADITIONAL GEOSPATIAL APPLICATIONS IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION (OPEN-GATE)

FROM DOT COMS TO PIPE BOMBS: ONLINE RADICALIZATION AND MOBILIZATION TO VIOLENCE