Southwestern University

CARES ACT: HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

CARES ACT: HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND

EQUIPPED FOR SUCCESS: SCIENCE IDENTITY, COMMUNITY, AND ENGAGEMENT TO PROMOTE STEM STUDENT PERSISTENCE

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY UPWARD BOUND PROJECT: GEORGETOWN AND JARRELL ISDS

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

UPWARD BOUND

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

BROADENING THE NET: PROMOTING SUCCESS IN THE SCIENCES FOR ALL STUDENTS

THE STRENGTHENING CULTURALLY SPECIFIC CAMPUS APPROACHES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING INITIATIVE (CSC INITIATIVE) SUPPORTS HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUS), HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS (HSIS), AND TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (TCUS) TO STRENGTHEN THEIR INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING ON CAMPUS. THE CSC INITIATIVE FOCUSES ON BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF THESE INSTITUTIONS TO ESTABLISH CULTURALLY RELEVANT STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE RESPONSE PROTOCOLS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMMING. SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY IS A PRIVATE, HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION (HSI) LOCATED IN GEORGETOWN, TX. WITH THIS NEW AWARD, SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, IN COLLABORATION WITH ITS CAMPUS PARTNERS, WILL CREATE CULTURALLY SPECIFIC STRATEGIES TAILORED TO HISPANIC, LATIN-AMERICAN, AND LGBTQ+ STUDENTS, AND WORK WITH THE DESIGNATED CAMPUS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER TO: 1) BUILD THE CAPACITY OF THE INSTITUTION TO DEVELOP A CULTURALLY SPECIFIC, COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING BY SECURING RELEVANT PARTNERSHIPS, CONDUCTING TRAININGS, AND DEVELOPING RESOURCES TAILORED TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY; 2) DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN TO OUTLINE KEY STRATEGIES NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE; AND 3) ESTABLISH A COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM THAT WILL OVERSEE AND IMPLEMENT PROJECT ACTIVITIES.

HEALTH CARE AND OTHER FACILITIES

FIE EARMARK GRANT AWARDS

FIE EARMARK GRANT AWARDS

LEAPS-MPS: ELUCIDATING THE PROPERTIES AND ROLE OF A STRESS-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE STATE IN PHOTOSYNTHETIC DIATOMS -IN THIS PROJECT, FUNDED BY THE MPS-LEAPS (LAUNCHING EARLY-CAREER ACADEMIC PATHWAYS) PROGRAM AND MANAGED BY THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY (CHE), PROFESSOR MASSEY AND HER STUDENTS AT SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY WILL PERFORM STUDIES TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF NATIVE ENVIRONMENT AND EXTERNAL STRESSORS ON LIGHT HARVESTING IN DIATOMS, A TYPE OF MARINE ALGAE THAT CONTRIBUTE UP TO 25% OF GLOBAL PHOTOSYNTHETIC CARBON FIXATION. THE DIATOM PHAEODACTYLUM TRICORNUTUM (P. TRICORNUTUM) EMITS FROM A LOWER ENERGY FLUORESCENCE STATE, F710, WHEN GROWN UNDER RED LIGHT OR OTHER LIGHT STRESS CONDITIONS. PROFESSOR MASSEY AND HER STUDENTS WILL USE FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY TO STUDY HOW OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL AND STRESS CONDITIONS AFFECT EMISSION FROM THIS LOW ENERGY STATE. THEIR STUDIES WILL INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DIATOMS ACCLIMATE TO ROBUSTLY HARVEST SOLAR ENERGY UNDER STRESS. THESE PROJECTS WILL TRAIN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS IN BOTH THE RESEARCH LAB AND A COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (CURE) LAB, PREPARING THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH SCIENTISTS. ADDITIONALLY, LOCAL K-12 STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED THROUGH SCIENCE OUTREACH, INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS TO PURSUE STEM CAREERS. PROFESSOR MASSEY AND HER STUDENTS WILL EMPLOY STEADY-STATE AND TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIES TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND STRESS ON LIGHT-HARVESTING DYNAMICS IN P. TRICORNUTUM AT PHYSIOLOGICAL AND CRYOGENIC TEMPERATURES. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND DYNAMICS OF THE F710 STATE INDUCED BY DIFFERENT STRESS CONDITIONS. F710 EMISSION INDUCED BY RED LIGHT IN P. TRICORNUTUM HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO OLIGOMERS OF THE LHCF15 PROTEIN. IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER THIS SAME PROTEIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR F710 EMISSION INDUCED BY OTHER STRESSORS. EXPERIMENTS USING MUTANT CONSTRUCTS OF P. TRICORNUTUM WILL GENERATE A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGIN OF F710 EMISSION, INFORMING ON WHETHER THIS FLUORESCENCE SIGNAL IS A SINGLE GENERALIZED STRESS RESPONSE OR A SIGNAL RESULTING FROM A SPECTRALLY OVERLAPPED COLLECTION OF DIFFERENT STATES. INSIGHT INTO MECHANISMS OF ACCLIMATION TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN P. TRICORNUTUM WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT TO BETTER ENGINEER DIATOM CELL FACTORIES UNDER VARIED AND CHANGING ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

BRC-BIO: CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL AND DROUGHT RESILIENCE WITH WET MEADOW RESTORATION UNDER A CHANGING CLIMATE -GLOBAL AIR TEMPERATURE HAS INCREASED BY OVER ONE DEGREE CELSIUS SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND IS ON ITS WAY TO REACHING TWO DEGREES CELSIUS BY 2041. THIS SCENARIO WILL CAUSE DEVASTING IMPACTS ON BOTH SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. PARTICULARLY HIT HARD IS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. THAT REGION IS EXPERIENCING WIDESPREAD WARMING, DECREASE IN PRECIPITATION, AND DECLINE IN SNOWPACK RESULTING IN MORE FREQUENT AND SEVERE DROUGHTS. LAND RESTORATION PRACTICES CAN IMPACT ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE TO DROUGHT CONDITIONS BY AFFECTING THE ABILITY FOR SOILS TO EFFECTIVELY STORE WATER. IN ADDITION, RESTORATION HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE SOIL CARBON THROUGH INCREASED PLANT GROWTH AND DECAY. HOWEVER, HOW RESTORATION EFFORTS INFLUENCE THE AMOUNT OF SOIL WATER AND CARBON STORED IN SOILS IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD OVER LARGE SPATIAL SCALES. IN ADDITION, LAND RESTORATION PROJECTS MAY AFFECT THE ABILITY FOR SOILS TO EFFECTIVELY STORE WATER. BY TAKING AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH, THIS RESEARCH WILL STUDY WHAT CAN BE LEARNED ABOUT LAND RESTORATION PROJECTS AND CHANGES IN SOIL CONDITIONS AT A LANDSCAPE SCALE. IT WILL PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE USE OF DATA FROM REMOTE SENSING TOOLS TO QUANTIFY ECOSYSTEMS CHANGES. THE WORK WILL ALSO PROVIDE IMMERSIVE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THESE EXPERIENCES INCLUDED PARTICIPATION IN A SUMMER FIELD COURSE WHERE STUDENTS WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH A VARIETY OF NON-ACADEMIC PARTNERS. RESTORATION PROJECTS COVER LARGE LANDSCAPES, MAKING ON THE GROUND MEASUREMENTS INADEQUATE IN ACCURATELY QUANTIFYING CARBON STORAGE AND RESILIENCE AT BROAD SPATIAL SCALES. THIS PROJECT WILL ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING REMOTE SENSING TOOLS TO QUANTIFY CHANGES IN SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS LANDSCAPES. THE WORK WILL EVALUATE THE CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL OF RESTORING WET MEADOWS WITHIN THE GUNNISON BASIN OF COLORADO. REMOTE SENSING SOIL MOISTURE DATA WILL BE COLLECTED WITHIN RESTORED WATERSHEDS USING SENTINEL-1 SATELLITES AND COMMISSIONED FLIGHTS WITH THE UAV, BLACK SWIFT S2 AND WILL BE VALIDATED WITH IN SITU SOIL MOISTURE DATA TO CHECK RETRIEVAL ACCURACIES. CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL WILL BE EVALUATED BY MEASURING SOIL CARBON STOCKS IN RESTORED AND UNRESTORED WATERSHEDS. UNTIL NOW, DATA FROM THESE DIFFERENT SOURCES HAVE NOT BEEN COMBINED TO QUANTIFY SOIL MOISTURE IN AN ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT. THIS STUDY WILL BE THE FIRST TO DO SO. SO, NOT ONLY DOES THIS RESEARCH PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS IMPORTANT LAND MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS, IT WILL ALSO EXPLORE AN INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGY. RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY WILL HELP ASSESS THE IMPACT OF RESTORATION EFFORTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL TO SERVE AS A CLIMATE MITIGATION TOOL WITHIN THE GUNNISON BASIN AND BEYOND AS SIMILAR WET MEADOW RESTORATION PROJECTS ARE OCCURRING ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES IN REGIONS WHERE THE NEAR THREATENED GREATER SAGE-GROUSE (CENTROCERCUS UROPHASIANUS) OCCUPY. RESTORATION PRACTICES THAT HELP RESTORE HYDROLOGY WITHIN THIS REGION, THE HEADWATERS OF THE COLORADO RIVER, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE RELIANT ON THE COLORADO RIVER WATER SUPPLY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

MRI: ACQUISITION OF FLOW CYTOMETRIC, CELL QUANTIFICATION AND IMAGING EQUIPMENT FOR USE IN FUNCTIONAL STUDIES OF THE HUMAN TIGHT JUNCTION PROTEIN, C

US-URUGUAY-BRAZIL COLLABORATIVE IRES: AMPULLARIIDAE MODEL USING PHYLOGEOGRAPHY, LABORATORY INTEGRATION WITH FIELD INVESTIGATIONS INTO ECOLOGY AND DIV

PERSPECTIVE GEOMETRY: PROJECTIVE GEOMETRY APPLIED TO PERSPECTIVE ART

WET MEADOWS IN THE GUNNISON BASIN OF COLORADO ARE A CRITICAL BROOD REARING HABITAT FOR THE GROUND DWELLING BIRD THE GUNNISON SAGE GROUSE CENTROCERCUS MINIMUS WHICH IS LISTED AS THREATENED UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT THE SAGE GROUSE REQUIRE A LARGE CONTIGUOUS AREA OF SAGEBRUSH ARTEMISIA SPP FOR COVER YEAR ROUND AND WET MEADOW AND RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEMS WHERE THEY FEED THEIR YOUNG IN THE SUMMER REGIONS WITHIN SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO HISTORICALLY OCCUPIED BY WET MEADOWS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY DEGRADED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES RESULTING IN HEAD CUTS, EROSION, LOWERED WATER TABLES, SOIL COMPACTION BY TRAILING FROM LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE, DEVELOPMENT OF ROADS, AND ENCROACHMENT OF INVASIVE SPECIES THESE IMPACTS CAN DECREASE THE FOOD SUPPLY OF CHICKS AND POTENTIALLY AFFECT CHICK SURVIVAL RESTORATION OF THESE WET MEADOWS HAS LED TO AN INCREASE IN PLANT PRODUCTIVITY WHICH IS A PRIMARY SOURCE OF ORGANIC MATTER AND C TO THE SOIL HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT WHETHER RESTORATION IN THESE WATERSHEDS HAS LED TO INCREASES IN SOIL MOISTURE AND C STORAGE LIMITING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE ECOSYSTEMS RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND THEIR ABILITY TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION

SURF BOULDER

US - URUGUAY PLANNING VISIT: AMPULLARIID MODEL USING PHYLOGENETICS LABORATORY INQUIRY AND FIELD INVESTIGATIONS INTO ECOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION

FY 2016 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - BOULDER

NASA STEM EDUCATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECTS (SEAP) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

SURF BOULDER

TO SUPPORT A THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES PRODUCTION OF "THE YELLOW BOAT" BY DAVID SAAR WITH RELATED EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES PRESENTED B

FY 2017 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP EL