Harvey Mudd College

NATIONAL STEM TEACHER CORPS PILOT PROGRAM: REGIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT, UPLIFT, AND PROFESSIONALIZATION IN LOS ANGELES -THE NATIONAL STEM TEACHER CORPS PILOT PROGRAM REGIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT, UPLIFT, AND PROFESSIONALIZATION IN LOS ANGELES (RAMPTD-UP-LA) PROJECT AIMS TO RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING STEM EDUCATORS WHO ADVANCE EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN THE WEST REGION. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT 30 GRADE 4?12 MATH TEACHERS IN THE GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA IN TWO COHORTS. THE GOALS OF THIS PROGRAM ARE TO (1) HEIGHTEN STEM LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR ALL STUDENTS, (2) PROMOTE THE RETENTION OF EXCELLENT STEM TEACHERS, (3) ELEVATE THE STEM TEACHING PROFESSION, AND (4) DEVELOP TEACHER LEADERS. TEACHERS MUST APPLY TO THIS PROPOSED PROGRAM IN PAIRS OR GROUPS FROM THE SAME SCHOOL SITE WITH SOME INITIAL IDEAS FOR HOW THEY WANT TO IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES AT THEIR SCHOOL. IF ONE TEACHER REACHES 120 STUDENTS A YEAR, THESE 30 CORPS MEMBERS CAN DIRECTLY REACH ROUGHLY 14,400 STUDENTS DURING FOUR YEARS OF SUPPORT. FURTHERMORE, STEM TEACHER CORPS MEMBERS WILL MENTOR OTHER TEACHERS, PROMOTE CHANGES IN THEIR SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS THAT BROADEN ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY MATH EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS, AND DISSEMINATE THEIR EFFORTS REGIONALLY AND NATIONALLY, LEADING TO IMPROVEMENTS IN MATH EDUCATION BEYOND THEIR OWN CLASSROOMS. TO HELP TEACHERS GROW AND CARRY OUT THESE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS, THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE STEM TEACHER CORPS MEMBERS WITH AN ANNUAL STIPEND, TIME FOR TEACHERS TO COLLABORATE, ON-SITE COACHING, FUNDING FOR SUPPLIES AND TRAVEL TO CONFERENCES, SUPPORT TO BECOME NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED, PD THROUGH MONTHLY MEETINGS AND A SUMMER INSTITUTE, AND MECHANISMS TO HELP THE TEACHERS SHARE THEIR WORK WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES. THIS COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT STRUCTURE WAS DEVISED TO HELP COUNTERACT THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHING MATH IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA. THE PROGRAM WILL BE SUPPORTED BY A ROBUST EVALUATION PLAN THAT WILL ALLOW PROJECT LEADERSHIP TO MONITOR THE IMPACT OF THE PROGRAM ON PARTICIPATING TEACHERS (INCLUDING ON THEIR RETENTION IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION AFTER THEIR PARTICIPATION HAS ENDED) AND TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE THE PROGRAM TO BEST MEET TEACHERS' NEEDS. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES WILL ALSO BE ANALYZED. THIS REGIONAL ALLIANCE PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE NATIONAL STEM TEACHER CORPS PILOT PROGRAM. THE NSF NATIONAL STEM TEACHER CORPS PILOT PROGRAM SUPPORTS OUTSTANDING STEM EDUCATORS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS THAT ADVANCE EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN OUR NATION'S PREK-12 CLASSROOMS. 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.

PROJECT WILL HELP 5 HIGH SCHOOL AND 4 COMMUNITIES WITH A HIGH NEED FOR PROGRAM SERVICES, DEVELOP THE SKILLS AND MOTIVATION NECESSARY TO SUCCEED IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION.

PROJECT WILL HELP 5 HIGH SCHOOLS AND 4 COMMUNITIES WITH A HIGH NEED FOR PROGRAM SERVICES, DEVELOP THE SKILLS AND MOTIVATION NECESSARY TO SUCCEED IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION.

UPWARD BOUND

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

INSTITUTIONAL PORTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND UNDER THE CARES ACT

EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID GRANTS TO STUDENTS UNDER CARES ACT

RUI: NSF-BSF: PURSUIT:THE INDO-PACIFIC ZOOXANTHELLATE OCTOCORALS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SPECIES DELIMITATION, PHYLOGENETICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY

CPATH-2: MODULAR CS1 FROM THE INSIDE OUT: COMPUTATIONAL THINKING FOR ALL STEM STUDENTS

OPTIMIZING THE MATHEMATICS POSTDOCTORAL EXPERIENCE: A TEACHING AND RESEARCH POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE

CER: IMPORT PCK: WHAT 10K NOVICE TEACHERS CAN LEARN FROM TEACHERS WITH 10K HOURS OF EXPERIENCE

CER: MYCS - MIDDLE YEARS COMPUTER SCIENCE

CAREER: QUANTIFYING THE FORMATION AND PERSISTENCE OF BROWN CARBON COMPOUNDS THROUGH OBSERVATIONAL AND LABORATORY STUDIES

CAREER: CHARACTERIZING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT DRIVE LIFE CYCLE TRANSITIONS IN THE AFRICAN TRYPANOSOME

CAREER: DEVELOP A HYBRID ADAPTIVE PARTICLE-FIELD SIMULATION METHOD FOR SOLUTIONS OF MACROMOLECULES AND A NEW COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY COURSE FOR LOWER-DIVISION UNDERGRADUATES -WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CHEMICAL THEORY, MODELS AND COMPUTATIONAL METHODS (CTMC) PROGRAM IN THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, DR. BILIN ZHUANG OF HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE IS DEVELOPING A HYBRID SIMULATION METHOD TO SIMULATE LARGE MOLECULES IN SOLUTION. ALL-ATOM SIMULATIONS HAVE BECOME AN INDISPENSABLE TOOL FOR STUDYING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MOLECULES, BUT THEY ARE VERY COSTLY FOR SYSTEMS OF LARGE MOLECULES IN SOLUTION, SUCH AS POLYMERS AND PROTEIN ASSEMBLIES. TO ENABLE THESE SIMULATIONS, DR. ZHUANG AND HER RESEARCH GROUP WILL WORK TO DEVELOP A SIMULATION METHOD THAT CAN GREATLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SOLVENT MOLECULES DESCRIBED WITH MOLECULAR DETAIL WHILE CAPTURING THE CORRECT SOLUTE-SOLVENT INTERACTIONS AND DYNAMICS. THIS METHOD IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE A CONVENIENT AND ACCELERATED TOOL FOR SIMULATING LARGE MOLECULES IN SOLUTION RANGING FROM SIMPLE IONS TO PROTEINS. ACHIEVING THESE GOALS WILL ALSO INVOLVE TRAINING UNDERGRADUATES AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPING A NEW COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY COURSE FOR FIRST-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THE NEW COURSE WILL 1) INTRODUCE THE BROAD USAGE OF COMPUTATION IN CHEMISTRY FROM MOLECULAR MODELING TO DATA SCIENCES, 2) ENGAGE STUDENTS IN ACTIVE DISCOVERY THROUGH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH-ORIENTED PROJECTS, AND 3) CREATE INTRODUCTORY-LEVEL TEACHING RESOURCES THAT USE COMPUTATION TO FACILITATE STUDENT LEARNING. THIS IS SEEN AS FILLING A NEED AS SUCH COURSES ARE STILL SCARCE IN THE CHEMISTRY TEACHING COMMUNITY. THE NEW HYBRID ADAPTIVE PARTICLE-FIELD SIMULATION METHOD BEING DEVELOPED IN THIS RESEARCH IS EXPECTED TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO THE TOOLBOX OF AVAILABLE COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY TOOLS FOR CHEMISTS IN ALL SUBDISCIPLINES. THE SIMULATION METHOD WILL EXPLOIT THE EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN PARTICLE-BASED AND FIELD-BASED REPRESENTATIONS IN STATISTICAL MECHANICS, ALLOWING ONE TO TREAT MOLECULES IN SELECTED REGIONS OF SPACE WITH MORE MOLECULAR DETAIL (PARTICLE-LIKE) AND IN OTHER REGIONS WITH FEWER MOLECULAR DETAILS (FIELD-LIKE). THE PARTICLE-LIKE AND FIELD-LIKE REGIONS MAY ADAPT TO THE CONFORMATION OF THE LARGE MOLECULE ON THE FLY, WITH NO ABRUPT BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE REGIONS. THE PI HAS DERIVED THE PARTITION FUNCTION FOR THE PROPOSED METHOD AND WILL ACHIEVE THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES BY IMPLEMENTING AND VALIDATING THE SIMULATION SCHEME AND APPLYING THE METHOD TO INVESTIGATE POLYELECTROLYTE BRUSHES AND PEPTIDE HYDROGELS. 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.

THE GAMES NETWORK: GAMES FOR STUDENTS GAMES BY STUDENTS

CONTROLLING CELL PHENOTYPE IN A TISSUE-ENGINEERED CORNEAL MODEL

RUI: GENETIC MECHANISMS THAT REGULATE SURFACE PROTEIN REMODELING DURING LIFE CYCLE TRANSITIONS IN THE AFRICAN TRYPANOSOME PARASITE -AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMES ARE PARASITES TRANSMITTED TO THE BLOODSTREAM OF HUMANS AND CATTLE VIA THE BITE OF THE TSETSE FLY. INFECTED HUMANS AND ANIMALS DEVELOP AFRICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS, A DISEASE THAT IS FATAL IF UNTREATED. THE PARASITES COVER THEMSELVES WITH DIFFERENT SURFACE PROTEINS DEPENDING ON WHETHER THEY ARE IN THE MAMMAL OR THE FLY, AND THESE SURFACE PROTEINS ARE KEY TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE PARASITE IN BOTH ORGANISMS. THE SCIENTIFIC GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM THAT ALLOWS THE PARASITE TO CHANGE ITS SURFACE PROTEINS WHEN IT TRAVELS FROM THE MAMMALIAN BLOODSTREAM TO THE GUT OF THE FLY FOLLOWING A BLOODMEAL. UNDERSTANDING THIS MECHANISM WILL HELP SHED LIGHT ON HOW PARASITES EVOLVED TO ADAPT TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND COULD INFORM STRATEGIES TO GENERATE ALTERNATE THERAPIES FOR THE DISEASE. THE EDUCATIONAL GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO ALLOW FULL PARTICIPATION OF 3 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND 10-12 UNDERGRADUATES IN CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH TO HELP PREPARE THEM FOR CAREERS IN ACADEMIA AND BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES. UNDERGRADUATES PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM WILL ATTEND LECTURES, CAREER PANELS, AND NETWORKING EVENTS WITH LEADERS IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY TO EXPOSE THEM TO EXCITING APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND HELP PREPARE THEM FOR CAREERS IN THESE FIELDS. RIGOROUS RESEARCH TRAINING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL WILL CREATE THE FOUNDATION FOR THESE STUDENTS TO BECOME LEADERS IN INDUSTRIES THAT IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. THE AFRICAN TRYPANOSOME, TRYPANOSOMA BRUCEI, UNDERGOES MORPHOLOGICAL AND METABOLIC ADAPTATION AS IT SWITCHES HOSTS. DURING TRANSITION FROM THE MAMMALIAN BLOODSTREAM TO THE FLY MIDGUT, PARASITES REMODEL THEIR CELL SURFACE, SWITCHING FROM A THICK PROTEIN COAT OF ANTIGENICALLY VARIABLE VARIANT SURFACE GLYCOPROTEIN (VSG) TO AN INVARIANT PROCYCLIN COAT IN THE FLY MIDGUT. WHILE THE ENVIRONMENTAL CUES THAT TRIGGER SURFACE PROTEIN REMODELING HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE GENETIC MECHANISM THAT REGULATES INITIATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FOR THE GPEET AND EP GENES THAT CODE FOR THE INVARIANT INSECT-STAGE PROCYCLIN PROTEIN. OUR LAB HAS SHOWN THAT THE HISTONE ACETYL LYSINE BINDING BROMODOMAIN PROTEIN BDF3 LOCALIZES TO THE EP PROMOTER AFTER PARASITES ARE TRIGGERED TO DIFFERENTIATE FROM THE BLOODSTREAM TO THE INSECT STAGE. BDF3 IS THOUGHT TO BIND THE H4K10AC MARK MADE BY THE HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE HAT2. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT CHANGES IN HISTONE ACETYLATION AT THE EP LOCUS BY THE HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE HAT2 DRIVES RECRUITMENT OF BDF3, WHICH FACILITATES INITIATION OF EP TRANSCRIPTION AND SURFACE PROTEIN REMODELING AT DIFFERENTIATION. WE WILL TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS BY (1) USING A DCAS9-BDF3 CRISPR ACTIVATION SYSTEM TO ASK WHETHER BDF3 RECRUITMENT IS SUFFICIENT TO INITIATE EP TRANSCRIPTION IN THE ABSENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, AND (2) CHARACTERIZING THE HISTONE ACETYLATION STATE AND BDF3 OCCUPANCY AT THE EP LOCUS IN THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF HAT2. (3) WE WILL ALSO KNOCK DOWN 3 BROMODOMAIN PROTEIN COMPLEX MEMBERS USING RNAI AND TEST THEIR IMPORTANCE IN REGULATING THE EP LOCUS. THESE STUDIES WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE ROLE FOR THE ?PRIMITIVE? HISTONE CODE IN EARLY BRANCHING EUKARYOTES AND THE REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION IN BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE SYSTEMS. 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.

EXPLORING A NEW COMPUTING CURRICULUM: COMPUTING-AS-LITERACY -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY DEVELOPING UNIVERSAL COMPUTING CURRICULA OF COMPUTING-AS-LITERACY AT THREE DIFFERENT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. LITERACIES SUCH AS CAREFUL READING, COGENT WRITING, AND COMPELLING PRESENTATION SERVE MANY PROFESSIONAL PATHS. HOWEVER, COMPUTING-AS-LITERACY HAS NOT BEEN UNIVERSALLY COVERED IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CURRICULA. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND PILOT NEW COMPUTING CURRICULA AT THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. EVERY STUDENT AT THE THREE INSTITUTIONS WILL EXPERIENCE THE NEW COMPUTING CURRICULA, REGARDLESS OF STUDENTS? BACKGROUNDS AND ACADEMIC MAJORS THESE CURRICULA WILL EXPLORE WHETHER AND HOW COMPUTING-AS-LITERACY CAN BENEFIT ALL STUDENTS, INSTITUTIONS, AND STEM FIELDS THEMSELVES. IN THIS PROJECT, THREE COMPUTING 1 COURSES WILL BE DEVELOPED, PILOTED, AND ASSESSED FOR ALL UNDERGRADUATES AT THREE INSTITUTIONS. SIMILAR TO COMPOSITION1, COMPUTING1 WILL NOT BE A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL BUT A FOUNDATION-BUILDING-FOR-ALL COURSE. COMPUTING1 WILL BE AS VARIED, DIVERSE, AND CREATIVE AS THE THREE HOST INSTITUTIONS. THE PROPOSED CURRICULA AT THE THREE DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS WILL SERVE AS ROLE MODELS FOR OTHER COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES NATIONWIDE TO BUILD THEIR OWN UNIVERSAL COMPUTING CURRICULA OF COMPUTING-AS-LITERACY, IN SUPPORT OF THEIR OWN DISTINCTIVE MISSIONS AND IDENTITIES. THE NSF IUSE: EHR PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STEM EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. THROUGH THE ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING TRACK, THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS THE CREATION, EXPLORATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROMISING PRACTICES AND TOOLS. 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.

ONLINE RESOURCES TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS: ENCOURAGING THE WIDE-SPREAD USE OF MODELING AND COMPUTING

CAREER: ALGORITHMS FOR GENE FAMILY EVOLUTION WITH GENE DUPLICATION, LOSS, AND COALESCENCE

BRC-BIO: INTERROGATING EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE BIOGENESIS THROUGH SUBSTRATE-ASSOCIATED SIGNALS -CELL COMMUNICATION IS NECESSARY FOR THE HEALTHY FUNCTION OF LIVING ORGANISMS. CELLS COMMUNICATE BY DIRECTLY TOUCHING OR BY SENDING MATERIALS OUT TO OTHER CELLS. ONE OF THE WAYS THAT CELLS SEND MATERIALS IS VIA EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES. EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES ARE COLLECTIONS OF NUCLEIC ACIDS, PROTEINS, AND LIPIDS THAT ARE HELD TOGETHER BY A PROTECTIVE ENVELOPE. WHEN CELLS RECEIVE THESE EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES AND UNPACK THE VESICLE?S CONTENTS, THEY CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR. EVEN THOUGH THIS FORM OF COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT, THE NATURE OF VESICLE FORMATION AND SELECTION OF THEIR CONTENTS IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING BY DETERMINING THE FACTORS THAT CAUSE CELLS TO PRODUCE VESICLES AND THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WHAT MATERIALS ARE PACKAGED INSIDE OF THEM. UNDERSTANDING EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE FORMATION AND PACKAGING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN NEW MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS. THIS WORK WILL BE UNDERTAKEN WITH SECONDARY STUDENTS AND UNDERGRADUATES. THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE WILL EQUIP THEM WITH THE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NECESSARY TO CREATE KNOWLEDGE FOR THIS PROJECT. THE OUTCOMES OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THIS RESEARCH WILL ALSO EXPAND UNDERSTANDING, BY GENERATING OUTCOMES AND NEW RESEARCH QUESTIONS IN VESICLE BIOGENESIS. THE SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL BE ENHANCED BY THIS PROJECT IS THE ROLE PLAYED BY INTEGRIN-SUBSTRATE INTERACTIONS ON EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE BIOGENESIS, SUBPOPULATION PRODUCTION, AND SELECTIVE CARGO PACKAGING. IN THIS WORK, ENGINEERED HYDROGEL SUBSTRATES WILL BE DEPLOYED TO ENGAGE INTEGRINS EXPRESSED BY ASTROCYTES, WHICH REPRESENT A COMPELLING SYSTEM FOR STUDYING EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE BIOGENESIS. BECAUSE THEIR FUNCTION IS COUPLED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, THE ABILITY OF THESE ASTROCYTES TO RESPOND TO EXTRACELLULAR SIGNALS IS NECESSARY FOR THE FITNESS, SURVIVAL, AND HEALTHY FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DETERMINE HOW CELL ENGAGEMENT WITH INTEGRIN-SPECIFIC PEPTIDES INFLUENCES THE EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE PRODUCTION AND TO PROVIDE AN EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORM THAT CAN BE MODIFIED TO DECIPHER THE SIGNALS AND MECHANISMS THAT PROMOTE EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE PRODUCTION. AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE BIOGENESIS WILL AFFORD NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CELL-CELL COMMUNICATION AND PROVIDE NEW AVENUES FOR CREATING VESICLE-BASED THERAPEUTICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: ORDERED ALIGNMENT METHODS FOR COMPLEX, HIGH-DIMENSIONAL DATA -DIGITAL DEVICES ARE COLLECTING TEMPORAL DATA AT AN UNPRECEDENTED RATE, LEADING TO AN EXPLOSION OF TIME SERIES DATASETS RANGING FROM BIOMEDICAL DATA TO SENSOR NETWORKS TO MULTIMEDIA DATA. BUILDING AUTOMATED TOOLS TO SEARCH, CLASSIFY, DETECT, AND DISCOVER PATTERNS IN TIME SERIES DATA REQUIRES ORDERED ALIGNMENT METHODS TO DETERMINE THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN TWO SEQUENCES. HOWEVER, THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN THE USEFULNESS OF THESE METHODS AND THE COMPLEX, HIGH-DIMENSIONAL DATA THAT MAKE UP MUCH OF THE MODERN ANALYTIC LANDSCAPE. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS THREE KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS GAP, USING MUSIC AND MULTIMEDIA DATA AS A CHALLENGING TESTBED. SPECIFICALLY, THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN ORDERED ALIGNMENT METHODS THAT ARE SCALABLE ENOUGH TO BE USED IN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS, FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO HANDLE COMPLEX, STRUCTURED MULTIMEDIA DATA, AND INTEGRATED INTO MODERN MACHINE LEARNING MODELS. THE PROJECT WILL BE CARRIED OUT AT A LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE AND INVOLVE MENTORING 10-15 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS, DEVELOPING COURSE-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, AND ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN HMC AND A LEADING AUDIO AND MULTIMEDIA RESEARCH GROUP IN GERMANY. THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THREE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT ORDERED ALIGNMENT METHODS LIKE DYNAMIC TIME WARPING (DTW). THE FIRST QUESTION IS, ?HOW CAN WE MAKE ORDERED ALIGNMENT SCALABLE ENOUGH TO BE USED IN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS??. THIS WILL BE EXPLORED BY DEVELOPING PARALLELIZABLE APPROXIMATIONS OF DTW THAT FULLY UTILIZE MODERN HARDWARE, AS WELL AS HASHING-BASED APPROXIMATIONS OF DTW FOR VERY LONG SEQUENCES. THE SECOND QUESTION IS, ?HOW CAN WE MAKE ORDERED ALIGNMENT FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO HANDLE COMPLEX, STRUCTURED MULTIMEDIA DATA??. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED BY UTILIZING COMPOSITIONS OF MULTIPLE ORDERED ALIGNMENT STAGES AND STATE-BASED TIME WARPING, IN WHICH TIME WARPING CHARACTERISTICS DEPEND ON A LATENT STATE. THE THIRD QUESTION IS, ?HOW CAN WE INTEGRATE ORDERED ALIGNMENT INTO NEURAL NETWORK TRAINING??. THIS WILL BE PURSUED BY ADDRESSING TWO CURRENT OBSTACLES: AVOIDING THE COLD START ALIGNMENT PROBLEM THROUGH LANGUAGE MODEL PRETRAINING OF DISCRETIZED FEATURES, AND HANDLING LONG SEQUENCES BY UTILIZING BOTH MINI-BATCH AND EPOCH-LEVEL DATA PROCESSING. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS-STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS IN POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES REINFORCED WITH GAS-PHASE-SYNTHESIZED GRAPHENE

CAREER: USING ASTRONOMY TO IMPROVE TESTS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

CAREER: ROBUST AND RELIABLE MULTIAGENT SCHEDULING UNDER UNCERTAINTY

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PHYLOGENOMICS OF ANTHOZOA (CNIDARIA): NEW APPROACHES TO LONG-STANDING PROBLEMS

RI: SMALL: RUI: MULTI-ROBOT SYSTEMS FOR TRACKING, MONITORING, AND MODELING OF PERIODIC MIGRATORY POPULATIONS

CAREER: NEXT-GENERATION RHIZOSPHERE MONITORING - NON-INVASIVE PLANT PHENOTYPING AND HEALTH MONITORING USING THE LIGHT-PIPING PROPERTIES OF PLANT STEMS -AN AWARD IS MADE TO HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE (HMC) FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR THE FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE OF ROOT SYSTEMS BY EXPLOITING THE LIGHT-PIPING PROPERTIES OF PLANT STEMS AND ROOTS. THE PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NEW INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE QUANTITIES SUCH AS ROOT LENGTH AND GROWTH DYNAMICS. THE EDUCATION PLAN INTEGRATES UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INTO THE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES WHERE THEY WILL LEARN A BROAD SET OF SKILLS AT THE INTERFACE OF ENGINEERING, OPTICS, AND PLANT BIOLOGY. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT STUDENT CAREER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION AND INDIVIDUAL MENTORSHIP. A 3D-PRINTED, LOW-COST COMPUTATIONAL MICROSCOPY PLATFORM BUILT AROUND A RASPBERRY PI AND A CONNECTED CAMERA WILL BE DEVELOPED AS A PEDAGOGICAL TOOL TO TEACH OPTICS CONCEPTS THROUGH MICROSCOPY. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CURRICULUM OF HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTS TO ACCOMPANY THE HARDWARE PLATFORM AND GUIDE STUDENTS AS THEY EXPLORE LIGHT-MATTER INTERACTIONS AND COMPUTATIONAL MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES. ANNUAL WORKSHOPS WILL BE OFFERED AT HMC FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO ATTRACT STUDENTS TO STEM FIELDS AND OFFER EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN ENGINEERING. THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO EXPLOIT THE LIGHT-PIPING PROPERTY OF PLANT STEMS AND ROOTS TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF OPTICAL TOOLS TO INVESTIGATE PLANT ROOTS AND THEIR SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENTS. ROOTS AND THEIR LOCAL UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN PLANT HEALTH AND GROWTH. IN ADDITION TO PHYSICALLY ANCHORING AND STABILIZING THE PLANT, THE ROOTS PROVIDE A PATHWAY TO ACQUIRE RESOURCES FROM THE SOIL AND ESTABLISH A CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL LINK BETWEEN THE PLANT AND THE BELOW-GROUND ENVIRONMENT. THIS MEANS THAT INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROOT SYSTEM IS CRITICAL FOR PLANT BIOLOGY AND AGRICULTURAL STUDIES BOTH IN THE LABORATORY AND THE FIELD, PROVIDING QUANTITATIVE METRICS FOR MONITORING AND IMPROVING PLANT GROWTH, PRODUCTIVITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY. UNFORTUNATELY, SOIL IS NOT TRANSPARENT AT OPTICAL WAVELENGTHS AND STYMIES DIRECT IMAGING OF THE ROOT SYSTEMS. CURRENT STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE INCLUDE USING A TRANSPARENT GROWTH MEDIUM, GLASS-WALLED IMAGING SYSTEMS CALLED RHIZOTRONS, OR ALTERNATIVE IMAGING METHODOLOGIES SUCH AS X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY, MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, OR POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY. HOWEVER, THESE SOLUTIONS ARE EXPENSIVE AND OFFER THE ABILITY TO PROBE ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF THE OVERALL ROOT SYSTEM. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A MINIMALLY-INVASIVE INSTRUMENT THAT WILL INJECT LIGHT INTO THE STEM AND ROOT SYSTEM, CAPTURING AND ANALYZING THE BACKSCATTERED LIGHT TO MAP OUT THE ROOT STRUCTURE. THE PROJECT WILL EXPLORE TWO MAIN INSTRUMENT ARCHITECTURES FOR ACHIEVING THIS GOAL: TIME-OF-FLIGHT DETECTION AND LOW-COHERENCE INTERFEROMETRY. IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, THE INSTRUMENTS WILL ALSO BE USED TO EXPLORE THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF PLANT STEMS AND ROOTS. IN ADDITION TO THE PUBLICATION OF RESULTS FROM THIS PROJECT IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS AND PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES, INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO BUILD AND OPERATE THE INSTRUMENTS WILL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. 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 PROPOSAL: RUI: DYNAMIC ANT NETWORKS: HOW ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS AND ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT SHAPE RESOURCE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

REU SITE: REU SITE IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

CAREER: TAILORING FREE VOLUME IN NANOCOMPOSITE GAS SEPARATION MEMBRANES

REU SITE: EXPLORING THE LIMITS OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS -REU SITE: EXPLORING THE LIMITS OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS (#2243941) AS MACHINE LEARNING AND AI SYSTEMS BECOME EVER MORE COMMON, ENCROACHING ON EVERY ASPECT OF SOCIETY, THE NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEMS AND THEIR FUNDAMENTAL LIMITATIONS BECOMES EVEN MORE PRESSING. THIS PROJECT PROMOTES THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND SUPPORTS EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY BY TRAINING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS ON THE LIMITS OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS. IT BUILDS A COHORT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO CAN DEVELOP RESEARCH ABILITY, PRESENTATION SKILLS, AND FURTHER INTEREST IN RESEARCH-RELATED COMPUTING CAREERS. THE PROJECT FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING THE BOUNDARIES IN WHAT INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS CAN ACHIEVE BOTH THEORETICALLY AND IN COMPLEX REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS WITH NON-EXPERT USERS. BY EDUCATING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO PROBE AND UNDERSTAND THE LIMITS OF THESE SYSTEMS, THE PROJECT HELPS BUILD AN EMPOWERED CITIZENRY CAPABLE OF GRAPPLING WITH THE COMPLEX ETHICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES THESE SYSTEMS PRESENT. THROUGH THIS AWARD, STUDENTS WILL WORK ON CUTTING-EDGE SUBPROJECTS IN COMPUTER VISION, PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS, HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION, AND INFORMATION-THEORETIC UNDERSTANDING OF MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEMS. THESE RESEARCH TOPICS GIVE STUDENTS VALUABLE ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRY SKILLS THAT EXTEND BEYOND CURRENT AI MODELS AND FRAMEWORKS TOWARDS THE BROADER REACHES OF WHAT COMPUTING MAY ACHIEVE IN THE FUTURE. THE TOPICS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE DESIGNED TO BE MODULAR AND HIERARCHICAL TO ENABLE SUCCESSFUL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH MILESTONES. STUDENTS WILL BE HOUSED AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE, AN UNDERGRADUATE-ONLY INSTITUTION, AND EXPERIENCE THE MOST COMPELLING ASPECTS OF A GRADUATE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT DURING A TEN-WEEK SUMMER PROGRAM. STUDENTS WILL ACTIVELY ENGAGE WITH THE ENTIRE RESEARCH PROCESS, FROM LITERATURE SEARCH, TO ARTICULATING PROBLEMS OF INTEREST, TO INVESTIGATIONS OF SPECIFIC PIECES OF THESE PROBLEMS, AND FOCUSING RESULTS FOR PRESENTATION AND PUBLICATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: INVESTIGATING THE EVOLUTION OF GENE REGULATION AT DROSOPHILA HOX GENES

RUI: THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSE TO QUANTITATIVE VARIATION IN RPOS CONCENTRATION IN E. COLI

REU SITE: HARVEY MUDD REU SITE IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

SHF:SMALL:RUI: OBSERVATIONALLY COOPERATIVE MULTITHREADING

REU SITE IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

REU SITE IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

REU SITE: HARVEY MUDD REU SITE IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS

NLI: DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT: RUI: PROTOTYPING A SYSTEMS THINKING FRAMEWORK TO FOSTER ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOTECHNICAL THINKING ACROSS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING CURRICULUM -THE FUTURE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE DEMANDS PROFESSIONALS WHO, IN ADDITION TO THEIR TECHNICAL SKILLS, CAN EVALUATE AND ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ETHICAL FACTORS IMPACTING THEIR ENGINEERING DECISIONS. IN PARALLEL, ENGINEERING FACULTY NEED PATHWAYS TO MEET EMERGING WORKFORCE NEEDS IN BOTH THEIR INDIVIDUAL COURSES AND ACROSS THE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM. THIS WORK WILL ADDRESS THESE NEEDS BY DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING, AND ASSESSING A SYSTEMS THINKING FRAMEWORK THAT UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERS CAN APPLY TO COURSEWORK, PROJECTS, AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE. SYSTEMS THINKING CONSIDERS A CONCEPT NOT AS A DISCRETE IDEA BUT AS HOUSED WITHIN A BROADER SYSTEM, WITH DYNAMIC AND INTERCONNECTED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SYSTEM COMPONENTS. SYSTEMS THINKING IS INHERENTLY A SOCIOTECHNICAL APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING AND CAN PROMOTE EXAMINING ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ETHICAL RELATIONSHIPS. THE SYSTEMS THINKING FRAMEWORK WILL BE DEPLOYED IN 5-7 ACTIVITIES ACROSS COURSES IN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING CURRICULUM AND IN AN INDUSTRY-PARTNERED CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT. BY CONSISTENTLY PRACTICING EVALUATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOTECHNICAL ASPECTS OF ENGINEERING DESIGN, STUDENTS WILL BE EQUIPPED TO CONTRIBUTE THIS SKILL UPON ENTERING THE WORKFORCE. TO INCORPORATE THE SYSTEMS THINKING FRAMEWORK, THIS PROJECT WILL DEPLOY AND EVALUATE A PROTOTYPING PROCESS FOR FACULTY ENACTING LARGE-SCALE CURRICULAR CHANGE. THIS PROTOTYPING-BASED CHANGE PROCESS CAN FURTHER BE APPLIED TO ADDITIONAL EMERGING WORKFORCE NEEDS. THIS WORK IS ALIGNED WITH THE NSF-LEMELSON INITIATIVE AND RESEARCH IN THE FORMATION OF ENGINEERS PROGRAM GOALS OF EFFECTIVELY INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY INTO ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND ENHANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF CURRICULAR CHANGE. IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSMENT USING STUDENT-PRODUCED DELIVERABLES, SURVEYS, AND INTERVIEWS WILL ANSWER RESEARCH QUESTIONS FOCUSED ON (I) HOW STUDENTS USE SYSTEMS THINKING TO EVALUATE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS, (II) STUDENT GROWTH OVER MULTIPLE SYSTEMS THINKING EXPERIENCES, AND (III) COMPARISONS BETWEEN CASE-STUDY AND OPEN-ENDED CONTEXTS. EXPECTED MEASURABLE OUTCOMES INCLUDE THAT STUDENTS WILL ASSESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY BY DEFINING AND EVALUATING THE SYSTEM, AND THAT STUDENTS WILL USE SYSTEMS THINKING TO MAKE DESIGN DECISIONS THAT CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ETHICAL FACTORS IN ADDITION TO TECHNICAL OPTIMALITY. IN PARALLEL, THIS WORK WILL EXAMINE HOW A DISTRIBUTED, COORDINATED PROTOTYPING PROCESS CAN ADDRESS FACULTY BARRIERS AND DRIVERS TOWARDS ADDRESSING SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL IMPACTS IN THEIR COURSES. ASSESSMENT OF THE PROTOTYPING PROCESS THROUGH SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO NEW UNDERSTANDING OF FACULTY NEEDS AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR LARGE-SCALE CURRICULAR CHANGE. THE EXPECTED MEASURABLE OUTCOME FOR THIS WORK IS THAT FACULTY WILL DEMONSTRATE INCREASED SELF-EFFICACY TOWARD INSTRUCTING ON SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIOTECHNICAL IMPACTS. TO SUPPORT APPLICABILITY AND PROPAGATION, THE FRAMEWORK AND MODULAR COURSE ACTIVITIES (MODULES) WILL BE CO-CREATED AND IMPLEMENTED WITH FACULTY PARTNERS ACROSS INSTITUTIONS THROUGH PROTOTYPING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE GROUPS. GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS FROM AROUND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL ALSO GAIN EXPERIENCE TEACHING SYSTEMS THINKING AND USING PROTOTYPES TO EXPLORE NEW TEACHING PRACTICES THROUGH A SUMMER TEACHING WORKSHOP. ALL MODULES WILL BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WITH A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE, INCLUDING A ?MODULE SKELETON? THAT CAN BE ADAPTED TO NEW TOPICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REU SITE: DATA SCIENCE IN THE LIFE SCIENCES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NMR FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING

III: SMALL: RUI: ALGORITHMS AND TOOLS FOR PHYLOGENETIC TREE RECONCILIATION

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SAC9, A NOVEL, PLANT-SPECIFIC PHOSPHOINOSITIDE PHOSPHATASE ESSENTIAL FOR MEMBRANE/ CYTOSKELTON DYNAMICS IN ARABIDOPSIS

FORMATION AND THEORY OF SELF-ASSEMBLED NANOSCOPIC STRUCTURES IN 2-DIMENSIONS USING DIBLOCK COPOLYMERS

SHF: SMALL: RUI: OBSERVATIONALLY COOPERATIVE MULTITHREADING

CAREER: USING IMPERFECT PREDICTIONS TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS

IRES TRACK 1: RUI: MONITORING OF MARINE LIFE COASTAL HABITATS VIA AUTONOMOUS ROBOT SYSTEMS

CS FOR INSIGHT: DISCIPLINARY COMPUTING BEYOND CS1

EAGER: USING HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN TO CONCEPTUALIZE AND PROTOTYPE WAYS TO INCREASE GRADUATE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH

REAL-TIME MONITORING OF BURNING STRUCTURES

RUI: INNOVATIVE DETERMINATION OF PHASE DIAGRAMS OF GREEN SURFACTANTS IN WATER AND IONIC LIQUIDS

CNS CORE: III: MEDIUM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: OPTIMIZING AND UNDERSTANDING LARGE PARAMETER SPACES IN STORAGE SYSTEMS

RUI: CORRELATED METHODS FOR CALCULATION OF THE ELECTRONIC COUPLING ELEMENT

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF RELATIVISTIC, STOCHASTIC HEATING OF ELECTRONS DURING THE IRRADIATION OF WAVELENGTH-SCALE PLASMA

IRES: INTELLIGENT SEARCH AND MAPPING OF SUBMERGED CULTURAL HERITAGE ANCIENT SHIPWRECKS USING AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES

LEAPS-MPS: VENTURES IN GEOMETRIC COMBINATORICS -GEOMETRIC COMBINATORICS DEALS WITH THE STUDY OF GEOMETRIC OBJECTS THROUGH THEIR COMBINATORIAL STRUCTURE. SOME GEOMETRIC OBJECTS THAT ARE OF INTEREST ARE KNOWN AS POLYTOPES. H.S.M. COXETER WROTE THAT ?A POLYTOPE IS A GEOMETRICAL FIGURE BOUNDED BY PORTIONS OF LINES, PLANES, OR HYPERPLANES; E.G., IN TWO DIMENSIONS IT IS A POLYGON, IN THREE A POLYHEDRON?. ARGUABLY, THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF POLYTOPES WERE LAID BY THE GREEKS OVER TWO MILLENNIA AGO, AS MANY CAN RECALL THEIR STUDY OF WHAT ARE REGARDED AS PLATONIC SOLIDS. IN THE 1700?S THE STUDY OF POLYTOPES HEIGHTENED WITH LEONHARD EULER?S POLYHEDRAL FORMULA, WHICH GAVE BIRTH TO THE ENUMERATIVE GEOMETRIC COMBINATORICS ON THE NUMBER OF FACES OF POLYTOPES. ALMOST A HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS LATER, GEORG PICK DISCOVERED A FORMULA, WHICH CALCULATES THE AREA OF A LATTICE POLYGON USING ONLY ITS DISCRETE INFORMATION; THIS STARTED THE STUDY OF LATTICE POINT ENUMERATION OF POLYTOPES. IN THE 1960S, IN AN ATTEMPT TO GENERALIZE PICK?S FORMULA TO HIGHER DIMENSIONS, EUGENE EHRHART STARTED THE STUDY OF COUNTING THE NUMBERS OF LATTICE POINTS IN DILATIONS OF POLYTOPES, WHICH ESTABLISHED EHRHART THEORY. STUDYING A COMBINATORIAL OBJECT?S ASSOCIATED POLYTOPE OFTEN REVEALS INTRIGUING GEOMETRIC RESULTS ABOUT THE POLYTOPE, BUT THE RESULTS? IMPLICATIONS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL COMBINATORIAL OBJECT (AND RELATED OBJECTS) IS NOT ALWAYS WELL UNDERSTOOD. THE PI WILL FOCUS ON HOW GEOMETRIC RESULTS ABOUT A POLYTOPE CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORIGINAL COMBINATORIAL OBJECT. THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT, THE PI WILL ACTIVELY INVOLVE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS. KEY INITIATIVES INCLUDE SUPPORTING THE SUMMER@MUDD RESEARCH PROGRAM AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE AND ESTABLISHING THE MATHEMATICAL CONNECTIONS SEMINAR TO FURTHER ENGAGE STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICAL EXPLORATION. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO DERIVE COMBINATORIAL RESULTS FROM GEOMETRY AND USE COMBINATORICS TO GUIDE THE GEOMETRY. THE FOCUS IS ON THE GEOMETRY AND EHRHART THEORY OF POLYTOPES, PARTICULARLY THE CHALLENGE OF COMPUTING THEIR VOLUME. ONE APPROACH IS TO OBTAIN THE DISCRETE VOLUME (THE EHRHART POLYNOMIAL/FUNCTION), FROM WHICH THE CONTINUOUS VOLUME CAN BE RECOVERED. IN THIS WAY, EHRHART THEORY SERVES AS A DISCRETE VERSION OF INTEGRATION, MEASURING A POLYTOPE THROUGH LATTICE-POINT ENUMERATION. THIS PROJECT IS CENTERED AROUND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THREE FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTS IN COMBINATORICS AND DISCRETE GEOMETRY: PARKING FUNCTIONS, POSETS, AND POLYTOPES. GENERALIZATIONS OF PARKING FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN STUDIED FROM AN ENUMERATIVE PERSPECTIVE BY MANY MATHEMATICIANS; THE PI WILL WORK TO FURTHER SOLIDIFY THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GENERALIZED PARKING FUNCTIONS AND POLYTOPES. THE PI WILL ALSO EXPLORE THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN POSETS AND POLYTOPES, THROUGH THE VALUATION POLYTOPE. THE VALUATION POLYTOPE HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED AS EXTENSIVELY AS OTHER POSET POLYTOPES, SUCH AS THE CHAIN OR ORDER POLYTOPES. IT HAS BEEN ASKED WHETHER THE COEFFICIENTS OF THE EHRHART POLYNOMIAL OF VALUATION POLYTOPES ARE NONNEGATIVE. THIS QUESTION SERVES AS THE PRIMARY MOTIVATION FOR THE PI TO UNDERTAKE A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF VALUATION POLYTOPES. THE PI WILL EMPLOY METHODS FROM ALGEBRAIC AND GEOMETRIC COMBINATORICS, POLYHEDRAL GEOMETRY, AND COMPUTATIONAL EXPERIMENTATION TO EXTEND THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GEOMETRY AND EHRHART THEORY OF COMBINATORIALLY-DEFINED POLYTOPES. 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.

MATERIALS WORLD NETWORK/RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS: THE TRUE THREE-DIMENSIONAL NATURE OF ALIGNED DISLOCATION BOUNDARIES IN DEFORMED META

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPH-ION TRAP MASS SPECTROMETER FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING

TENSOR MODELS, METHODS, AND MEDICINE

RUI: MIDA BORONATES AND BIOMIMETIC CASCADES FOR THE SYNTHESES OF BIOACTIVE BEILSCHMIEDIA METABOLITES

IRES: US-AUSTRALIA COLLABORATION ON NEW HIGH STRENGTH, HIGH DUCTILITY CLASSES OF HIGH ENTROPY ALLOYS THROUGH INTERMETALLIC MANIPULATION

EXPANDING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATES AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE

LEAPS-MPS: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF CARBONES AS METAL-FREE CATALYSTS -IN THIS PROJECT, FUNDED BY THE MPS-LEAPS (LAUNCHING EARLY-CAREER ACADEMIC PATHWAYS) PROGRAM AND MANAGED BY THE DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY, PROFESSOR OGBA AND HIS STUDENTS AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE WILL PERFORM COMPUTATIONAL MECHANISTIC STUDIES THAT SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANOCATALYSTS, SPECIFICALLY CARBONES, FOR USE IN EFFICIENT CHEMICAL REACTIONS. CATALYSIS PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, SIGNIFICANTLY FACILITATING THE PRODUCTION OF VARIOUS MANUFACTURED GOODS. HOWEVER, MANY CONVENTIONAL CATALYTIC PROCESSES RELY ON METAL-BASED SYSTEMS, WHICH CAN BE COSTLY AND HAVE DETRIMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. PROFESSOR OGBA AND HIS STUDENTS WILL UTILIZE MOLECULAR MODELING, CHEMINFORMATICS, AND MACHINE LEARNING TO INVESTIGATE THE STRUCTURE-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS OF CARBONES, A UNIQUE CLASS OF REACTIVE CARBON SPECIES, WHICH COULD SERVE AS POTENTIAL METAL-FREE CATALYSTS. THEIR STUDY AIMS NOT ONLY TO DEEPEN THE UNDERSTANDING OF CARBONE REACTIVITY BUT ALSO TO DEVELOP PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE REACTIVITY DATABASES FOR CARBONES AND MACHINE LEARNING PROGRAMS THAT FACILITATE THE USE OF THESE SPECIES IN REACTION DESIGN. ADDITIONALLY, THEY WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION OF ALL FIRST-YEAR STEM STUDENTS BY PROVIDING STRUCTURED RESEARCH ROTATIONS AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES DURING THEIR FIRST SEMESTER. KEY AIMS OF THE PROPOSED WORK INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF CHEMINFORMATICS TECHNIQUES TO AUTOMATE THE COMPUTATION OF STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRONIC DESCRIPTORS OF OVER 80 SYNTHESIZED CARBONES USING DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY (DFT) METHODS. THIS WILL INVOLVE RIGOROUS CONFORMATIONAL SEARCHES AND DFT CALCULATIONS TO IDENTIFY CRITICAL MOLECULAR DESCRIPTORS OF CARBONES THAT AFFECT CATALYTIC PERFORMANCE. FURTHERMORE, THE PROJECT WILL QUANTIFY THE KINETIC HYDRICITIES OF PINACOLBORANE-BOUND CARBONES THROUGH ENERGY BARRIER CALCULATIONS, ESTABLISHING A NUCLEOPHILICITY INDEX FOR THESE SPECIES. BY EMPLOYING SUPERVISED MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES, PROFESSOR OGBA AND HIS STUDENTS WILL PREDICT KINETIC HYDRICITIES BASED ON DERIVED MOLECULAR DESCRIPTORS. THIS HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN AND MACHINE LEARNING APPROACH WILL FACILITATE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CHEMICAL PRINCIPLES GOVERNING CARBONES AS HYDRIDE-DONOR CATALYSTS. THE PROJECT ALSO INCLUDES CREATING PUBLICLY-ACCESSIBLE DATABASES OF STERIC PARAMETERS AND NUCLEOPHILICITY INDEXES FOR CARBONES, ALONGSIDE A MACHINE-LEARNING PROGRAM THAT PREDICTS THE REACTIVITY OF CARBONES. THESE RESOURCES WILL ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO DESIGN NOVEL CARBONE ARCHITECTURES AND EXPLORE THEIR REACTIVITY. 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.

IRES: US-AUSTRALIA COLLABORATION ON A FUNDAMENTAL APPROACH TO GENERATING NEW CLASSES OF LIGHTWEIGHT, HIGH PERFORMANCE,HIGH ENTROPY ALLOYS

PROBING THE INVERTED CLASSROOM: A CONTROLLED STUDY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING OUTCOMES IN UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS

FW-HTF-RM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ASSISTIVE INTELLIGENCE FOR COOPERATIVE ROBOT AND INSPECTOR SURVEY OF INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS (AI-CRISIS) -THE U.S. CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE FACES THE PROSPECT OF RAPID FUTURE DETERIORATION. FOR EXAMPLE, 39% OF THE OVER 600,000 HIGHWAY BRIDGES IN THE U.S. HAVE EXCEEDED THEIR DESIGN LIFE OF 50 YEARS. TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND WELFARE OF CITIZENS, STATE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION ARE REQUIRED TO INSPECT BRIDGES EVERY TWO YEARS. TO MAKE INSPECTION AND REPORTING OBJECTIVE AND CONSISTENT, ROBOTS SUCH AS UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN INTRODUCED TO PERFORM AUTONOMOUS SURVEYS OF BRIDGES. THESE ROBOTS, EQUIPPED WITH CAMERAS, WILL RAPIDLY PROVIDE A LARGE SET OF SURVEY DATA THAT CAN BE USED TO AID INSPECTORS IN ASSESSING THE CONDITION OF BRIDGES. TO TRANSFORM THESE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TOPICS INTO A NEW INTEGRATED BRIDGE INSPECTION CAPABILITY, THIS MULTI-UNIVERSITY TEAM WILL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A COOPERATIVE ROBOT-INSPECTOR SYSTEM WITH ASSISTIVE INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN ORDER TO MAKE THE FUTURE BRIDGE INSPECTION SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER, CHEAPER, SAFER, AND MORE CONSISTENT. A ROBOTIC PLATFORM EQUIPPED WITH INFRARED CAMERAS AND A CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT WITH INTELLIGENT ALGORITHMS WILL OPERATE IN BOTH FLYING AND CRAWLING MODES, TRAVEL IN PROXIMITY TO VARIOUS PARTS/ELEMENTS OF A BRIDGE, AND COLLECT HIGH-FIDELITY IMAGES OF THE ENTIRE BRIDGE. INSPECTORS WILL BE INSTRUMENTED AND MONITORED WITH A SUITE OF WEARABLE SENSORS TO ENABLE OPTIMAL ROBOT-INSPECTOR COOPERATION DURING EACH BRIDGE INSPECTION. AI ALGORITHMS WILL BE DEVELOPED IN MODULES TO ANALYZE THE BIG DATA FROM HUMAN SENSORS AND CAMERAS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRE-INSPECTION WORKFORCE TRAINING, DURING-INSPECTION ELEMENT DEFECT DETECTION, AND POST-INSPECTION CONDITION EVALUATION OF BRIDGES. THE ROBOT-INSPECTOR-AI SYSTEM WILL BE INTEGRATED AND VALIDATED AT SIX BRIDGE SITES IN COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS. THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT AIMS TO EXPLORE AND DEVELOP THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERLING METHODS OF AI FOR A COOPERATIVE INSPECTOR-ROBOT SURVEY OF BRIDGES. THE SCOPE OF WORK INCLUDES: (1) TO DEVELOP AN OPTIMAL SCREENING-TO-PROBING INSPECTION STRATEGY USING FAST AND ACCURATE DETECTION OF BOTH SURFACE AND INTERNAL DEFECTS IN REINFORCED CONCRETE SLABS (REPRESENTATIVE BRIDGE ELEMENTS) FROM ACTIVE THERMAL AND VISIBLE LIGHT IMAGING; (2) TO CREATE A CAUSAL MODEL OF INSPECTORS? TASK PERFORMANCE TO SUPPORT AN OPTIMAL JOB DESIGN, EFFECTIVE TRAINING, AND ONSITE OPERATION; (3) TO DEVELOP ADAPTIVE AI ALGORITHMS WITH HUMAN INSPECTORS IN THE LOOP FOR A RAPID ADAPTATION TO FUTURE WORK CONTEXTS, AND EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE DATA ANALYSES; AND (4) TO ENABLE A SPATIAL CORRELATION AMONG THE ELEMENTS OF AN ENTIRE BRIDGE WITH A MAXIMUM USE OF DOMAIN EXPERTISE, AND THUS IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND APPLICABILITY OF ADAPTIVE AI. THE METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED IN THIS STUDY WILL BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE HANDS OF STAKEHOLDERS, RESEARCHERS, POLICY MAKERS, AND END USERS (BRIDGE INSPECTORS) THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, FIELD DEMONSTRATIONS, AND TRAINING. IN PARTICULAR, THE WORLD?S FIRST BRIDGE BENCHMARK DATASET OF VIDEOS, LABELED OBJECTS, AND METADATA ESTABLISHED FROM REAL-WORLD BRIDGES, UPON APPROVAL BY STAKEHOLDERS, WILL BE SHARED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY VIA AN AI-ENABLED BRIDGE INSPECTION COMPETITION. 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.

RUI: ASYMMETRIC CATALYTIC HYDROAMINATION OF AMINOALLENES BY CHIRAL TANTALUM CYCLOPENTADIENYL-AMIDE-ALKOXIDE COMPLEXES

ADVANCES IN BOUNDED-CONFIDENCE MODELS ON NETWORKS

RUI: TRIANGULATIONS SET INTERSECTIONS FAIR DIVISION AND VOTING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: IRES - TRACK I: US-AUSTRALIA COLLABORATION ON A NEW CLASS OF LEAD-FREE COPPER ALLOYS TO MEET INTERNATIONAL HEALTH DEMANDS

ERI: FREE SURFACE AND FLEXIBILITY EFFECTS IN PARTIALLY-SUBMERGED BIOINSPIRED PROPULSION -ORGANISMS OFTEN HAVE SPECIALIZED STRATEGIES FOR MOVEMENT AT THE WATER?S SURFACE. THEIR LOCOMOTION ADDRESSES UNIQUE CONSTRAINTS INCLUDING SURFACE WAVES, SPLASHING, AND REDUCED FORCE PRODUCTION IN AIR, WHICH IS A THOUSAND-FOLD LOWER DENSITY THAN WATER. THESE BEHAVIORS PRESENT UNIQUE DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERWATER VEHICLES, WITH APPLICATIONS INCLUDING WATER-TO-AIR TAKE-OFF, MANEUVERING, AND NEAR-SURFACE STATION-HOLDING. DESPITE THE PREVALENCE OF THESE BIOLOGICAL EXAMPLES, NEW INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT HOW BIOINSPIRED FLAPPING PROPULSION PERFORMS WHILE PARTIALLY SUBMERGED. THIS WORK FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF THE WATER?S SURFACE ON PARTIALLY SUBMERGED PROPULSIVE PERFORMANCE. BEYOND UNDERWATER VEHICLES, THIS WORK ALSO HELPS EXPLAIN THE BIOMECHANICS OF NEAR-SURFACE LOCOMOTION AND AQUATIC JUMPING. THIS PROJECT WILL TRAIN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN HANDS-ON RESEARCH PROBLEM SOLVING. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT A BIOINSPIRED DESIGN WORKSHOP FOR UNDERGRADUATE ANTHROPOLOGY AND DESIGN STUDENTS AND AN ENGINEERING WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THIS WORK EXPERIMENTALLY INVESTIGATES THE ROLES OF AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE FREE SURFACE AND PROPULSOR FLEXIBILITY DURING PARTIALLY SUBMERGED BIOINSPIRED FLAPPING. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE TO DETERMINE: (1) HOW PROPULSIVE PERFORMANCE SCALES WITH THE SIZE AND SPEED OF THE SURFACE DISTURBANCE CREATED BY THE FLAPPING MOTION. (2) HOW THE FREE SURFACE DEFORMS DURING PARTIALLY SUBMERGED FLAPPING MOTIONS, INCLUDING THE EFFECTS OF FLEXIBILITY ON THE SURFACE BEHAVIORS OBSERVED. (3) HOW THREE-DIMENSIONALITY, INCLUDING FINITE WIDTHS, SPANWISE BENDING, AND SURFACE DISTURBANCES, AFFECTS PARTIALLY SUBMERGED PROPULSIVE PERFORMANCE. COMBINED, THESE OBJECTIVES PROVIDE NEW UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE FREE SURFACE IN PARTIALLY SUBMERGED PROPULSION. OBJECTIVES WILL BE ADDRESSED BY TESTING FLEXIBLE PLATES THAT ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY FLAPPING AND TRAVELING VERTICALLY OUT OF THE WATER. KEY VARIABLES INCLUDE FLAPPING FREQUENCY AND AMPLITUDE, VERTICAL VELOCITY, PLATE STIFFNESS, AND ASPECT RATIO. MULTI-AXIS FORCE AND TORQUE MEASUREMENTS WILL FACILITATE COMPARISONS OF THRUST AND EFFICIENCY. PERFORMANCE TRENDS WILL BE SCALED BASED ON THE SIZE AND SPEED OF THE SURFACE DISTURBANCE, IN ADDITION TO PARAMETERIZATIONS BASED ON THE FLAPPING KINEMATICS. TO EXPLAIN PERFORMANCE TRENDS, HIGH-SPEED IMAGING WILL VISUALIZE THE FREE SURFACE DYNAMICS (INCLUDING AIR CAVITY AND WAVE FORMATION, SPLASHING, AND THE EXTENTS OF THE DISTURBANCE) AND PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY WILL BE USED TO COMPARE WAKES. FOR CASES WHERE PERFORMANCE DIFFERS BETWEEN ASPECT RATIOS, 3D IMAGING OF THE PROPULSOR SHAPE WILL BE LEVERAGED TO EXPLAIN THESE OBSERVATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO OPEN-ACCESS TOOLS FOR VOLUMETRIC FLOW IMAGING, WITH MATERIALS PUBLICLY DISSEMINATED THROUGH AN OPEN-SOURCE PROJECT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: COLLISIONLESS HEATING DURING STRONG FIELD IRRADIATION OF WAVELENGTH-SCALE PARTICLES

REU SITE: CHEMISTRY RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE

CSR: MEDIUM: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WORKLOAD-AWARE STORAGE ARCHITECTURES FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

III: SMALL: RUI: FINDING BEST REPRESENTATIVE PHYLOGENETIC TREE RECONCILIATIONS

RI: SMALL: RUI: SHARK TRACKING WITH MULTIPLE AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES

CRII: III: RUI: ADAPTIVE QUERY PROCESSING FOR CROWD-POWERED DATABASE SYSTEMS

CRII: SATC: RUI: A CROSS-VERIFICATION APPROACH FOR IDENTIFYING TAMPERED AUDIO

ERI: RUI: WAVEFRONT SHAPING THROUGH FLEXIBLE MULTICORE FIBER BUNDLES FOR COHERENT LIGHT FOCUSING AND IMAGING IN NEUROPHOTONICS -THE GOAL OF THIS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INITIATION(ERI) PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN IMPROVED METHOD OF DELIVERING LIGHT TO THE BRAIN FOR IMAGING AND STIMULATING BRAIN ACTIVITY. LIGHT IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR PROBING THE BRAIN AND CAN BE USED TO MONITOR THE FIRING OF NEURONS OR DIRECTLY ACTIVATE NEURONS USING OPTOGENETICS. OPTICAL WAVEFRONT SHAPING TECHNIQUES CAN ENABLE DEEPER LIGHT PENETRATION IN THE BRAIN. HOWEVER, THESE TECHNIQUES ARE STYMIED BECAUSE IT IS CHALLENGING TO DELIVER THE SHAPED LIGHT TO THE BRAIN. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THIS CHALLENGE BY DEVELOPING A NEW SYSTEM WHICH LEVERAGES FIBER BUNDLES AND OPTICAL WAVEFRONT SHAPING TO RELIABLY DELIVER SHAPED LIGHT TO THE BRAIN, EVEN WHEN THE FIBER BUNDLE IS MOVING. THE OUTCOMES OF THE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE NEW TOOLS FOR NEUROSCIENTISTS TO DELIVER SHAPED LIGHT TO THE BRAIN, ENABLING BETTER EXPERIMENTS IN THE RESEARCH LABORATORY AND PAVING THE WAY FOR FUTURE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. THE BROADER IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT HARVEY MUDD, PROVIDING TIGHTLY INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHODS, OPTICAL SYSTEM DESIGN, AND NEUROPHOTONICS. IN ADDITION, THE PI WILL DEVELOP NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES TO BROADEN ACCESS TO OPTICS THROUGH WAVEFRONT SHAPING SIMULATIONS IN PYTHON-BASED JUPYTER NOTEBOOKS AND LOW-COST LAB EXPERIMENTS EXPLORING OPTICAL FIBERS AND LIGHT MATTER INTERACTIONS IN SCATTERING MEDIA. MULTICORE FIBERS OFFER AN ATTRACTIVE WAY TO DELIVER LIGHT TO REGIONS OF INTEREST IN THE BRAIN BUT ARE CHALLENGING TO USE IN PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS DUE TO CORE-DEPENDENT PHASE DELAYS WHICH ARE IMPACTED BY A VARIETY OF PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS MOVEMENT AND TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS. THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE BY DEVELOPING METHODS TO CORRECT THE PHASE DISTORTION OF THE MULTICORE FIBER WITHOUT REQUIRING ACCESS TO THE DISTAL END, ENABLING SHAPED WAVEFRONTS TO BE FLEXIBLY DELIVERED INTO DEEP TISSUE EVEN WHEN THE CORE-TO-CORE PHASE DELAYS ARE DYNAMICALLY CHANGING. THE RESEARCH PLAN IS DIVIDED INTO TWO MAJOR TASKS: (1) DEVELOPING A LOW-COHERENCE INTERFEROMETRY SYSTEM TO MEASURE THE PHASE DISTORTION OF THE MULTICORE FIBER AND CHARACTERIZING KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS SUCH AS TEMPORAL RESPONSE AND PHASE SENSITIVITY AND (2) USING THE LOW-COHERENCE INTERFEROMETRY SYSTEM WITH WAVEFRONT SHAPING TO CORRECT FOR THE PHASE DELAY IN THE MULTICORE FIBER AND CREATE DESIRED WAVEFRONTS BEYOND THE DISTAL TIP OF THE FIBER. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CAREER: SMARTER EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE THROUGH SKETCH RECOGNITION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CI-SUSTAIN: NATIONAL FILE SYSTEM TRACE REPOSITORY

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: OCE-PRF: DYNAMICS OF LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES AND THEIR RESPONSE TO INCREASING ARIDIFICATION -ESTUARIES SUPPORT UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS AND PROVIDE VALUABLE ECONOMIC BENEFITS, SUCH AS AQUACULTURE FARMS AND RECREATION. THEY REQUIRE CAREFUL MANAGEMENT IN THE FACE OF A CHANGING CLIMATE AND INCREASING COASTAL DEVELOPMENT. ESTUARIES WITH LOW RIVER INFLOW FOR PART OF THE YEAR, FOUND FOR EXAMPLE IN CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND LATIN AMERICA, ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO DEPLETION OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES AND INCREASING DROUGHT CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, PREDICTING THE RESPONSE OF A LOW-INFLOW ESTUARY TO THESE NEW CONDITIONS IS CHALLENGING. THIS CHALLENGE ARISES IN PART BECAUSE LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY THAN TRADITIONAL ESTUARIES WHICH HAVE YEAR-ROUND RIVER FLOW. MOST THEORY FOR ESTUARY CIRCULATION FOCUSES ON TRADITIONAL ESTUARIES AND DOES NOT APPLY WELL TO LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES. OUR PROJECT AIMS TO FILL THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP BY TESTING HOW LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES RESPOND TO EXTREME WEATHER AND DROUGHT. THE PROJECT RESULTS WILL GENERATE A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE CIRCULATION OF LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES. IT WILL ALSO HELP INFORM COASTAL MANAGERS ON HOW LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES ARE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO FUTURE VARIABILITY. THE RESEARCH WILL BE PAIRED WITH AN EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT INCLUDING SCHOOL LABS AND FIELD TRIPS TO PROMOTE OCEAN SCIENCE AMONG STUDENTS. THE PROPOSED PROJECT AIMS TO ENHANCE KNOWLEDGE OF FUTURE CHANGES TO LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES USING MODELS. FOR HIGH-INFLOW SYSTEMS, IDEALIZED MODELING STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE ESTUARINE ADJUSTMENT TO CHANGES IN RIVER RUNOFF OR TIDAL FORCING. HOWEVER, ANALOGOUS STUDIES FOR LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES ARE LACKING, DESPITE THE GLOBAL PREVALENCE OF LOW-INFLOW SYSTEMS. THIS RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES USING THE HYDRODYNAMICAL MODEL ROMS (REGIONAL OCEAN MODELING SYSTEM). THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE SIMULATIONS WILL BE TO EVALUATE THE CIRCULATION RESPONSE TO STRONG SURFACE THERMODYNAMIC FORCING AND PERIODIC BUT INTENSE FRESHWATER PULSES MIMICKING FUTURE CLIMATE VARIABILITY. THE EXPERIMENTS WILL ALSO TEST THE CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE FORMATION OF MID-ESTUARY DENSITY MINIMA (THERMAL PLUGS) AND MAXIMA (SALT PLUGS) FEATURES WHICH CAN IMPACT RESIDENCE TIME AND MIXING. BOTH DENSITY-DRIVEN AND TIDALLY DRIVEN CIRCULATION REGIMES WILL BE GENERATED BY VARYING FACTORS SUCH AS ESTUARY DEPTH, TIDAL AMPLITUDE, AND AIR TEMPERATURE. USING A RANGE OF PARAMETERS WILL ENABLE BROAD APPLICABILITY OF RESULTS. PASSIVE DYE EXPERIMENTS WILL ALSO BE RUN TO QUANTIFY FLUSHING TIMESCALES AND THEIR RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER. THEREFORE, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING A PHYSICAL UNDERSTANDING OF LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES, THE RESULTS WILL HAVE DIRECT RELEVANCE TO BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LOW-INFLOW ESTUARY ECOSYSTEMS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL GENERATE NEW IDEAS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PHYSICS OF LOW-INFLOW ESTUARIES, HELPING TO BUILD A CONTEMPORARY FRAMEWORK. THIS FRAMEWORK CAN THEN FORM THE BASIS OF FUTURE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

LEAPS-MPS: SINGULARITIES, RIGIDITY, AND TRACE MODULES

RUI: CHARACTERIZING CONTEXT DEPENDENT BIASES IN NUCLEOTIDE SUBSTITUTION

SURVEY, GEOLOCATION, AND PRECISION TRANSMISSION WITH AIRBORNE SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: MOVING WITH MUSCLES VS. SPRINGS: EVOLUTIONARY BIOMECHANICS OF EXTREMELY FAST, SMALL SYSTEMS

DEVELOPMENT OF A WIRELESS FIRE-SENSOR TECHNOLOGY FOR MONITORING STABILITY LOSS IN BURNING BUILDINGS

CS EDUCATION: COMPUTER GAME COURSE CURRICULUM AND GENDER?

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: IRES - TRACK I: BROWN CARBON AEROSOL FORMATION BY PHOTOOXIDATION OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN NANODROPLETS

FRG: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: DYNAMICS OF THIN LIQUID FILMS: MATHEMATICS AND EXPERIMENTS

CELL DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR THE TREATMENT OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

RUI: WEAVING SPACE WITH QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT, AND BLACK HOLES IN STOCHASTIC MATRIX THEORY

CRI-CI-ADDO-EN: NATIONAL FILE SYSTEM TRACE REPOSITORY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SHF: SMALL: AUTOMATED QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF TESTING DIFFICULTY

AF:SMALL:RUI:CONCRETE COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY

RUI: UNCOVERING THE PARTICLE NATURE OF HIDDEN SECTORS

RUI: EMERGENT SPACETIME IN MATRIX THEORY

NSF CCSC COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION SHOWCASE

CRI-CI-ADDO-EN: NATIONAL FILE SYSTEM TRACE REPOSITORY

2023 GERMINATION INVESTIGATOR WORKSHOP -THE EFMA GERMINATION PROGRAM SEEKS TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NOVEL APPROACHES, PLATFORMS, AND ENVIRONMENTS FOR TRAINING ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS TO FORMULATE SOCIETALLY IMPACTFUL RESEARCH QUESTIONS. THIS AWARD WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP TO BE HELD AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE IN EARLY 2023, WHICH WILL CONVENE TEAMS FUNDED THROUGH THE GERMINATION PROGRAM. THIS EVENT WILL BUILD ON PAST MEETINGS BY INCLUDING RESEARCHERS FROM BOTH CURRENT AND COMPLETED GERMINATION PROJECTS. THE 2023 WORKSHOP, WHICH IS INTENDED AS AN IN-PERSON MEETING, WILL BE PRECEDED BY A SHORTER VIRTUAL MEETING IN 2022 TO INITIATE CONNECTION BUILDING ACROSS THE GERMINATION TEAMS. THESE MEETINGS CONTINUE THE GOAL OF GERMINATION INVESTIGATOR WORKSHOPS TO PROPEL INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND FURTHER COMMUNITY BUILDING, AND IN PARTICULAR WILL EXPLORE WAYS TO ESTABLISH AND SUPPORT RELATIONSHIPS BEYOND THE LIFETIME OF INDIVIDUAL AWARDS. BROADER IMPACTS ARE INHERENT IN THE GOALS OF THE GERMINATION PROGRAM ? THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORKS, PLATFORMS AND/OR ENVIRONMENTS THAT STIMULATE FORMULATION OF TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS THAT ADDRESS IMPORTANT SOCIETAL NEEDS. THE 2023 WORKSHOP WILL BRING TOGETHER GERMINATION AWARDEES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO REPORT AND REFLECT ON HOW THEIR PROJECTS HAVE FACILITATED THE FORMULATION OF TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS. THE PLANNED WORKSHOP WILL PROVIDE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO PROTOTYPE A CULTURE OF RELATIONAL COLLABORATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ANNUAL WORKSHOPS. NON-TRADITIONAL MODES OF PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH GOALS, PLANS, AND FINDINGS WILL BE EXPLORED, WITH THE GOAL OF USING FUN LEARNING EXPERIENCES AS A MECHANISM TO GENERATE POTENTIALLY LONG-TERM INTERACTIONS AMONG THE PARTICIPANTS FROM DIFFERENT PROJECTS. THE WORKSHOP-ORGANIZING PIS HAVE DEVELOPED A SET OF WORKSHOP PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE THE ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING AN EMPHASIS ON INTERACTION, RECOGNITION OF INTERESTING AND CREATIVE APPROACHES, AND IDENTIFICATION OF COLLABORATIVE CONNECTIONS. ANTICIPATED ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE EXPLORATION OF ATTRIBUTES OF RELATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION, INCLUDING COLLABORATIVE FOUNDATIONS, POWER RELATIONSHIPS, MEANS OF EXPRESSION AND APPROACHES TO RISK. ULTIMATELY, THE WORKSHOP SHOULD PROVIDE A PROTOTYPE FOR A RESEARCH CULTURE THAT SCAFFOLDS CREATIVE COLLABORATION AND RISK TAKING. 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.

INTEGRATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL AND METABOLIC SIGNALS IN MERISTEMATIC PROLIFERATION

SURVEY, GEOLOCATION, AND PRECISION TRANSMISSION WITH AIRBORNE SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO

RUI: QUANTUM INFORMATION IN MATRIX BLACK HOLES AND BLACK HOLE HORIZONS IN STRING THEORY

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETER FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND TRAINING

CSR:LARGE:COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH:RECLAIMING MOORE'S LAW THROUGH ULTRA ENERGY EFFICIENT COMPUTING

CAREER: RANDOMIZED ITERATIVE METHODS FOR CORRUPTED DATA, CONSTRAINED PROBLEMS, AND COMPRESSED UPDATES -THE SCIENTIFIC GOAL OF THIS CAREER PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP THEORETICALLY-FOUNDED, RANDOMIZED ITERATIVE METHODS FOR PROBLEMS COMMON IN NUMERICAL LINEAR ALGEBRA (NLA) AND OPTIMIZATION, AND EXTEND THEIR APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS TO FACE A NEW AND IMPORTANT SET OF CHALLENGES. THE INCREDIBLE GROWTH IN SIZE AND COMPLEXITY OF DATA SETS COMMONLY ANALYZED HAS MADE IT IMPERATIVE TO HAVE RANDOMIZED COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES THAT ARE ROBUST TO ADVERSARIAL ERROR, INCORPORATE OR ARE ADAPTABLE TO NATURAL PROBLEM CONSTRAINTS, AND CAN BE APPLIED IN SETTINGS IN WHICH BOTH THE NUMBER AND DIMENSION OF DATA ARE MASSIVE. THIS PROJECT ADDITIONALLY PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH, AND SUPPORTS CREATION OF MATERIALS FOR AN ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE-LEVEL MODERN NUMERICAL LINEAR ALGEBRA COURSE TO BE USED AT HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE (HMC) AND BEYOND. THIS COURSE WILL FEATURE SIGNIFICANT CURRICULAR RESEARCH PROJECTS WHICH ALIGN WITH THE TECHNICAL DIRECTIONS IDENTIFIED IN THIS PROJECT; DESCRIPTIONS OF POTENTIAL COURSE PROJECT TOPICS WILL BE RELEASED WITH THE PUBLIC COURSE MATERIALS. THE PROJECT WILL ADDITIONALLY PROVIDE VERTICALLY-INTEGRATED MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR VISITING GRADUATE STUDENTS, HMC UNDERGRADUATES, AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH HMC?S FEDERALLY FUNDED UPWARD BOUND (UB) PROGRAM. FINALLY, THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT AN ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOR EARLY CAREER PARTICIPANTS INTERESTED IN RESEARCH MENTORSHIP AT PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS. THE INTELLECTUAL MERIT OF THIS CAREER PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF A SUITE OF RANDOMIZED ITERATIVE METHODS FOR PROBLEMS WITH DEVASTATING ADVERSARIAL CORRUPTION, PROBLEM CONSTRAINTS, AND EXTREMELY LARGE DATA DIMENSION. THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON THREE MAIN RESEARCH THRUSTS: (1) DEVELOPING AND ANALYZING CORRUPTION-ROBUST VARIANTS OF RANDOMIZED ITERATIVE METHODS IN NUMERICAL LINEAR ALGEBRA FOR LEAST-SQUARES REGRESSION, AND GENERALIZING THESE ANALYSES TO FIRST-ORDER METHODS IN NUMERICAL OPTIMIZATION FOR A MORE GENERAL CLASS OF CONVEX OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS. (2) ANALYZING THE ITERATIVE BEHAVIOR OF COMMON COMBINATORIAL AND NUMERICAL ITERATIVE METHODS FOR RANDOMLY SKETCHED AND SUBSAMPLED REGRESSION PROBLEMS WITH NONNEGATIVE AND RELATED CONSTRAINTS, AND USING THESE ANALYSES TO DEVELOP EFFICIENT RANDOMIZED ITERATIVE METHODS FOR SUCH PROBLEMS. (3) EXTENDING THE APPLICATION OF RANDOMIZED ITERATIVE METHODS TO PROBLEMS IN WHICH BOTH THE NUMBER AND SIZE OF DATA MAY BE MASSIVE BY DEVELOPING PROVABLY EFFECTIVE RANDOMLY COMPRESSED AND SPARSIFIED ITERATIVE UPDATES. OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPED AND ANALYZED METHODS WILL ACCOMPANY THE WORK COMPLETED UNDER EACH OF THE ABOVE THRUSTS. ADDITIONALLY, THIS WORK WILL BE DISTRIBUTED BOTH IN FORMAL PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL AND CONFERENCE SUBMISSIONS, AND IN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PROMOTER-ENHANCER INTERACTIONS AT THE DROSOPHILA BITHORAX COMPLEX

RUI: ASPECTS OF NON-LOCAL DYNAMICS IN STRING THEORY

RUI: CYTOPLASMIC DYNEINS AND INTRAFLAGELLAR TRANSPORT IN TETRAHYMENA THERMOPHILA

TRUSTWORTHY SPEECH-TO-TEXT: A RECOGNITION EVALUATION FRAMEWORK REF FOR SPEECH-TO-TEXT AND NLP SYSTEMS

RESEARCH STARTER GRANT: GENETIC AND NEURONAL MECHANISMS OF FOOD PREFERENCE BEHAVIOR IN CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS

HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE MATHEMATICS CONFERENCE SERIES

OPEN-SOURCE RENEWABLES: COUPLING RESILIENCE TO NATURAL DISASTERS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

A CONSORTIUM FOR CULTIVATING FUTURE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCHERS

STUDENT TRAVEL TO THE 2025-27 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES MENTORING WORKSHOPS AND THE ACM SIGPLAN CONFERENCES ON SYSTEMS, PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES AND APPLICATIONS: SOFTWARE FOR HUMANITY -THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES MENTORING WORKSHOP (PLMW) IS A MENTORING EVENT HOSTED AT THE ACM SIGPLAN CONFERENCE ON SYSTEMS, PROGRAMMING, LANGUAGES AND APPLICATIONS: SOFTWARE FOR HUMANITY (SPLASH). SPLASH IS A PREMIER VENUE IN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (PL/SE) RESEARCH WHICH FOCUSES ON ALL ASPECTS OF SOFTWARE CONSTRUCTION AND DELIVERY. PLMW PROVIDES EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS, SUCH AS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, MASTERS STUDENTS, AND EARLY PHD STUDENTS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT PL/SE RESEARCH, DEVELOP SKILLS TOWARDS NAVIGATING THE PRACTICAL ELEMENTS OF GRADUATE SCHOOL AND CAREER FINDING, AND START DEVELOPING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS WITH THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY AT LARGE. SUPPORT THROUGH THIS GRANT FACILITATES THE FREE EXCHANGE OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENGAGED, GLOBAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY BY FACILITATING THE IN-PERSON PRESENCE OF US-BASED STUDENTS. THIS GRANT PROVIDES TRAVEL AND CONFERENCE REGISTRATION SUPPORT FOR US-BASED STUDENTS TO ATTEND THE MENTORING WORKSHOP AND CONFERENCE FROM 2025 TO 2027 IN THREE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD: SINGAPORE, THE UNITED STATES, AND EUROPE. PRIORITY FOR FUNDING WILL BE GIVEN TO STUDENTS WHO ARE FIRST-TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEES AND DEMONSTRATE STRONG INTEREST IN PURSUING PL/SE RESEARCH CAREERS. PLMW EXPECTS TO SUPPORT 20 STUDENTS THROUGH THIS GRANT. 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.

THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS A PROJECT-BASED EDUCATIONAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE (HMC) AND THE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING GROUP'S (PSG) OVERLAP WITH NASA'S AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS PROJECT (ASO). THE COLLABORATION WOULD SUPPORT RESEARCH INTO TASK-EXECUTION AND TASK-REPLANNING/RESCHEDULING. DEMANDING A NEW BALANCE BETWEEN THESE CLASSICALLY-DISTINCT CAPABILITIES ARE FAMILIES OF RESOURCE-LIMITED REASONERS E.G. CUBESATS IN LOW-EARTH ORBIT NEXT-GENERATION PLANETARY ROVERS AND ROBOT MANIPULATORS WITH SLIDING-SCALE AUTONOMY. BALANCING BETWEEN SCHEDULES' EXECUTION AND COGNITION PLANNING-AND-SCHEDULING EXECUTIVES SPAN A DESIGN SPACE WITH DIFFICULT TRADEOFFS. A KEY TENSION ARISES WHEN UNCERTAINTY OR UNPLANNED EVENTS NECESSITATE A SCHEDULE CHANGE. ON ONE HAND FULL-FEATURED REPLANNING/RESCHEDULING SYSTEMS REQUIRE TIME MEMORY AND COMMUNICATIONS NOT AVAILABLE IN MANY SYSTEMS. WHEN FULL REPLANNING IS IMPOSSIBLE OR UNDESIRABLE A SCHEDULING EXECUTIVE DEPENDS CRUCIALLY ON ITS INTEGRATION WITH A RESCHEDULING SYSTEM. THE SPECIFICS OF INDIVIDUAL MISSIONS DEMAND EXPERTISE ACROSS THIS TRADEOFF SPACE PROMPTING RECENT ATTENTION TO THE CONTINUUM BETWEEN SCHEDULE EXECUTION AND (RE)COGNITION (FRANK 2017). NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER S PLANNING AND SCHEDULING GROUP (PSG) HAS IDENTIFIED A WORKFLOW THROUGH WHICH STUDENTS AND FACULTY AT HMC WILL COLLABORATE TO DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING OF THIS DESIGN SPACE: + SCENARIO-DEVELOPMENT SHOWING CONTEXTS FOR THESE (RE)SCHEDULING/EXECUTION TRADEOFFS FOR SPECIFIC SPACE MISSIONS. + INTEGRATION AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ON EXISTING SYSTEMS E.G. COMPARING PLEXIL WITH ROS'S SMACH AS THE EXECUTIVE EXPLORATION OF DIFFERENT RESCHEDULING ALGORITHMS ETC. + INTEGRATION/PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT SCHEDULERS AND EXECUTIVES E.G. SCHEDULERS BASED ON SIMPLE TEMPORAL NETWORKS WITH UNCERTAINTY (STNUS) AS DEVELOPED BY THE HMC TEAM (LUND ET AL. 2017) + DEVELOPING AND DEPLOYING (RE)SCHEDULING-AND-EXECUTION ARCHITECTURES ON DIFFERENT PROCESSORS (E.G. RASPBERRY PI ARDUINO OR BEAGLEBONE) DIFFERENT BATTERY/POWER CAPABILITIES DIFFERENT SENSORS AND DIFFERENT ROBOTS AS PROXIES FOR SPACE VEHICLES OR MISSIONS. THIS PROJECT (1) WILL PURSUE THIS WORKFLOW AND INVESTIGATE THESE TRADEOFFS AT HMC COLLABORATIVELY WITH DR. FRANK AT NASA AMES (2) WILL PROTOTYPE A NOVEL EXECUTION/RESCHEDULING SYSTEM -- ON PHYSICAL ROBOTS AT HMC AND (3) WILL DELIVER THE SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION AND REPORTING ON THAT SYSTEM. THE COLLABORATION AND DELIVERABLES WILL IMPROVE AND INFORM NASA'S ABILITY TO DESIGN THE RESOURCECONSTRAINED RESCHEDULING EXECUTIVES REQUIRED BY NEXT-GENERATION OF ROBOT- AERO- AND SPACE-SYSTEMS. A CLINICAL-PRACTICE COLLABORATION WITH HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE IN ADDITION TO THIS CORE RESEARCH-AND-PROTOTYPING COLLABORATION THE PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP WITH HMC'S CLINIC PROGRAM WOULD FURTHER NASA'S EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES. AS THE NATION'S FIRST AND LONGEST-RUNNING CLINICAL-PRACTICE ENGINEERING PROGRAM THE HMC CLINIC PROVIDES TESTED-AND-PROVEN SCAFFOLDING FOR THIS COLLABORATION. THAT SCAFFOLDING ENABLES A FACULTY ADVISOR (DR. JIM BOERKOEL) THE CLINIC DIRECTOR (DR. ZACHARY DODDS) AND A TEAM OF 4-5 HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE STUDENTS TO COLLABORATE ON THIS OPEN-ENDED PROJECT WITH PARTNERING LIAISONS AT NASA (DR. JEREMY FRANK). A CORNERSTONE OF HMC'S ACADEMIC APPROACH CLINIC PLACES AN EXTERNAL PROJECT INTO THE COLLEGE'S SCHEDULE REGULARLY ENGAGES FACULTY AND STUDENTS WITH OUTSIDE LIAISONS AND SPECIFIES DELIVERABLES. BECAUSE IT IS A COURSE FOR THE FACULTY AND A CAPSTONE REQUIRED OF ALL ENGINEERS AND CS MAJORS CLINIC'S TIMETABLE DRIVES THE COLLEGE'S ACADEMIC RHYTHMS AND EXPECTATIONS. THE CLINIC PROGRAM HAS BEEN WIDELY ADOPTED AND ADAPTED: THE ASCENDENCE OF ITS APPROACH OFFERS NASA AND HMC THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE NASA'S RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL GOALS TO REACH A COHORT OF EARNEST TALENTED AND AMBITIOUS YOUNG SCIENTISTS AND TO GROW CAPILLARIES INTO NEW APPROACHES TO ACADEMIC COLLABORATION.

WORKSHOP: MUDD DESIGN WORKSHOP ON INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP MAY 2011

CONFERENCE: COMBINATORICS RESEARCH SCHOOL -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS U.S.-BASED PARTICIPANTS AT THE ?ESCUELA COSTARRICENSE DE COMBINATORIA (COMBINATORIAL SCHOOL OF COMBINATORICS)?, HELD FROM JULY 27 TO AUGUST 07, 2026, AT THE UNIVERSIDAD DE COSTA RICA. DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE INFLUENTIAL ENCUENTRO COLOMBIANO DE COMBINATORIA, THIS RESEARCH SCHOOL AIMS TO STRENGTHEN THE TIES BETWEEN MATHEMATICAL COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE AMERICAS AND CULTIVATE A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR RESEARCHERS AT ALL CAREER STAGES. THE PROGRAM FEATURES FOUR INTENSIVE MINICOURSES LED BY EXPERTS IN GRAPH THEORY, MATROID THEORY, POLYHEDRAL GEOMETRY, AND SYMMETRIC FUNCTIONS. IN ADDITION TO THESE COURSES, THE SCHOOL INCLUDES PLENARY TALKS, CONTRIBUTED SESSIONS, AND A POSTER SESSION DESIGNED TO HIGHLIGHT THE ROLE OF COMBINATORICS AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN ALGEBRA AND DISCRETE GEOMETRY. THE 2026 PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE LECTURES BY THE FOLLOWING RESEARCHERS: FEDERICO ARDILA, ANASTASIA CHAVEZ, EMILY HEATH, AND ROSA ORELLANA. TO ENHANCE THE TRAINING OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF MATHEMATICIANS, THE SCHOOL ALSO INCORPORATES SAGEMATH COMPUTATIONAL TUTORIALS AND DEDICATED EXERCISE SESSIONS LED BY GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL TEACHING ASSISTANTS. THESE ACTIVITIES ARE DESIGNED TO FOSTER INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND PROVIDE EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS WITH THE TOOLS AND NETWORKS NECESSARY FOR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS IN THE GLOBAL MATHEMATICAL COMMUNITY. MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE SCHOOL AND ITS ACADEMIC OUTPUTS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE OFFICIAL EVENT WEBSITE: HTTPS://ESCUELA.CIMPA.UCR.AC.CR. 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.

CONFERENCE ON CATEGORICAL METHODS IN TOPOLOGY AND QUANTUM GEOMETRY; FALL 2009, DALLAS, TEXAS

SURF BOULDER

FY 2017 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP ITL

FY 2015 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - (CNST)

SURF BOULDER

FY 2012 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - BOULDER

FY 2014 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - ITL

FY 2011 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - NIST BOULDER

FY 2013 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP - ITL

FY 2011 SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (SURF) - GAITHERSURG