COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

GRANT PROGRAM

GRANT PROGRAM

IN 1991 NASA DESIGNATED SOUTH CAROLINA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM (SCSGC) AS A CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT CONSORTIUM WITH ITS PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY TO ENHANCE AEROSPACE-RELATED RESEARCH IN SOUTH CAROLINA. IN DOING SO OUR ORIGINAL FOUR MEMBERS BELIEVED THAT INCREASING THE DIVERSITY OF THE FUTURE WORKFORCE SHOULD BE A CONSORTIUM PRIORITY. CONSEQUENTLY SCSGC CONTINUES TO PROMOTE AND DEVELOP A HOST OF COMPETITIVE PROGRAMS THAT ENCOURAGE AND INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF STEM RESEARCHERS. THE SCSGC CONSORTIUM IS COMPRISED OF 14 DIVERSE MEMBER UNIVERSITIES IN SC AND ONE IN THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS. AMONG THESE ARE THREE RESEARCH-ONE UNIVERSITIES INCLUDING A MEDICAL UNIVERSITY FOUR HBCU S TWO LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES WITH SIGNIFICANT MINORITY ENROLLMENT (24% 50%) ONE MILITARY COLLEGE THREE PRIVATE COLLEGES AND TWO PUBLIC LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES. THE DIVERSITY OF SCSGC'S INSTITUTIONS PROVIDES A BALANCED PROGRAM OF EDUCATION RESEARCH PUBLIC SERVICE AND INCLUDES SCHOOLS WITH LARGE FEMALE AND MINORITY STUDENT POPULATIONS. IN ADDITION TO THE ACADEMIC UNIVERSITIES SCSGC INCLUDES TWO AFFILIATE MEMBERS: SC SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM AND SC EPSCOR/IDEA AS WELL AS 6 EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS: ORANGEBURG-CALHOUN TECHNICAL COLLEGE SC STATE MUSEUM TRIDENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE DOME EDUCATION AND ROPER MOUNTAIN SCIENCE CENTER CHILDREN S MUSEUM OF THE LOWCOUNTRY. THE NAVAL INFORMATION WARFARE CENTER (NIWC) FORMERLY SPAWAR IS IN THE FINAL STAGES OF BECOMING A PARTNER. THE SCSGC IMPLEMENTS A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM OF UNDERGRADUATE GRADUATE AND FACULTY OPPORTUNITIES. OUR PROGRAMS PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO CONDUCT FACULTY-MENTORED NASA-RELATED RESEARCH. INCLUDED ARE HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES AND A RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM FOR FACULTY TO CONDUCT THEIR OWN NASA-RELATED RESEARCH BOTH HELPING TO FURTHER NASA S PRESENCE WITHIN THE STATE. MISSION STATEMENT: THE CONSORTIUM EXISTS TO IMPLEMENT THE NATIONAL SPACE GRANT ACT OF 1988 IN SOUTH CAROLINA. WITHIN THE LARGER CONTEXT OF NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES WE PROMOTE ACTIVITY IN RESEARCH EDUCATION AND PUBLIC SERVICE/ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO NASA. SOUTH CAROLINA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM GOALS: ALL SCSGC S RESEARCH EDUCATION AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS FULFILL ONE OR MORE OF THE SCSGC GOALS LISTED BELOW AND SUPPORT NASA S MISSION DIRECTORATES. ADDITIONALLY ALL ARE ALIGNED WITH THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FEDERAL CO-STEM COMMITTEE NASA S STRATEGIC PLAN NASA S OFFICE OF STEM ENGAGEMENT AND THE NATIONAL SPACE GRANT PROGRAM

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM AT THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, 2022-2027

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.

TITLE: OF PROJECT: SOUTH CAROLINA MARINE RESOURCES CENTER: GRICE MARINE LABORATORY COASTAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: GIACOMO DITULLIO, PH.D. GRICE MARINE LABORATORY, DIRECTOR 205 FORT JOHNSON CHARLESTON SC 29412 DITULLIOJ@COFC.EDU 843.953.9196 CO-INVESTIGATOR: ERIC MCELROY, PH.D. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON DEPT. OF BIOLOGY, CHAIR 66 GEORGE STREET CHARLESTON SC 29424 MCELROYE@COFC.EDU 843.953.5554 DURATION OF AWARD: SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 TO AUGUST 31, 2029 PROPOSED 5 YEAR BUDGET: Y1: $856,296 Y2: $157,040 Y3: $158,267 Y4: $137,845 Y5: $ 15,552 TOTAL AMOUNT REQUESTED: $1,325,000 ABSTRACT: COASTAL ECOSYSTEM HEALTH IN CHARLESTON COASTAL WATERS IS IMPERILED BY CLIMATE CHANGE PROCESSES INCLUDING FREQUENT AND EPISODIC STORM EVENTS AND SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES INCREASING. THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES WILL MONITOR THE WATER QUALITY, MICROBIAL COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND DEVELOP METHODS FOR ASSESSING CHANGE USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES AND PARTNERING WITH THE NON-PROFIT GROUP CHARLESTON WATERKEEPER. SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT PURCHASED WILL BE ESSENTIAL IN COMPLETING THE TASKS. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS WILL PROVIDE TRAINING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF MARINE SCIENTISTS. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE PARTNERING WITH CULTIVATE SCIART PROGRAM AND SUMMER INTERNSHIPS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT SC HBCUS.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM (SCSGC) REQUESTS $1 000 000 FOR ITS 2022-2027 NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (RID) PROGRAM TO FURTHER RESEARCH AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA S FUTURE WORKFORCE. THIS RID PROGRAM

EXPANDQISE: TRACK 1: TOPOLOGICAL PHONON DYNAMICS AND CONTROL IN QUANTUM MATERIALS -NONTECHNICAL ABSTRACT: THIS EXPANDQISE PROJECT AT THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AIMS TO ADVANCE THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF TOPOLOGICAL PHONONS IN ENGINEERED QUANTUM MATERIALS BY CONTROLLING THE LIGHT - MATTER INTERACTION IN THESE MATERIALS. THE RESEARCH ADVANCES THE FIELD OF INTEGRATED QUANTUM PHONONICS BY SYSTEMATICALLY EXPLORING QUANTUM MATERIALS THAT POSSESS THE FUNCTIONALITIES TO DEVELOP NOVEL QUANTUM PHONOIC DEVICES. TO MAXIMIZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DISCOVERY PROCESS, THIS PROJECT COMBINES ULTRAFAST OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY AND MICROSCOPY, MATERIALS SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION, AND COMPUTATION AND MODELING TO EXPLORE THE GENERATION, DYNAMICS, AND CONTROL OF TOPOLOGICAL PHONONS IN QUANTUM MATERIALS. THE COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE NECESSARY EDUCATION FOR PREPARING COFC UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FOR THE NEXT QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION AND THE NEEDED WORKFORCE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SOUTH CAROLINA. SPECIAL EFFORTS ARE MADE TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY AND FEMALE GROUPS IN THIS RESEARCH THROUGH THE COFC ADMISSIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY OFFICES. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: TOPOLOGICAL PHONONS ARE LATTICE VIBRATIONS IN CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS AND A TYPE OF QUANTUM INFORMATION CARRIER. THEY ADVANCE TRADITIONAL INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEMS WITH HIGH FREQUENCIES (TERAHERTZ), LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION, AND THE ABILITY TO EXPLOIT SURFACE OR BOUNDARY MODES THAT ARE STABLE AGAINST PERTURBATION. HOWEVER, THEIR GENERATION AND MANIPULATION REMAIN CHALLENGING. THIS PROJECT LEVERAGES THE COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE OF TWO SCIENTISTS TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE POTENTIAL NEW QUANTUM INFORMATION CARRIERS IN TOPOLOGICAL MATERIALS. THROUGH ULTRAFAST OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY AND MICROSCOPY (GONG GROUP, COFC), MATERIALS SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION (JIN GROUP, USC), AND COMPUTATION AND MODELING (COLLABORATORS), THE RESEARCH TEAM AIMS TO EXPLORE THE GENERATION, DYNAMICS, AND CONTROL OF TOPOLOGICAL PHONONS IN QUANTUM MATERIALS. UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERIAL COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE, AND PROPERTIES IS ESSENTIAL FOR CONTROLLING MATERIAL PROPERTIES. THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT PROVIDES STRATEGIES TO CONTROL TOPOLOGICAL PHONON DYNAMICS, INCLUDING FREQUENCY, AMPLITUDE, AND DAMPING. THE PROJECT ENABLES THE PI TO ESTABLISH A QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE (QIS) RESEARCH PROGRAM AT COFC THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH USC, UTILIZING SHARED RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT BOTH INSTITUTIONS. 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: RII FEC: RISKS, IMPACTS, & STRATEGIES FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES: ADVANCING CONVERGENT SCIENCE TO SUPPORT CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION & RESILIENCE -COASTAL COMMUNITIES FACE GROWING AND COMPOUNDING RISKS THAT ARE EXACERBATED BY THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA-LEVEL RISE. WITH NEARLY TWICE THE GLOBAL RATES OF SEA-LEVEL RISE, THE U.S. ATLANTIC SEABOARD IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE AND SOME COMMUNITIES ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED. ADVANCING OUR SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL RISKS AND VULNERABILITIES TO COASTAL HAZARDS, SUCH AS FLOODING AND SALINIZATION, IS ESSENTIAL FOR IDENTIFYING VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND ASSESSING HOW THREATS ARE LIKELY TO IMPACT THE WELLBEING OF PEOPLE IN THESE AREAS. THE RISKS, IMPACTS, & STRATEGIES FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES (RISCC) PROJECT BRINGS TOGETHER RESEARCHERS AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS FROM THREE EPSCOR JURISDICTIONS REPRESENTING THE LOWEST-LYING STATES IN THE COUNTRY: DELAWARE, RHODE ISLAND, AND SOUTH CAROLINA. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO EMPOWER DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED COMMUNITIES TO MAKE EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE ADAPTATION DECISIONS THAT SUPPORT LONG-TERM CLIMATE RESILIENCE TO THREATS OF FLOODING AND SALINIZATION. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL, THE RISCC TEAM WILL BUILD CONVERGENT AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT INTEGRATES BEHAVIORAL AND NATURAL SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, ECONOMICS, PUBLIC POLICY, PLANNING, EDUCATION, AND OUTREACH. THE TEAM WILL ADVANCE THE ASSESSMENT OF RISKS AND VULNERABILITIES TO COMPOUNDING HAZARDS, IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY COASTAL RESIDENTS AND DECISION MAKERS, DEVELOP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM INNOVATIONS BASED ON ITERATIVE FEEDBACK FROM USERS IN OUR PARTNER COMMUNITIES, AND CREATE NOVEL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH MATERIALS THAT WILL ENHANCE THE CAPACITY OF DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED COMMUNITIES TO INCREASE RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE THREATS THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED PLANNING AND ADAPTATION. THIS PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION AMONG THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM, DELAWARE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND THE CITADEL, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF LITTLE CREEK AND DELAWARE BAY BEACHES, DELAWARE; THE CITY OF WARREN, RHODE ISLAND; AND EDISTO ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE PROJECT WILL ADVANCE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ON HOW DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED COASTAL COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCE AND EFFECTIVELY ADAPT TO FLOODING AND SALINIZATION. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL WITH SEVEN OBJECTIVES: (1) CO-DEVELOP SOLUTIONS WITH PARTNER COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE ADAPTATION DECISIONS, (2) DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE GEOSPATIAL DATASETS TO ADVANCE THE ASSESSMENT OF FLOOD VULNERABILITY AND MITIGATION SUITABILITY, (3) MODEL AND MAP GROUNDWATER FLOODING AND SALINIZATION RISKS, (4) QUANTIFY THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF FLOODING AND SALINIZATION, AND ANALYZE DIFFERENT COMMUNITY PREFERENCES FOR ADAPTATION STRATEGIES, (5) UNDERSTAND HOW LOCAL DECISION MAKERS ASSESS AND PLAN FOR CLIMATE HAZARDS, (6) INTEGRATE RESEARCH OUTCOMES FROM NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING TO DEVELOP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS THAT OUR DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED PARTNER COMMUNITIES (AND COMMUNITIES LIKE THEM) CAN USE TO DETERMINE WHICH ADAPTATION STRATEGIES WILL LIKELY BE EFFECTIVE NOW AND IN THE FUTURE, AND (7) PREPARE DIVERSE RESEARCHERS AND DECISION MAKERS TO UNDERSTAND THE SCIENCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COASTAL ADAPTATION THROUGH EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. FACULTY AND RESEARCHERS FROM DIVERSE INSTITUTIONS WILL CO-CREATE EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MATERIALS, WHICH WILL BE WIDELY COMMUNICATED AMONG RACIALLY AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE STUDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DOCUMENTARY FILM FOR NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION VIA THE PBS NETWORK TO INCREASE PUBLIC SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AND PROMOTE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH SCIENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE HAZARDS AND ADAPTATION. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE EPSCOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT-FOCUSED EPSCOR COLLABORATIONS (RII-FEC) PROGRAM. THE RII-FEC PROGRAM BUILDS INTER-JURISDICTIONAL COLLABORATIVE TEAMS OF EPSCOR INVESTIGATORS IN FOCUS AREAS CONSISTENT WITH THE NSF STRATEGIC PLAN. RII-FEC PROJECTS INCLUDE RESEARCHERS FROM AT LEAST TWO EPSCOR ELIGIBLE JURISDICTIONS WITH COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES NECESSARY TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES, WHICH NEITHER PARTY COULD ADDRESS AS WELL OR AS RAPIDLY INDEPENDENTLY. 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.

OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT COULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON COMPOSITES FABRICATION AT NASA AND THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

INVESTIGATING TROPHIC EXPOSURE TO MARINE MICROPLASTICS AND PLASTICIZERS IN A SENTINEL SPECIES AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR SEAFOOD SAFETY - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THIS PROPOSED STUDY WILL EXPOSE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO HANDS-ON, RIGOROUS RESEARCH THAT EXPLORES THE INTERSECTIONS OF OCEANS, WILDLIFE, AND HUMAN HEALTH. SPECIFICALLY, STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND THE RISK OF EXPOSURE TO MICROPLASTICS AND PLASTICIZERS (I.E., PHTHALATES) FROM CONTAMINATED SEAFOOD. FOR DECADES, BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS (TURSIOPS TRUNCATUS) HAVE BEEN USED AS SENTINELS OF MARINE POLLUTION RISKS FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON SEAFOOD. DUE TO THE RECENT DETECTION OF PREVALENT PHTHALATE EXPOSURE IN COASTAL BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS, A SENTINEL-SPECIES APPROACH WILL BE USED TO ADDRESS THREE SPECIFIC AIMS: 1) ASSESS THE POTENTIAL FOR TROPHIC EXPOSURE TO MICROPLASTICS; 2) DETERMINE IF PHTHALATE EXPOSURE IS AN INDICATOR OF MICROPLASTIC EXPOSURE; AND 3) EVALUATE SPATIOTEMPORAL DIFFERENCES IN PHTHALATE EXPOSURE. THIS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO ENGAGE IN INNOVATIVE STUDIES OF A FEDERALLY-PROTECTED SPECIES, PARTICIPATE IN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL ANALYSES IN STATE-OF-THE-ART LABORATORIES, DEVELOP MARKETABLE STATISTICAL SKILLS, AND ENHANCE THEIR SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION THROUGH CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS. STUDENTS WILL ALSO BE EXPOSED TO A BROAD RANGE OF BIOMEDICAL FIELDS AS THEY WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH SCIENTISTS WITH EXPERTISE IN EPIDEMIOLOGY, BIOSTATISTICS, BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, ECOTOXICOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. THE OCEANS CONTAIN TRILLIONS OF PLASTIC PARTICLES, MOSTLY MICROPLASTICS (I.E., PARTICLES < 5 MM DIAMETER; APPROXIMATELY 93% OF PARTICLES), WHICH HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN ORGANISMS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE MARINE FOOD WEB. THESE DISCOVERIES SUGGEST THAT SEAFOOD SAFETY IS BEING THREATENED AND PUBLIC HEALTH COMPROMISED, AS MICROPLASTIC INGESTION CAN LEAD TO GASTROINTESTINAL INFLAMMATION, ALTERED METABOLISM, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. PLASTICS CAN ALSO LEACH ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING PHTHALATES, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INFERTILITY, ABNORMAL REPRODUCTIVE ORGAN DEVELOPMENT, INCREASED BREAST CANCER RISK, AND POOR PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXAMINE IF MICROPLASTIC-CONTAMINATED SEAFOOD COULD BE AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF HUMAN EXPOSURE TO HARMFUL XENOBIOTICS, AND IF THIS EXPOSURE VARIES SPATIOTEMPORALLY. STUDY AIMS WILL BE ADDRESSED VIA SERIAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SAMPLING OF FREE-RANGING DOLPHINS AND THEIR PREFERRED PREY IN SARASOTA BAY, FL. FOR AIM 1, MICROPLASTICS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED IN DOLPHIN GASTRIC AND FECAL SAMPLES, AS WELL AS FISH MUSCLE AND GASTROINTESTINAL TISSUES. SIMILARITIES IN PARTICLE SIZE, TYPE, AND POLYMER COMPOSITION WILL SUGGEST TROPHIC EXPOSURE. FOR AIM 2, PHTHALATE METABOLITES WILL BE QUANTIFIED IN DOLPHIN URINE AND FISH METABOLIC TISSUES TO EXAMINE CORRELATIONS WITH INGESTED MICROPLASTICS QUANTITIES FROM AIM 1. FOR AIM 3, URINARY PHTHALATE METABOLITE CONCENTRATIONS WILL BE COMPARED BETWEEN TWO DISTINCT DOLPHIN POPULATIONS (SARASOTA BAY, FL; BARATARIA BAY, LA) AND ACROSS TIME (2010-2024) TO UNDERSTAND SPATIOTEMPORAL DIFFERENCES IN EXPOSURE RISK. FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY WILL HELP TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL OF CONTAMINATED SEAFOOD AS AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF MICROPLASTIC AND PHTHALATE EXPOSURE FOR HUMANS, AS WELL AS INFORM INTERVENTION AND RISK COMMUNICATION NEEDS REGARDING SEAFOOD SAFETY.

AN ONLINE PLATFORM FOR LEARNING NEUROANATOMY FROM NEURAL CONNECTIVITY -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY DEVELOPING AND TESTING A WEB-BASED PLATFORM FOR NEUROANATOMY INSTRUCTION BASED ON NEURAL CONNECTIONS. UNDERSTANDING FUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMY IS FOUNDATIONAL TO THE RISING NUMBER OF UNDERGRADUATES ENROLLED IN NEUROSCIENCE COURSES. AT THE SAME TIME, NEW TECHNIQUES FOR BRAIN IMAGING ARE LEADING TO A PARADIGM SHIFT IN NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH FROM FOCUSING ON INDIVIDUAL BRAIN STRUCTURES TO INVESTIGATING NEURAL NETWORKS AND CONNECTIONS. THIS ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING LEVEL 1 PROJECT WILL FACILITATE A REVISION IN UNDERGRADUATE NEUROANATOMY EDUCATION TO PARALLEL THE CURRENT PARADIGM SHIFT IN NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH. AN INTERACTIVE 3D VIEWER WILL HELP STUDENTS VISUALIZE AND UNDERSTAND FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG BRAIN AREAS, AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY VALIDATED TRAINING PROGRAMS WILL SERVE AS MULTIMEDIA COMPANIONS TO CURRENT NEUROSCIENCE TEXTBOOKS. BY USING NEURAL CONNECTIVITY TO ASSOCIATE BRAIN STRUCTURES WITH ONE ANOTHER AND MEANINGFUL FUNCTIONS, THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE UNDERGRADUATES WITH A FOUNDATIONAL RESOURCE AND A FUNCTIONALLY RELEVANT PERSPECTIVE ON NEUROANATOMY THAT BETTER PREPARES THEM FOR A CHANGING WORKPLACE IN MEDICINE AND RESEARCH SHAPED BY QUICKLY ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP AND TEST A WEB-BASED PLATFORM THAT USES NEURAL CONNECTIVITY DATA TO IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING OF NEUROANATOMY. AIM 1 (DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY) WILL INCLUDE THREE COMPONENTS. DEVELOPMENT 1 WILL REVISE AND EXPAND AN INTERACTIVE GRAPHICAL SOFTWARE SYSTEM CALLED SHOW ME THE BRAIN!! (SMTB) TO INCLUDE COMPREHENSIVE 3D MODELS OF WHITE-MATTER FIBER TRACTS THAT VISUALIZE NEURAL CONNECTIONS. DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED (DTI) IMAGES AND NEURONAL TRACING DATA WILL BE USED TO GENERATE 3D MODELS OF WHITE-MATTER PATHWAYS THAT FULLY INTEGRATE WITH ANATOMICAL MODELS BASED ON CRYOSECTIONS AND HIGH-RESOLUTION STRUCTURAL MRI. DEVELOPMENT 2 WILL CREATE AND TEST AN EXTENSION TO SMTB CALLED BUILD-A-BRAIN FOR CONFIGURING CONNECTIVITY NETWORKS. BY INTERACTING WITH BUILD-A-BRAIN, STUDENTS WILL CHOOSE THE BRAIN AREAS THEY WANT TO LEARN AND WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DIRECTED TO WHITE-MATTER TRACTS TO ORGANIZE THEM INTO FUNCTIONAL NETWORKS. SUGGESTED NETWORKS WILL BE BASED ON A DATABASE OF BRAIN NETWORKS IN WHICH PERMUTED COLLECTIONS OF BRAIN AREAS ARE LINKED BY WHITE-MATTER PATHWAYS AND EMPIRICALLY REPORTED FUNCTIONS AND APPLICATIONS. DEVELOPMENT 3 WILL BUILD AN OPEN-SOURCE COMMUNITY FOR CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK AND IMPROVEMENT OF SMTB, BUILD-A-BRAIN, AND FUTURE PLATFORM EXTENSIONS. AIM 2 (EVALUATE LEARNING) WILL INCLUDE A SERIES OF FOUR SEMESTER-LONG EXPERIMENTS IN WHICH SMTB AND BUILD-A-BRAIN WILL BE USED SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR STUDENT LEARNING AND DATA COLLECTION. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL FOLLOW AN EXISTING HIGHLY CONTROLLED CLASSROOM-BASED PROTOCOL TO EVALUATE THE RETENTION, TRANSFER, AND CRITICAL-THINKING EFFECTS OF CONNECTIVITY-BASED TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATES. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS FROM THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL INFORM AND IMPROVE THE SMTB AND BUILD-A-BRAIN PLATFORMS. THE NSF IUSE: EDU 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.

OLYMPUS ARSIA PAVONIS AND ASCRAEUS MONTES IN THE THARSIS REGION OF MARS ARE AMONG THE LARGEST VOLCANOES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. WHILE VOLCANISM WANED OVER MUCH OF MARS BY THE LATE AMAZONIAN (THE LAST FEW HUNDRED MILLION YEARS) THERE IS GROWING EVIDE

CAMPUS BASED-FSEOG

RII TRACK-4: @NASA: NEXT GENERATION HYPERSPECTRAL APPROACHES TO DETECT HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS -THIS RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT TRACK-4 EPSCOR RESEARCH FELLOWS (RII TRACK-4) PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A FELLOWSHIP TO AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND TRAINING FOR A GRADUATE STUDENT AT THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON. THIS WORK WOULD BE CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION WITH RESEARCHERS AT THE NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER (ARC). THE PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (HABS) IN COASTAL REGIONS BY UTILIZING STATE-OF-THE-ART SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE ALGORITHMS. HABS POSE SIGNIFICANT THREATS TO MARINE ECOSYSTEMS, HUMAN HEALTH, AND LOCAL ECONOMIES. BY LEVERAGING NEW-GENERATION SATELLITE SENSORS AND ADVANCED DATA ANALYSIS, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO PROVIDE ACCURATE INFORMATION ON THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF HABS. THIS PROJECT'S SIGNIFICANCE LIES IN ITS POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE HAB MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT. TRADITIONAL METHODS HAVE LIMITATIONS IN RESOLUTION, HINDERING EFFECTIVE RESPONSES. ADVANCING SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING AND DATA ANALYSIS CONTRIBUTES TO SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS. FURTHERMORE, THE PROJECT SERVES THE NATIONAL INTEREST BY PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, PROSPERITY, AND WELFARE. HABS DISRUPT COASTAL COMMUNITIES, AFFECTING FISHERIES, TOURISM, AND HUMAN HEALTH DUE TO HARMFUL TOXINS. TIMELY MONITORING CAN MITIGATE THESE IMPACTS. THE PROJECT SUPPORTS EDUCATION AND DIVERSITY BY FOSTERING COLLABORATION AMONG RESEARCHERS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. INTERDISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES ATTRACT SCHOLARS, ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. ULTIMATELY, THE PROJECT BENEFITS SOCIETY BY ENABLING EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND MANAGEMENT. UNDERSTANDING HAB DYNAMICS WILL LEAD TO HEALTHIER COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS, SAFER DRINKING WATER SOURCES, AND IMPROVED PUBLIC HEALTH, BENEFITING THE NATION'S WELL-BEING AND PROSPERITY. HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (HABS) ARE CAUSING ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS AND ARE OF GROWING CONCERN WORLDWIDE DUE TO THEIR SERIOUS IMPACTS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AS WELL AS ON THE AQUACULTURE AND FISHERIES INDUSTRY. HABS OCCUR IN RESPONSE TO RISING SURFACE WATER TEMPERATURES AND INCREASED FLUX OF NUTRIENTS INTO STREAMS AND LAKES. OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, EARTH-OBSERVATION SATELLITE-BASED TOOLS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR TRACKING THE DEVELOPMENT AND MOVEMENT OF HABS AND ALGAL BLOOMS. THIS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN DONE USING ESTIMATES OF CHLOROPHYLL-A CONCENTRATION (CHL-A, MG M?3), A PROXY FOR PHYTOPLANKTON BIOMASS. HOWEVER, CHL-A ALONE DOES NOT PROVIDE A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE INHERENT PHYTOPLANKTON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OR INFORMATION REGARDING SPECIFIC HAB SPECIES. THUS, HIGH-RESOLUTION SATELLITE OCEAN COLOR PRODUCTS THAT GO BEYOND UNIVERSAL CHL-A AND PROVIDE INFORMATION ON SPECIFIC HAB SPECIES ARE CRITICALLY NEEDED FOR ACCURATE HAB TRACKING AND FORECASTING MODELS. THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO UTILIZE NEW-GENERATION HYPERSPECTRAL SENSORS AND SUPPORT THE CONTINUED EFFORT OF DEVELOPING ROBUST ALGORITHMS THAT CAN ACCURATELY PROVIDE SPATIALLY AND TEMPORALLY EXPLICIT DATA ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF HABS. THE PROJECT WILL MERGE MULTIPLE CLASSES OF DATA PRODUCTS TO DEVELOP HAB PRODUCTS THAT ARE BEST SUITED FOR USE WITH NEXT-GENERATION HYPERSPECTRAL SENSORS. WE WILL WORK ON NASA?S SEMI-ANALYTICAL OPTIMIZATION METHOD, THE GENERALIZED INHERENT OPTICAL PROPERTY AND NEW MACHINE LEARNING-BASED HAB MAPPING ALGORITHMS WHICH CAN BE USED TO CHARACTERIZE THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER AND RETRIEVE HAB PRODUCTS FROM SEVERAL EXISTING AND FUTURE OCEAN COLOR SATELLITES. 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.

EXPANDING SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITY WITH A DIGITAL COURSE BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: GLUERS, GRIPPERS, AND GOUGERS: HOST-ADAPTED DIVERSIFICATION OF BARNACLES EPIZOOTIC WITH MARINE MEGAFAUNA AND THEIR TURTLESCAPE GENOMICS -SEA TURTLES AND WHALES SERVE AS THE ONLY ATTACHMENT SURFACES FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO DOZEN SPECIES OF BARNACLES. THESE STATIONARY CRUSTACEANS HAVE EVOLVED TO SEEK OUT SPECIFIC HOSTS AS MOBILE HOMES BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE BARNACLES AN EASY MEANS OF DISPERSING AND FEEDING, WHILE GIVING THEM PROTECTION FROM PREDATORS. BARNACLES ATTACH TO TURTLES AND WHALES BY THREE MECHANISMS: THERE ARE ?GLUERS? WHICH CEMENT THEMSELVES TO SHELL AND OTHER FIRM BODY PARTS WITH MINIMAL TO NO INVASIVE ACTION; ?GRIPPERS? WHICH CLING TO SOFT EPIDERMIS BY MEANS OF SKIN-PINCHING MECHANICS; AND ?GOUGERS? WHICH CAN PENETRATE TISSUE, SCUTES, SCALES, AND SOMETIMES TO THE UNDERLYING BONE. THIS RESEARCH WILL MAP GENETIC TAGS FROM BARNACLES COLLECTED WORLDWIDE TO 1) STUDY HOST CHOICE AND THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF BARNACLE ATTACHMENT, 2) DESCRIBE TO WHAT EXTENT BARNACLES MAY BE A ?FINGERPRINT? MANAGEMENT TOOL FOR TRACKING SEA TURTLE MOVEMENTS, AND 3) ESTABLISH A BASELINE DISTRIBUTION OF BARNACLE GENETIC TYPES FOR MONITORING ALTERATIONS IN SPECIES RANGES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS RESEARCH WILL TRAIN UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS IN GENETICS AND EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSES AS WELL AS FIELD METHODS IN MARINE BIOLOGY VIA A FIELD COURSE IN COSTA RICA. OUTREACH INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSEUM EXHIBITS AND THE PUBLICATION OF POPULAR ARTICLES FOR A BROAD AUDIENCE. THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND SPECIES DELINEATIONS OF THE CORONULOID BARNACLES (ARTHROPODA: CRUSTACEA: CIRRIPEDIA) IS UNCERTAIN. SPECIFICALLY, LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THEIR ROUTE TO EPIZOISM, THEIR DEGREE OF DEPENDENCE ON HOSTS FOR DISPERSAL AND DIVERSIFICATION, THEIR PATHWAYS TO VARIABLE ATTACHMENT MECHANISMS, AND THEIR CONTEMPORARY PHYLOGEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS. THE RESEARCHERS AIM TO ADDRESS THESE DEFICIENCIES THROUGH PHYLOGENETIC AND POPULATION GENOMIC ANALYSIS WITH THREE PRINCIPLE OBJECTIVES: 1) CONSTRUCT A DEFINITIVE PHYLOGENY FOR THE WHALE AND TURTLE BARNACLES AND MAP TO IT THE EVOLUTIONARY CHRONOLOGY OF THEIR GLUING, GRIPPING, AND GOUGING ATTACHMENT MODES; 2) COMPARE GLOBAL PHYLOGEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS USING GENOME-WIDE MARKERS FOR THE THREE MOST-COMMON BARNACLE SPECIES FROM THE FOUR MOST-COMMON SEA TURTLE SPECIES, ASSESSING POPULATION CONNECTIVITY IN THE CONTEXT OF OCEANOGRAPHIC LARVAL DISPERSAL (GEOGRAPHIC LOCALITIES) VS. HOST TRANSPORT (HOST LINEAGES); AND 3) TEST WHETHER BARNACLE GENETIC LINEAGES WITHIN SPECIES ASSORT WITH RESPECT TO SEA TURTLE SPECIES. A NETWORK OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATORS AT 16 GLOBAL LOCALITIES WILL HELP COLLECT, FROM MORE THAN 130 SEA TURTLES, ~2,200 TOTAL BARNACLE SPECIMENS FOR POPULATION GENOMIC ANALYSIS. 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.

23-ATP23-0100 BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: QPOS PRECESSION & MADS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HOW DID TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS REBUILD FOLLOWING THE CRETACEOUS/PALEOGENE MASS EXTINCTION? -DURING THE CRETACEOUS/PALEOGENE (K/PG) MASS EXTINCTION (CA. 66 MILLION YEARS AGO), ~75% OF ALL SPECIES ON EARTH WENT EXTINCT, NOTABLY INCLUDING ALL NON-AVIAN DINOSAURS. THIS EVENT COMPLETELY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF THE EVOLUTIONARY TREE OF LIFE, LEADING ULTIMATELY TO THE FORMATION OF TODAY?S MAMMAL-DOMINATED COMMUNITIES. THE AFTERMATH OF THE K/PG MASS EXTINCTION REPRESENTS A NATURAL LABORATORY IN WHICH ECOSYSTEM REORGANIZATION CAN BE STUDIED WITH HIGH GEOLOGIC RESOLUTION. SOME STUDIES HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN TO EXAMINE HOW MARINE ECOSYSTEMS WERE REBUILT, BUT THE RESPONSE OF TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS IS POORLY DOCUMENTED. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES THAT OCCURRED ON LAND ACROSS THE K/PG BOUNDARY IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. THE RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE EXTENSIVE PALEONTOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES OF EXISTING FOSSIL COLLECTIONS AND INTRODUCE NOVEL DATA THAT WILL REVEAL THE VARIABILITY IN THE TIMING AND PATTERN OF TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM REBUILDING AFTER THE MASS EXTINCTION. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPAND KNOWLEDGE OF A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH THAT WILL HELP DETERMINE HOW THE BIODIVERSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS RECOVER AT THE CONTINENTAL SCALE AND HOW MODERN TERRESTRIAL BIOTA EVOLVED. THE RESULTS MAY ALSO PROVIDE DATA FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGISTS TO PREDICT THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF CURRENT RAPID CHANGES IN BIODIVERSITY AND HELP INFORM CONSERVATION PRIORITIES TO ALLEVIATE ECOSYSTEM DISRUPTIONS. THE PROJECT WILL USE ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS IN CLASSROOMS, MUSEUM EXHIBITS, AND OUTREACH AT THE PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS TO REACH AUDIENCES OF MULTIPLE AGES AND BACKGROUNDS. THE K/PG MASS EXTINCTION COMPLETELY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF THE EVOLUTIONARY TREE OF LIFE AND MOST RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON MARINE SYSTEMS. POST-EXTINCTION PATTERNS OF ECOSYSTEM RESTRUCTURING ON LAND, FUNDAMENTAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN TAXA OF MAMMALS AND PLANTS, HAVE RECEIVED LITTLE ATTENTION BECAUSE FOSSIL COLLECTIONS, DATA, AND HIGH-RESOLUTION CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS ARE RELATIVELY RARE. THIS PROJECT WILL BUILD ON EXTENSIVE FOSSIL COLLECTIONS FROM THREE PRIMARY STUDY AREAS IN THE WESTERN INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA, INVOLVE NEW FIELDWORK DESIGNED TO AUGMENT COLLECTIONS AND DATA FROM CRITICAL INTERVALS, AND DEVELOP DIVERSE INORGANIC AND ORGANIC GEOCHEMICAL RECORDS TO CHARACTERIZE AND IDENTIFY BIOTIC PATTERNS, LOCAL ENVIRONMENTS, AND FACTORS INVOLVED IN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM RESTRUCTURING FOLLOWING THE K/PG EXTINCTION. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL: COLLECT AND INTERPRET MEGAFLORAL, PALYNOLOGICAL, INVERTEBRATE, AND VERTEBRATE FOSSILS AND ASSOCIATED CONTEXTUAL DATA FROM THREE WELL-STUDIED STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS; USE FOSSIL LEAF PHYSIOGNOMIC TRAITS AND GEOCHEMICAL DATA FROM ORGANIC COMPOUNDS TO CONSTRUCT RECORDS OF TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, AND FIRE FREQUENCY; INTEGRATE ECOLOGICAL PROXIES OF COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OVER TIME AND SPACE AS THEY RELATE TO THE THREE STUDY AREAS, TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ANY CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS, OR TROPHIC INTERACTIONS THAT ENHANCE OR IMPEDE ECOSYSTEM RESTRUCTURING AFTER THE K/PG EXTINCTION. IN ADDITION, GEOCHEMICAL PROXIES FOR VOLCANIC ACTIVITY WILL BE EXAMINED TO RESOLVE THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXTENSIVE BASALT ERUPTIONS OF THE DECCAN TRAPS ON THE BIOTA WITHIN THE STUDY AREAS. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY FRONTIER RESEARCH IN EARTH SCIENCES (FRES) 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.

REDUCING SUICIDE AND IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH INNOVATIVE INITIATIVES AND PURPOSEFUL CONNECTIONS - WITH THIS GRANT, “REDUCING SUICIDE AND IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH INNOVATIVE INITIATIVES AND PURPOSEFUL CONNECTIONS,” COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (COFC) AIMS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS WITH SUICIDALITY SMIS AND SUDS BY BUILDING NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH COMMUNITY COMMITTEE CREATION AND USING WEB-BASED TECHNOLOGY TO CONNECT STUDENTS WITH SMIS, SEDS, AND SUDS TO MH PROVIDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY OR IN THEIR PARTICULAR LOCATION IF THEY ARE OFF-CAMPUS. WITH THIS GRANT, COFC WILL ADDRESS THESE GOALS: LACK OF STAFF RESOURCES TO COORDINATE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ON-CAMPUS SERVICES, INCREASE SUICIDE AWARENESS, PROMOTE HELP-SEEKING, LIFE SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE, REDUCE NEGATIVE PUBLIC ATTITUDES, AND PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVING AND WELLNESS, INCREASE IDENTIFICATION AND KNOWLEDGE OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT THROUGH TRADITIONAL AND ONLINE TRAINING AND RESOURCES FOR MH AND SUD SCREENING, SUICIDE PREVENTION, AND IDENTIFICATION OF AT-RISK COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND ENHANCING EXISTING CAMPUS, LOCAL, AND STATE PARTNERSHIPS, DEVELOP NEW PARTNERSHIPS, AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO COFC PROVIDERS TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY TO CULTURAL AND LINGUISTICALLY TRAINED PREVENTION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS. OUR POPULATION IS COFC STUDENTS WITH EMPHASIS ON STUDENTS AT RISK OF SUICIDE, SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS, SUBSTANCE USE PROBLEMS, AND TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS (VETERANS, ALANA AND LGBT). COFC HAS 10,667 STUDENTS WITH 7% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 2% ASIAN, 79% CAUCASIAN, 7% HISPANIC, 3% 2 OR MORE RACES, AND <1% NATIVE AMERICAN. DATA FROM OUR STUDENT HEALTH SURVEY INDICATES A HIGH DEGREE OF SUICIDALITY (11-15%) AND 45% OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS INDICATE A NEED FOR MH SERVICES. OUR AIM IS TO REACH THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDENT POPULATION WHEN TARGETING NEGATIVE PUBLIC ATTITUDES, INCREASING HELP SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND BUILDING LIFESKILLS. BY THE PROJECT END, WE SEEK TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS TRAINED IN MH/SUD BY 500, INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF ON-CAMPUS SERVICES BY 60% STUDENTS REPORTING EXPOSURE TO CAMPAIGN MESSAGING, PROVIDE SPECIFIC PUBLIC HEALTH OUTREACH TO ALANA AND LGBT STUDENT GROUPS, PROVIDE FUNDING FOR 24 STUDENT, CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO HOST PROGRAMMING ON MH/SUD, INCREASE MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS BY 10% EACH YEAR, HAVE ALL COUNSELING CENTER PROVIDERS TRAINED IN A STEPPED CARE MODEL, AND CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BEST PRACTICES, AND TRAIN AND SUPERVISE VETERAN PEER MENTORS TO SUPPORT 100 NEW STUDENT VETERANS BY PROJECT END.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CATALYTIC: IMPROVING ACCURACY AND EFFICIENCY OF MULTICOLLECTOR MASS SPECTROMETRY -AMONG EARTH MATERIAL PROPERTIES, THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF ISOTOPES ? ELEMENTS WITH SIMILAR CHEMICAL PROPERTIES BUT DIFFERENT MASSES ? PROVIDES CRITICAL CLUES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY, STRUCTURE, AND EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH. MASS SPECTROMETERS ARE SENSITIVE INSTRUMENTS THAT MEASURE THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCES OF DIFFERENT ISOTOPES BY SEPARATING ATOMS BASED ON THEIR MASS. THERMAL IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETERS (TIMS) AND MULTI-COLLECTOR INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETERS (MC-ICPMS) CAN MEASURE VERY PRECISE RELATIVE ABUNDANCES FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF ELEMENTS. THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THE CREATION OF SOFTWARE, DEVELOPED WITH INPUT FROM MASS SPECTROMETER MANUFACTURERS AND ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTS, THAT WILL HELP USERS VISUALIZE, INTERPRET, AND STATISTICALLY EVALUATE MASS SPECTROMETER DATA FROM MC-ICPMS AND TIMS. RESULTING DATASETS WILL BE MORE ACCURATE, AND DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THIS SOFTWARE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING FUNDAMENTAL OPEN SCIENCE AND MASS SPECTROMETRY PRINCIPLES. BROAD ENGAGEMENT WITH USER COMMUNITIES WILL BE PURSUED THROUGH COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AND OTHER OUTREACH ACTIVITIES THAT EMPHASIZE PARTICIPATION OF EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS AND SCIENTISTS FROM GROUPS HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE GEOSCIENCES. THIS AWARD SUPPORTS THE EXPANSION OF A STATISTICAL TOOLBOX USED BY ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTS TO INTERPRET HIGH PRECISION MASS SPECTROMETER DATA, WHICH CAN THEN BE OUTPUT TO ANY ISOTOPE-SYSTEM-SPECIFIC DATA REDUCTION PROTOCOL. THIS INCLUDES INTEGRATION OF EXISTING STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES, LIKE LOG-RATIO DATA ANALYSIS, NEW ALGORITHMS FOR ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY, LIKE THE EXPECTATION-MAXIMIZATION (E-M) ALGORITHM FOR HANDLING REJECTED DATA, AND METHODS FOR BAYESIAN INFERENCE, LIKE REVERSIBLE-JUMP MARKOV CHAIN AND ADAPTIVE MONTE CARLO METHODS. TOGETHER, THESE CAN PROVIDE THE NEXT STEP IN IMPROVING MASS SPECTROMETER PRECISION AND ACCURACY WITHOUT COSTLY INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT. IT IS CRITICAL TO ENCAPSULATE THESE ALGORITHMS INTO NEW ROBUST OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS WITH DYNAMIC USER INTERFACES THAT SUPPORT NEW AND EXISTING SCIENTIFIC WORKFLOWS. 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.

CAMPUS BASED-FWS

EAGER: FORMAL ANALYSIS OF STOCHASTIC MODELS IN SYSTEMS BIOLOGY UNDER UNCERTAINTY -BIOLOGICAL SYSTEM MODELS COMPRISE OF MULTIPLE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT ARE STOCHASTIC AND OFTEN, MULTISCALE, PROCESSES EXECUTING AT DIFFERENT TIME SCALES SUCH AS COMMUNICATION OF MOLECULAR PROCESSES WITH CELLULAR PROCESSES. FORMAL METHODS SUCH AS MODEL CHECKING HAVE BEEN USED AS A QUERYING MECHANISM TO UNDERSTAND THE DETAILS OF COMMUNICATION OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES. THE IMPRECISION AND INCOMPLETENESS OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA IN SYSTEM LEVEL MODELING OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES NECESSITATES CONSTRUCTION OF NOVEL THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND ALGORITHMS FOR FORMAL ANALYSIS. THE PROJECT IS TIMELY AND APPROPRIATE IN ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF THE STATE EXPLOSION PROBLEM IN MODEL CHECKING COMBINED WITH CONSTRUCTION OF MULTISCALE AND STOCHASTIC MODELS IN BIOLOGY UNDER UNCERTAINTY. THE CONSTRUCTION OF NOVEL MODEL REDUCTION ALGORITHMS FOR MODEL CHECKING OF MULTISCALE AND STOCHASTIC SYSTEMS BECOMES ESSENTIAL FOR A RIGOROUS EVALUATION OF QUERIES REPRESENTED IN TEMPORAL LOGIC. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CREATE A SOLID THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR FORMAL ANALYSIS OF MULTISCALE MODELS OF STOCHASTIC SYSTEMS AND DEVELOP INNOVATIVE MODELS FOR EFFICIENT QUERYING MECHANISMS FOR BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES UNDER UNCERTAINTY. TOOLS DEVELOPED IN THE PROJECT WILL BE OPEN-SOURCED. THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF THE RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATES FOR CROSS-FERTILIZATION OF IDEAS BETWEEN COMPUTER SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY. THE IMPACT OF PROPOSED WORK WILL PUSH THE LIMITS IN MODELING A LARGE SYSTEM UNDER UNCERTAINTY FOR RIGOROUS FORMAL ANALYSIS AND MODELING IN SYSTEMS BIOLOGY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS PURSUED BY THE AIMS, I) DEVELOP THEORETICAL FORMALISM REPRESENTING MULTISCALE PROCESSES IN STOCHASTIC SYSTEMS UNDER UNCERTAINTY FOR FORMAL ANALYSIS AND II) CREATE AND EVALUATE EFFICIENT ALGORITHMS FOR QUERYING ON MODELS OF STOCHASTIC SYSTEMS UNDER UNCERTAINTY. MODELS OF STOCHASTIC MODELS UNDER UNCERTAINTY WILL BE CREATED AND EVALUATED. THE NOVEL FRAMEWORK WILL PROVIDE SUCCINCT AND PRECISE MODELS OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES WHEN COMBINED WITH EXPERIMENTAL DATA. THE PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED AT A PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION (PUI). EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FROM THE PROJECT WILL BE USED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES THROUGH FOCUSED MINI-COURSE PROJECTS IN UNDERGRADUATE CLASSES WITH THE GOAL OF DEVELOPING INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHERS. 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.

ANALYSIS OF ABIOTIC/PRIMORDIAL PEPTIDES WITH NONCANONICAL AMINO ACIDS

RUI: BOUNDARY AND ENTROPY OF RANDOM WALKS ON GROUPS -APPLICATIONS OF RANDOM WALKS EMERGE IN DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF SCIENCE AND OUR DAILY LIFE. IN GAME THEORY, RANDOM WALKS CAN MODEL SHUFFLING A DECK OF CARDS TO FIND OPTIMAL SHUFFLE ITERATIONS. IN FINANCE, THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF PRICE CHANGES OF STOCKS CAN BE MODELED BY RANDOM WALKS. THE PROJECT WILL APPLY RIGOROUS MATHEMATICAL TOOLS FOR STUDYING THE LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR OF RANDOM WALKS. IN PARTICULAR, THE FOLLOWING TWO PROBLEMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED: FIRST, HOW GEOMETRIC OR ALGEBRAIC FEATURES CAN CAPTURE THE LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR OF RANDOM WALKS. SECOND, HOW DIFFERENT QUANTITIES CAN DESCRIBE THE LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR OF A RANDOM WALK. THE RESEARCH WILL ENGAGE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS. THIS ENGAGEMENT WITH STUDENTS EXPOSES THEM TO CONTEMPORARY AREAS OF MATHEMATICS NOT PART OF THE REGULAR CURRICULUM. THE WORK WILL EXPAND AND REFINE EXISTING RESULTS ON RANDOM WALK INVARIANTS SUCH AS BOUNDARIES AND ASYMPTOTIC ENTROPIES. THESE ARISE FROM THE INTERACTION BETWEEN RANDOM WALKS ON GROUPS AND THEIR ALGEBRAIC OR GEOMETRIC STRUCTURES. THE PROJECT WILL IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE POISSON BOUNDARY, WHICH PROVIDES A REPRESENTATION OF BOUNDED HARMONIC FUNCTIONS ON A GROUP FOR A GIVEN PROBABILITY MEASURE. THE CURRENT WORK WILL LEVERAGE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, SUCH AS THE THEORY OF PIVOTAL TIMES, TO IDENTIFY THE POISSON BOUNDARY OF RANDOM WALKS ON HYPERBOLIC-LIKE GROUPS. ANOTHER GOAL IS TO INVESTIGATE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN QUOTIENTS OF THE POISSON BOUNDARIES WITH SUBGROUPS OF A GIVEN GROUP. THE AREA OF RESEARCH HAS STRONG CONNECTIONS TO GEOMETRIC GROUP THEORY, ERGODIC THEORY, AND INFORMATION THEORY. THIS PROJECT IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE DMS PROBABILITY PROGRAM 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.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA AND ITS PERIPHERY (MENAAP) AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PROJECT

CAMPUS BASED-FWS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE BENTHIC MICROALGAL SUBSIDY IN ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEMS -ESTUARIES ARE NURSERIES THAT ARE CRITICAL HABITAT FOR MANY COMMERCIALLY AND RECREATIONALLY IMPORTANT SPECIES. THE BASE OF THE FOOD WEB IN THESE SYSTEMS IS SUPPLIED BY MICROALGAL PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN BOTH THE WATER COLUMN (PHYTOPLANKTON) AND THE SEDIMENTS (BENTHIC MICROALGAE). THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON QUANTIFYING THE CONTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC MICROALGAE TO TOTAL ECOSYSTEM PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN THE NORTH INLET ESTUARY, SC. BENTHIC MICROALGAL PRODUCTION ESTIMATES ALONG AN ELEVATIONAL GRADIENT (LOW TO HIGH TIDE REGION) ARE THEN USED TO ASSESS RESPONSES TO THE IMPENDING SEA LEVEL RISE. THE RESULTS HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR WETLANDS VALUATION, CARBON CREDITS, TROPHODYNAMICS, AND CARBON STORAGE IN ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEMS. THIS RESEARCH IS TRANSFORMATIVE IN THAT IT PROVIDES THE FIRST EVER COMPREHENSIVE MEASURES OF INTERTIDAL, ECOSYSTEM-LEVEL BENTHIC MICROALGAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO TOTAL NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION TO EVALUATE THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF BMA FOR ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES AND FUNCTIONS. THE RESEARCH RESULTS WILL LIKELY RESTRUCTURE OUR UNDERSTANDING AND CURRENT PARADIGMS OF ENERGY FLOW AND CYCLING PROCESSES IN ESTUARIES. IN ADDITION TO THE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, THE PROJECT INVOLVES THE MENTORSHIP OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND UNDERGRADUATES, WITH EFFORTS TO RECRUIT STUDENTS FROM HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS; INCORPORATION OF FINDINGS INTO EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR TEACHERS AND K-12 STUDENTS; AND A COMMUNITY SCIENCE PROGRAM IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE. OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF ECOSYSTEM NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN SOUTHEASTERN ESTUARIES IS MISSING A FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENT THAT MAY, IN FACT, PROVIDE AS MUCH AS A THIRD OF THE FIXED C FUELING THE HIGH BIOMASS OF UPPER TROPHIC LEVELS. THE CONCEPT OF A MAJOR BENTHIC MICROALGAL-BASED SUBSIDY CONTRADICTS THE TRADITIONAL VIEWS THAT PHYTOPLANKTON AND DETRITUS-BASED FOOD WEBS ARE THE ONLY ENERGY SOURCES FOR MOST SOUTHEASTERN ESTUARIES. THIS PROJECT QUANTITATIVELY DETERMINES THE RELATIVE BMA CONTRIBUTION BY CHARACTERIZING THE SPATIOTEMPORAL VARIABILITY IN BMA NPP TO ESTIMATE THE ANNUAL ECOSYSTEM-LEVEL CONTRIBUTION TO TOTAL SYSTEM NPP. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS THE MEASUREMENT OF ESTUARINE INTERTIDAL BMA NPP, BIOMASS, COMMUNITY COMPOSITION, AND RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES (NUTRIENTS, GRAIN SIZE, POROSITY, ETC.) ALONG FIXED TRANSECTS THAT SPAN THE INTERTIDAL ELEVATIONAL GRADIENT FROM MEAN LOW WATER TO MEAN HIGH WATER AND INCORPORATE THESE RESULTS IN A GIS DEM TO CALCULATE ECOSYSTEM-LEVEL BMA NPP. FURTHERMORE, THE GIS MODEL PREDICTS SHIFTS IN THE MAGNITUDE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF BMA NPP RESULTING FROM VARIOUS SEA-LEVEL RISE SCENARIOS. 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: GP-IN: GLOBE WEATHER PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES -THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT EDUCATORS IN LEARNING EFFECTIVE PRACTICES FOR ADAPTING STEM LEARNING MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES (I.E., DEAF/HARD OF HEARING, BLIND/LOW VISION, MOBILITY) THROUGH WORKSHOPS AND BY ADAPTING LESSONS FROM A WEATHER CURRICULUM. A COHORT OF LOCAL GEOSCIENCE LEARNING PROFESSIONALS, SCIENCE TEACHERS AND TEACHERS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THREE LOCATIONS WILL WORK IN CONCERT TO ASSURE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVE CURRICULAR ADAPTATIONS. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL WORK TOGETHER WITH EVALUATORS TO DEVELOP AND STUDY THE APPROACH BASED ON THE THREE INTERRELATED PROJECT ELEMENTS LISTED BELOW. THE WEATHER UNIT THAT WILL BE USED HAS SHOWN PROMISING RESULTS WITH GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS BUT THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE OR NO RESEARCH ON HOW TO DEVELOP ADAPTATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES USING A STANDARDS-DRIVEN STORYLINE UNIT OF INSTRUCTION. THIS PROJECT WILL HELP TO ADDRESS THIS GAP BY FULLY UNDERSTANDING HOW THIS APPROACH CAN BE USED BY EDUCATORS OVER THE COURSE OF THREE YEARS. THE PROJECT PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH STEM PROFESSIONALS IN ADAPTATIONS OF A UNIT INCLUDING CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. ALL STUDENTS DESERVE HIGH QUALITY SCIENCE INSTRUCTION INCLUDING OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND POSSIBLE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. IN LIGHT OF THAT, SCIENCE TEACHERS SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH ALL OF THE NECESSARY RESOURCES AND TECHNIQUES TO MEET THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THEIR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. HOWEVER, MANY SCIENCE TEACHERS NEED FURTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FROM EXPERTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND TEST AN APPROACH TO PROVIDE EDUCATORS WITH THE EXPERIENCES, TOOLS AND ABILITIES TO ADAPT GEOSCIENCE CURRICULAR RESOURCES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND ARTICULATE CAREER PATHWAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS (STEM) FOR THEM. BY INCREASING ACCESS TO STEM FIELDS FOR SCHOLARS WITH DISABILITIES AND BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN STEM DISCIPLINES, MORE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES MAY CONSIDER PURSUING STEM CAREERS. A CHALLENGE FOR MANY SCIENCE EDUCATORS IS HOW TO HELP STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ENVISION GEOSCIENCE CONCEPTS AND A BROADER RANGE OF STEM CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE BY WORKING DIRECTLY WITH SCIENCE EDUCATORS TO: 1) ESTABLISH AND SUPPORT A TEAM CONSISTING OF LOCAL STEM EDUCATORS, CONTENT SPECIALISTS (ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES), SPECIAL EDUCATORS AND PERSON(S) WITH A DISABILITY WORKING IN STEM FIELDS TO SUPPORT STUDENT CAREER PATHWAYS; 2) PROVIDE WORKSHOPS ON A WEATHER CURRICULUM, A STANDARDS BASED UNIT IN WHICH STUDENTS ENGAGE WITH WEATHER CONCEPTS THROUGH STUDYING INTERESTING PHENOMENA, AND; 3) FACILITATE TIME FOR EDUCATORS TO WORK TOGETHER TO ADAPT MATERIALS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. 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.

RFA-005 A COMBINED DIGITAL IMAGE CORRELATION + EXPLICIT FINITE ELEMENT METHOD APPROACH TO DETERMINE RATE DEPENDENTCOMPOSITE MATERIAL PROPERTIES FOR THE LS-DYNA MAT213 MODEL.SUBRAMANISOCKALINGAM

23-2023 R3-0019 H-003: DEVELOPMENT OF SCREENING METHODOLOGIES TO QUANTIFY RADIOPROTECTION OF DNA FROM HZE ION DAMAGE

24-2024 R3-0008 RFA-010 INTEGRATING BIPOLAR MEMBRANE ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL WITH PDCU DILUTE ALLOY CATHODIC CATALYSTS FOR ONE-UNIT CO2 CAPTURE AND UTILIZATION STMD.MINGYANG.

23-2023 R3-0016 A-006 CHARACTERIZATION OF COMPOSITE MATERIAL PROPERTIES FOR THE LS-DYNA MAT213 MODEL

EO14042 APPENDIX C: MRI BRAIN RESEARCH ON ASTRONAUTS PRE- AND POST-FLIGHT (RENEWAL)

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: BRINGING HISTORIC COLLECTIONS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY: DIGITIZATION OF SOUTHEASTERN LEPIDOPTERAN COLLECTIONS -AWARDS ARE MADE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON, AND DALTON STATE COLLEGE TO ENABLE DIGITIZATION AND DISSEMINATION, TO PUBLIC AND PROFESSIONALS, OF IMPORTANT DATA FROM COLLECTIONS OF HISTORICAL AND MODERN MOTH SPECIMENS. IN ADDITION, HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS, LETTERS, AND ARTIFACTS RELEVANT TO THE SPECIMENS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE PUBLICLY. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN MUSEUM RESEARCH, DATABASING, AND NATURAL HISTORY. THESE STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND AND PRESENT RESEARCH AT A LOCAL ENTOMOLOGICAL CONFERENCE. OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE FAUNA ACROSS THE UNITED STATES IS PATCHY, WITH CERTAIN IMPORTANT AND DIVERSE REGIONS HAVING LITTLE EXISTING DATA AVAILABLE. THE SOUTHEASTERN COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA AND THE CAROLINAS IS EXCEPTIONALLY DIVERSE IN INSECTS, YET FEW RESEARCHERS HAVE DOCUMENTED IT. A NOTABLE EXCEPTION WAS RICHARD DOMINICK, WHO LED A MASSIVE COLLECTING EFFORT IN SOUTH CAROLINA?S SANTEE DELTA BETWEEN 1965 AND 1976. HIS COLLECTION OF ~30,000 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES IS HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BUT HAS NOT BEEN DATABASED NOR HAS ANY DATA FROM IT EVER MADE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE. THIS PROJECT?S PRIMARY AIM IS TO PHOTOGRAPH AND DATABASE EVERY SPECIMEN HELD IN THAT COLLECTION. THE SECOND AIM IS TO DIGITIZE MODERN COLLECTIONS FROM BOTH THE SANTEE DELTA AND OTHER UNDER SAMPLED REGIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA (SAPELO ISLAND AND NW GEORGIA). IN TOTALITY, THIS PROJECT WILL GREATLY INCREASE THE AVAILABLE KNOWLEDGE OF THE INSECT FAUNA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. 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 NATURE OF THIS ONE-YEAR PROJECT IS TO A) COLLECT CONTINUOUS, STREAM GAGE HEIGHT AND WATER VELOCITY DATA IN A TIDALLY AFFECTED STREAM, B) TO PROVIDE REAL-TIME DATA ON SURFACE WATER ELEVATION AND CALCULATED BIDIRECTIONAL STREAMFLOW (DISCHARGE) DUE TO TIDAL INFLUENCE. THIS MONITORING STATION, WHICH PROVIDES DATA THAT ARE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET FOR PUBLIC ACCESS, IS LOCATED AT HUGER CREEK WITHIN THE SANTEE EXPERIMENTAL FOREST AT THE FRANCIS MARION NATIONAL FOREST (FMNF) NEAR HUGER, SOUTH CAROLIN. IN ADDITION, THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO REVITALIZE THE EARLIER DISCONTINUED NEARBY TURKEY CREEK FLOW MEASURING STATION THAT DRAINS THE EASTERN PART OF THE FMNF.

THE GOAL OF THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY IS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MEASURED BY THE PUBLICATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OBTAINED UNDER THIS GRANT IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND PRESENTATIONS AT APPLICABLE SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS.

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR

CHARACTERIZATION OF SOILS ON THE SOUTHERN RESEARCH STATION EXPERIMENTAL FOREST NETWORK

2025-2026 TEACH BASE RECORD

SOA SYSTEMS ARCHITECH WORKSHOP

DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF THE DATA MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR THE SANTEE EXPERIMENTAL FOREST

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR

MEASUREMENT OF SOIL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIOINS ON THE SANTEE EXPERIMENTAL FOREST

PELL GRANTS

GENETIC ANALYSIS OF SHORTNOSE STURGEON

PELL GRANTS