American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) GRANTS

A $396,250 grant over three years to Richard Turner, professor of chemistry and director, Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute (MII), will fund research on "Precisely Functionalized Alternating Copolymers Based on Substituted Stilbene Monomers." The research could foster new kinds of polymer materials for hydrogen storage, rigid polyelectrolytes (polymers with a charge), targeted therapeutic delivery, and nanoparticle stabilization. Participation in the research project will require graduate students to master modern polymerization and synthetic chemistries. The graduate students involved with this research will interact with industrial researchers in Virginia Tech polymer short courses and will mentor summer undergraduate students in MII's NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. This specific training will be valuable for sustaining and growing the nation's science and technology enterprise.

• Students or staff employed: 2 graduate students for three years
• NSF abstract

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The $247,880 grant over three years to Yuriko Renardy, professor of mathematics, and Pengtao Yue, assistant professor, is for "Computational study of drop deformation in systems with two (unmixable) liquids." Combining two different liquids can produce a mixture with desirable new properties. The quality of the blend is strongly dependent on its microstructure, such as the size of the dispersed droplets and their distribution in the final product. Therefore, it is of practical importance to understand how a droplet evolves in the surrounding liquid and to predict how this is influenced by the rheological (flow) properties of each constituent fluid. The researchers will perform numerical simulations with in-house parallelized algorithms optimized for scalability and computational cost. The results of the study will contribute to the understanding of issues that arise in recycling plastics, environmental sustainability, biomedical drug delivery, and droplet manipulation in microfluidic devices.

• Students or staff employed: 2 (1 graduate student per summer for 3 years and a postdoctoral research associate)
• NSF abstract

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A $600,000 CAREER award to Edward Valeev, assistant professor of chemistry, for "Scalable explicitly correlated methods for molecular structure," will advance development of reliable computational methods to predict the properties of molecules and materials that are important in, for example, combustion and organic electronics. The award will help produce free open-source computer software that will help build private capacity for innovation. The educational portion of Valeev's CAREER grant focuses on introducing computer simulations into advanced undergraduate chemistry classes and developing web-oriented workshops for training computational scientists.

• Students or staff employed: 3 or more
• NSF abstract

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The $394,805 grant to Benjamin Corl, assistant professor of dairy science, for "Characterization of essential fatty acid conservation mechanisms in ruminants," will increase understanding of how these essential nutrients are recognized by ruminant cells and conserved in the face of losses due to the fermenting activity in the stomach of ruminants. Corl is working with Virginia Tech fisheries and wildlife graduate Mike Maslanka, who is the senior animal nutritionist at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park. A portion of the project will examine the essential fatty acid metabolism of exotic ruminants and non-ruminants in the park. A post-doctoral researcher will work with undergraduate researchers, and comparative nutrition and digestive physiology will be introduced to high school students participating in summer learning programs at Virginia Tech.

• Students or staff employed: 1
• NSF abstract

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The $240,000 grant to Peter Vikesland, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, for the study of "Bionanomaterial Uptake and Fate in Corbicula fluminea," uses the invasive Asian clam to test the hypothesis that biologically compatible nanomaterials designed for use in pharmaceuticals and potentially discharged in municipal wastewater can accumulate in aquatic organisms. In controlled studies, Asian clams will be observed after being exposed to different materials. This is the first detailed study examining nanomaterial uptake and fate in bivalves, and is designed to look at detailed characterization of the effects of particle size, shape, and surface functionalization on uptake and on the blood of the clam. In addition to environmental health and safety, the study will advance education by making it possible for middle school educators and students to shadow the research team and learn about new methods for observing nanoscale phenomena occurring at biological and environmental interfaces.

• Students or staff employed: 2 (one graduate student and one undergraduate student)
• NSF abstract

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The $755,207 grant to John Hole, geosciences associate professor at Virginia Tech, will support five years of collaborative research on "Deformation and magmatic modification of a steep continental margin (between) western Idaho and eastern Oregon," being conducted by research scientists from the University of Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, the University of Florida, and Washington State University. They are integrating the results of seismological, geochemical, geochronologic, and structural geologic studies to investigate issues associated with the evolution of this continental margin. The project is providing insight into how this sharp boundary formed, how it has controlled subsequent deformation and magmatism regionally, and the role it has played in the formation of North America. A better understanding of this complex region is critical for developing a coherent model for the tectonic evolution of western North America and helping to understand processes by which continents are created and evolve.

• Students and staff supported: 13 (The grant will support the education and training of 4 graduate students and 8 undergraduate students distributed between the four universities, and supports 1 early career researcher at the University of Florida.)
• NSF abstract

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The $337,000 grant over three years to mathematics Professor George Hagedorn and Assistant Professor Alexander Elgart, for "Rigorous Studies in Quantum Mechanics," will develop new techniques to describe proton transfer reactions, which are fundamental to many chemical and biological processes. The second goal is to study phenomena crucial to the understanding of how electrons move in various materials, which will provide further insight for why some materials are conductors while others are insulators. The third goal is to study the breakup of chemical states that have finite lifetimes.

• Students or staff employed: 2 (summer support for 2 graduate students)
• NSF abstract

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The $943,737, four-year grant, "Experimental and Computational Analysis of Merotelic Kinetochore Formation, Dynamics, and Correction," by Daniela Cimini, assistant professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech, and Esma Civelekoglu-Scholey of the molecular and cellular biology department at the University of California, Davis, will elucidate several molecular and mechanistic aspects of kinetochore-microtubule attachment, chromosome dynamics, and segregation during cell division (mitosis). During mitosis, a protein complex on the chromosomes called kinetochore (KT), provides an attachment point for microtubules (MTs) to ensure equal partitioning of the genetic material (chromosomes) between the two daughter cells. The research will study chromosome segregation defects due to a particular type of KT-MT mis-attachment called merotelic attachment, which represents a major source of chromosome mis-segregation and aneuploidy (number abnormality) in mammalian tissue cells. A combined experimental-computational approach will generate comprehensive models of various mitotic processes in order to move closer to building a systems-level model of mitosis. In addition to publication and presentation of results, high resolution images and videos obtained during this study will be submitted to the Image and Video Library of the American Society for Cell Biology, a valuable source of information for educators, researchers, and students of any age and background.

• Students or staff employed: 7 (At least 3 graduate students and 2 undergraduate students for each summer. The funding will also partially support Cimini and Civelekoglu-Scholey.)
• NSF abstract

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The $299,999 grant to John Walz, professor and head of the department of chemical engineering, entitled "Dynamic Properties of Confined Complex Fluids," will be used to study the effects of extremely small particles (nanoparticles), on the stability of thin liquid films. Such films are found in many common products and industrial processes, including food products, soaps and detergents, and in the recovery of minerals using froth flotation. Walz's group will also develop and test a new experimental method for separating much larger particles in liquids based on their size or charge. The technique will capitalize on the unique effects of nanoparticles on the stability of thin liquid films between the large particles and could spur research into other related applications. The project will develop a training module for summer programs at the university aimed at encouraging high school and middle school students to consider a career in science and engineering. Finally, the new experimental method for particle separations will be incorporated into a laboratory course in the area of colloids and interfaces that Walz is developing.

• Students and staff supported: 2 (1 full time Ph.D. graduate student for three years, 1 postdoctoral researcher for one year, and research opportunities to undergraduate researchers.)
• NSF abstract

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The $439,000, four-year grant to Lynn Resler, assistant professor of geography at Virginia Tech; George Malanson, the Coleman-Miller Professor of geography at the University of Iowa; and Diana Tomback, professor of biology at the University of Colorado, Denver, will allow them to examine the "Implications of an Invasive Forest Pathogen for Alpine Treeline Dynamics." This study is the first systematic investigation of the implications of exotic disease upon alpine treeline dynamics. It focuses on how an introduced disease, white pine blister rust, can alter ecosystem function through the mortality of whitebark pine, a keystone and foundation species of subalpine and treeline communities of the western United States and Canada. Whitebark pine decline has undermined mountain biodiversity and ecosystem services. This research will investigate the combined impacts of whitebark pine mortality and climate change at alpine treelines. Results will guide development of mitigation and management techniques.

• Students or staff employed: Several graduate and undergraduate students will participate in field work in Montana and data analysis.
• NSF abstract

 

NSF GRANTS FOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

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The $302,157 "Microbiology in the Post Genome Era" REU introduces undergraduate students to investigations of a wide range of microbiological phenomena using genome-based technologies through focused research projects in participating laboratories, discussion sessions, and seminars by faculty members and external speakers. With an additional $5,000 per year from the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech, the students receive training in team science. Students will also visit companies and laboratories that use or study microbiological processes. The program also offers career sessions on gaining admission to a Ph.D. program and pursuing graduate studies productively. Due to short notice of the award, only four students were recruited for summer 2009. Next year, the site will host 16 to 20 students in collaboration with Howard Hughes and National Institutes of Health programs. Also during the second and third years, teachers from two high schools in the Appalachian region of Southwest Virginia will be trained to initiate and manage a student driven project titled "Appalachian Microbe Hunters with Genomics Tools." This high school program will investigate microbial activities in local sites. The REU site is led by Biswarup Mukhopadhyay, a microbial physiologist and an assistant professor in the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.

• NSF abstract

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The $330,000 cognitive communication REU allows students to gain hands-on experience in cognitive radios, wireless networking, and their applications. The goals for cognitive radio research are, first, to develop techniques for more efficiently using spectrum, which will enable higher data rates and more wireless devices. The second goal is to develop automated ways for deploying and maintaining wireless infrastructure with minimal human interaction. The three-year REU is headed by Tamal Bose, professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate director of Wireless@VT; and Tonya Smith-Jackson, associate professor in industrial and systems engineering.

• Students or staff employed: 10 students (summer only); 0.1 staff
• NSF abstract

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A $396,180, three-year engineering education award to Lisa McNair, assistant professor of engineering education; Eloise Coupey, associate professor of marketing; Thomas Martin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Ronald Kemnitzer, professor and industrial design chair in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies; and Ed Dorsa, associate professor of industrial design, will build a new engineering education theory and practice for "Interdisciplinary Pervasive Computing Design." The program will employ researchers to develop, assess, and disseminate a process model for teaching students how to collaborate in learning environments with multiple disciplines. The process and products of the student collaborations in this research will advance the field of pervasive computing, both through design methods and technical innovations.

• Students and staff supported: 2 graduate students will be supported.
• NSF abstract

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A $148,419, 18-month engineering education award to Annie Pearce, assistant professor of building construction, and Christine Fiori, director of professional and academic outreach, both with the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, addresses "Synergistic Learning and Inquiry through Characterizing the Environment for Sustainability (SLICES): Improving understanding of real world systems via direct observation and reflection." This program will employ researchers to combine two types of experiential learning, namely undergraduate research and internships with industry, in a format that reaches a broad population of students in three construction related degree programs at Virginia Tech.

• Number of researchers employed: 5 (1 graduate student, 2 undergraduates, Fiori, and Pearce)
• NSF abstract

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A $111,080, three-year engineering education award to Marie Paretti, assistant professor of engineering education, and Christopher Williams, assistant professor in mechanical engineering and engineering education, is a collaborative research project between Virginia Tech and George Mason University - "Using Innovations in Cognitive Science to Monitor the Development of Design Thinking in Engineering Students." Achieving energy independence, enhancing medical technologies, providing clean and reliable water, and improving infrastructure all require engineers with complex, multi-dimensional design skills. By increasing our understanding of how engineers develop these skills, this project will help educators better prepare new engineers to solve the technical challenges of the 21st century.

• Students and staff supported: 1 graduate student for three years
• NSF abstract

 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH GRANTS

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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded $396,250 to Zhijian (Jake) Tu, professor of biochemistry and a member of the Vector Borne Research Group at Virginia Tech, to do research on the "Maternal-Effect Selfish Element as Gene Drive for Anopheles Mosquitoes." Anopheles mosquitoes transmit the parasite that causes malaria. Tu's lab is developing a gene drive system for spreading disease-resistant genes into mosquito populations for control of mosquito-borne infectious diseases. Called maternal-effect dominant embryonic arrest (Medea), it relies on mosquito microRNAs and next-generation sequencing to identify unique promoters.

• Students and staff supported: 3

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The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded $419,230 to Padma Rajagopalan, assistant professor of chemical engineering, to develop "Three Dimensional In Vitro Liver Sinusoids: Design and Detoxification Studies." She is affiliated with the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering Sciences, the Macromolecular Interfaces with the Life Sciences program, and the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Rajagopalan's NIH-funded research focuses on the development of three-dimensional liver mimics comprised of cells found in livers. These liver mimics will enable studies aimed at obtaining comprehensive information on the complex signaling pathways and cell-talk that occur in the liver during detoxification. Furthermore, such mimics will provide accurate models for immediate applications in bioreactor devices, toxicity evaluations, and in the testing of pharmaceuticals and drugs. The methodology to layer cells outlined in this proposal is an emerging technology with enormous potential. The inherent versatility and simplicity of the methodology renders it suitable for translation into industrial tests and evaluations.

• Students and staff supported: 2 (Currently supports one graduate student and will support a post-doctoral researcher.)

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NIH's NIAID awarded a two-year $30,212 graduate research fellowship to M. Camille Harris, a wildlife veterinarian pursuing a Ph.D. in biological sciences, and Dana Hawley, assistant professor of biological sciences, to research the "Ecological Impacts of Forest Disturbance on LaCrosse Encephalitis Virus Dynamics."" Harris' studies include habitat disturbance, disease ecology and the role of invasive species in disease transmission.

• Students and staff supported: 2
• Biological Sciences article about the research