Bard College

NSF Awards · FY 2026 · 2026-06

This award supports the 2026 Mathematics and Computation for Music (MCM) Conference which is being held at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, June 23-26, 2026. This conference is the tenth biennial international conference of the Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music, held on alternating sides of the Atlantic. The main goals of the conference are to bring together researchers from around the world who combine mathematics and computation with music theory, music analysis, composition and performance and, to provide a dedicated platform for the communication and exchange of ideas among researchers in mathematics, computer science, music theory, composition and performance, musicology, and related disciplines. The conference includes public concerts and sound installations which exemplify the topics at the intersection of mathematics, computation, and music. Mathematicians and musicians share longstanding interests in classification, acoustics, symmetry, transformation, and structure; MCM provides a primary international forum where these questions are addressed using modern mathematical tools and also advances research at the interface of mathematics, computation, and music theory, focusing on mathematically rigorous models of musical structure, perception, and creativity. The articles that result from the MCM conference will be published in the Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) series. These articles have undergone a strict peer review process and will be presented either as talks (20-page articles) or posters (12-page articles). There will also be plenary talks on canons in mathematical and musical contexts and panel sessions on: algebraic and topological perspectives on scale theory, harmony, and neoRiemannian transformations; voice leading & rhythm; applications of mathematics to music theory analysis of composers and styles; quantum theory and music; mathematical approaches to music cognition, pitch perception, consonance-dissonance, and performance; algorithms and modeling for music and music related phenomena; computational approaches to music. The research highlighted at the meeting brings innovations not only in the mathematical and computational sciences through new theorems and applications of abstract theories and the creation of computational models and software, but also makes an impact on different areas within music, such as performance, musicology, music teaching, and music cognition. More information about the conference can be found at: https://sites.google.com/bard.edu/mcm2026/. 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.

NIH Research Projects · FY 2025 · 2025-09

Project Summary Transition metal compounds have been used as therapeutic agents. However, treatment with these compounds, for example cisplatin, can lead to drug resistance and poor efficacy. Ruthenium has been studied as an alternative to other transition metals. The aims of this project are to carry out the synthesis, characterization, and biochemical evaluation of ruthenium-based compounds as potential pharmaceutical agents. Ruthenium compounds have gained attention as potential therapeutic agents having different modes of action against bacterial infections, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. The overwhelming majority of pharmaceutical agents, including transition metal drugs, either target DNA or proteins. RNA has recently received much attention as a biomolecule in the fields of public health, medicine, and biotechnology. The rich structural diversity of RNA and its role in numerous cellular functions have led to its emergence as an important biological target for pharmaceutical agents. Very few studies have explored how transition metal complexes bind to RNA molecules. The initial aim of this project is focused on the synthesis and characterization of ruthenium complexes. The second aim of this project will investigate the binding of ruthenium complexes to various RNA molecules. Results will reveal the specific RNA binding sites of ruthenium complexes, their binding strength, and the impact of binding on RNA structure and function. The ruthenium compounds synthesized in this project are designed with the purpose of enhancing their binding to nucleotides, improving aqueous solubility, and making them active against diabetes, and bacteria and cancer cells. Finally, this project will determine whether the newly synthesized ruthenium complexes bind to dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) enzyme and inhibit its catalytic activity. DHFR is a crucial enzyme within the folic acid pathway. The folic acid pathway is important in the synthesis of nucleotides, amino acids, and other cellular intermediates. DHFR enzyme has been targeted extensively by antifolate drugs, like methotrexate, which have been on the market for decades. Compounds synthesized in this project incorporate architectures of different antifolate and antidiabetic drugs with the goal of improving their water solubility, hydrogen bonding capabilities, and overall specificity.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Gravitational-wave astronomy has now opened a new window to the universe, which along with conventional telescopes, significantly broadens our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology. Cosmic Explorer is a concept for a next-generation gravitational-wave observatory in the United States, enabling the detection of nearly every black-hole collision in the observable universe. To achieve the unprecedented sensitivity of this observatory, significant R&D effort needs to be invested in designs that will minimize various sources of noise. This award addresses a major noise source, namely stray light, and will produce a conceptual design for its mitigation. Specifically, this award enables a team of scientists and engineers to analyze how stray light in the interferometer’s 40km arm cavities may limit Cosmic Explorer's sensitivity and produce an initial conceptual design for the beamtube baffles. Mitigating stray light in the beamtubes is a high-priority research topic, as it directly impacts the facility design and cost. In addition, the project will produce requirements for surface roughness of the mirrors used as test masses in the interferometer and explore low-scatter vacuum-compatible materials. This award is one of a series of NSF awards that together will produce conceptual designs and technologies to enable the realization of Cosmic Explorer. 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.