University of Miami

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

The understanding and accurate prediction of tropical cyclone formation (“genesis”) remains challenging. Sometimes, genesis from weak tropical waves in the western Atlantic and Caribbean occurs unexpectedly. These low-confidence forecasts give limited time for officials and the public to prepare for a potential hurricane impact. The project is aimed at advancing knowledge of these issues using conventional and AI techniques, ensemble forecasts, and state-of-the-art modeling. The project will offer insights and suggestions to forecasters and model developers on the strengths and weaknesses of conventional and AI-based models. Another expected outcome is the identification of time windows of increased and decreased predictive confidence, and thereby a basis for enhanced, actionable forecasts. The project will support the education of graduate and undergraduate students, and the introduction of AI and ensemble techniques in the classroom. Students will engage with professionals, advance outreach to increase public scientific literacy, and participate in mentoring programs. Results and software will be shared with the community. The research will use reanalysis data, ensemble forecasts, and multiscale modeling to investigate the processes and predictability in the 5 days leading up to genesis and immediately after. The mechanisms of weak waves that had a low genesis probability but developed into tropical cyclones will be compared against higher-probability developers and non-developers. While the fate of precursor disturbances is understood to depend on the environmental preconditioning and organization of convection, the specific nature of these processes remains open to question for the low-probability situations. A key hypothesis is that intense convective bursts occur on small scales and couple quickly with the wave, leading to upscale growth, rapid axisymmetrization, and genesis. The sensitivity of genesis to the timing and location of convection is expected to be high, suggesting a short range of predictability. In higher-probability developers, this sensitivity is expected to be lower. It is expected that there will be case-by-case variability which depends on the strength and symmetry of the precursor. The research will also include a novel AI-based wave tracker that surpasses the capability of conventional trackers in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, and investigations using the world’s first operational global ensemble that is driven by AI. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-12

Microbes living in soils carry out key ecosystem functions on which humans depend, including decomposition, nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth. Hurricanes are increasing in both frequency and intensity, which may alter and possibly even disrupt these important microbial communities. However, there is very little information on the stability of microbial communities, especially in terms of the functions they carry out, when exposed to hurricane disturbance. This study takes advantage of recent improvements in DNA sequencing technologies to assess the impacts of Hurricane Milton on the function and distribution of soil microbes. On October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton hit Florida as a Category 3 major hurricane and passed over Archbold Biological Station. Recent surveys of soil microbes carried out at this site before Hurricane Milton make it possible to assess how hurricanes alter this important community and under what conditions microbial community function will be resilient to hurricane disturbances. The project will engage middle school students in science via campus visits for hands-on learning events and the production of age-appropriate learning materials, and will also provide high-quality research experiences for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. Due to limited data on landscape-scale microbial functional diversity, this project will provide the first assessment in a natural terrestrial environment of 1) hurricane-driven shifts in microbial function and 2) hurricane-driven homogenization of microbial function at different spatial scales. This research will combine pre- and post-hurricane landscape-scale field surveys, microbial microcosm experiments, metagenomic sequencing, and bioinformatics to evaluate how microbial community taxonomic and functional biodiversity are restructured by hurricanes. Specifically, we will compare recent pre-hurricane soil microbial function and diversity surveys of >80 patches of Florida scrub habitat across a natural landscape and ~100s of microcosms within patches with microbial function and diversity surveys from the same sites over the course of the following year. By tracking changes through time, the research will evaluate microbial resistance to and recovery from hurricane disturbance. Model selection and multivariate analyses of metagenomic and abiotic landscape data will be used to determine which natural and human-driven environmental factors are most important for rapid recovery of microbiome function. Overall, this research will provide the ability to assess the stability of microbial functional and taxonomic diversity in the face of hurricane disturbance by identifying the degree of both resistance and resilience in microbial communities. Collectively, this will provide the most complete picture of hurricane effects on microbial communities from any system. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-12

This award will develop a multiscale experimental/modeling framework to obtain a fundamental understanding of the coupled ice/salt crystallization phenomena in low/zero clinker systems. Freeze-thaw causes billions of dollars of damage to concrete infrastructure and buildings in the US yearly. Impacts of climate change such as increased number and severity of freeze-thaw events are predicted to aggravate this damage. The socioeconomic consequences of these reductions in serviceability include impediments to economic activity and exacerbated inequities in access to quality infrastructure in marginalized communities. By exploring new materials with reduced environmental impact, this project will lead to the development of more resilient concrete formulations, significantly extending the lifespan of infrastructure. Project outcomes will open significant pathways for broad implementation of low/zero clinker systems in building and infrastructure applications. The project supports national interests by promoting scientific progress, improving infrastructure resilience, and reducing carbon emissions. It also enhances educational opportunities and STEM diversity through exposure of K-12 students and teachers to novel technologies and sustainability concepts. Furthermore, development of concrete sustainability seminars and advanced academic courses will lead to a more knowledgeable STEM workforce. The technical goals of this research are to elucidate the mechanisms of entrained air void formation/stabilization, saturation, and coupled ice/salt crystallization damage in low/zero clinker cementitious materials. Using a combination of multiscale experimental methods, molecular dynamics simulations, and advanced characterization techniques, the project seeks to understand the physico-mechano-chemical interactions at play. The project will develop a comprehensive multiscale experimental/modeling framework to study these interactions, linking microscopic characteristics to macroscopic performance. These findings will inform the creation of highly durable concrete mixtures suitable for cold environments. Ultimately, the project aims to produce a performance model to predict the longevity of low/zero clinker materials under freeze-thaw conditions, providing a pathway for their broader implementation in sustainable building and infrastructure applications. Microstructures of low/zero clinker systems could be engineered from the bottom-up to mitigate damage due to crystallization stresses. This award will advance the specific state-of-the-art in low/zero clinker systems and more broadly brittle porous materials from several scientific and technological perspectives. This research will also advance the knowledge base in material science, porous media mechanics, computational science, and advanced analytical and imaging techniques. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-12

A digital twin is a virtual model that mirrors and updates in real-time based on data from its physical counterpart. In biomedical and healthcare fields, digital twins, representing virtual models of patients, medical devices, and more, can open up new avenues for developing and evaluating innovative biomedical technologies, particularly enabling virtual clinical trials for evaluating cardiovascular medical devices and advancing regulatory sciences. However, current digital twin technologies lack sufficient computational fidelity and efficiency to effectively support these biomedical and healthcare applications. To resolve these challenges, this project aims to develop advanced computational methods for creating high-fidelity, fast-running digital twins of patient hearts and cardiovascular medical devices. Additionally, the methods will be made publicly available through a software/cyberinfrastructure platform. This will facilitate virtual clinical trials that can evaluate the efficacy and safety of medical devices, as well as improve device designs before initiating real clinical trials in a safe, cost-effective, and precisely controlled manner. In addition to advancing digital twin technologies, the project’s cyberinfrastructure will serve as an educational resource for students, researchers, and industrial engineers to enhance their understanding of advanced digital twin techniques for medical device evaluation. This project will develop novel machine learning (ML)-based image analysis algorithms and physics solvers for performing near-realtime virtual clinical trials with high-fidelity digital twins of patient hearts and cardiovascular medical devices. Patient-specific geometries and tissue mechanical properties will be incorporated into the digital twin construction for near-realtime physics simulations. Consequently, virtual clinical trials can be performed at significantly reduced time and financial costs. This project will deliver (1) novel ML algorithms for accurate digital twin geometry reconstruction from 3D+t medical images, enabling point-to-point mesh correspondence for high-fidelity dynamic motion tracking; (2) a robust and computationally efficient inverse method to identify in vivo material properties from medical images, which is essential for creating material-realistic digital twins; (3) a new ML-based fluid-structure interaction (ML-FSI) solver for biomechanics and hemodynamic analyses, thereby enabling dynamic digital twin simulations throughout a cardiac cycle. While the primary focus will be on digital twins of the left heart and aorta, the computational methods can be generally applied to create digital twins of the entire heart. The computational methods will be demonstrated through concrete examples involving Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) devices. The algorithms and methods developed in this project will be generic and readily applicable to devices for treating various cardiovascular diseases. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Mathematical Sciences, the OAC Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) program, and the CBET Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-11

Energy industries, including oil and gas facilities, petrochemical production, and electric power generation, produce exhaust gas streams. These gas streams are hot, high-pressure, and can contain noxious chemicals. Before the gas can be safely released to the atmosphere, small, chemically similar molecules must be selectively removed from the stream to meet government regulatory standards. Conventional gas separation technologies such as cryogenic distillation and absorption are energy-intensive and, thus, add to operational cost and further burden the environment. Membrane-based separations are a competitive alternative gas separation technology, but those used in industrial gas service stand to benefit from performance improvements that enable use at higher temperatures. This project will establish a controlled membrane fabrication process that overcomes the primary limitations facing industrial use of membranes in gas separations, including the ability to control the internal network of pores and how the material ages. The fabrication process incorporates polymer precursors and porous liquids to form a "mixed matrix" membrane with high selectivity (preference) for a target molecule and good mechanical properties. The incorporated materials significantly increase the ability of the membranes to operate at higher temperatures making them more competitive with the energy-intensive separation methods. The results of this project are expected to be broadly applicable to many types of gas separation processes and may spur the development of new technologies for air pollution control. Educational opportunities will be provided to undergraduate students and graduate students through research projects. The principal investigator will also leverage existing programs at Missouri University of Science and Technology to engage with K-12 educators and high school students in activities that enhance public science literacy. This project will systematically investigate structure/property relationships in a recently developed platform of fluorinated copolyimides (FCPs), which exhibit outstanding gas separation performance. The objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the fundamental relationships between the microstructure of the polymer precursor and physical aging and gas separation performance of the resultant carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane. Such FCP materials and related blends have high thermal and chemical stability, making them suitable candidates for separations at high temperatures or in harsh chemical environments, such as natural gas processing or olefin/paraffin separation. In this project, the investigator will synthesize a family of FCPs and related materials integrating the polymer precursor’s backbone structure with porous organic cage (POC) nanoparticles via covalent bonding. The effects of backbone structure modification and polymer precursor doping with POCs on morphology, free volume, transition layer, physical aging, and gas separation properties will be explored; the objective of which is to develop fundamental structure/property/performance relationships for these novel membranes. Gas solubility, diffusivity, and permeability as a function of temperature and pressure for pure gases will be characterized. Similarly, mixed gas permeation properties over the resulting FCP and derived POC-based CMS membranes will be assessed for application in natural gas or olefin/paraffin separations. The project will offer undergraduate and graduate education opportunities, and in conjunction with existing programs at Missouri University of Science and Technology, the investigator will create classroom modules for K-12 educators and high-school outreach events. Products will be distributed to the public through YouTube and investigator's research website. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-10

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project is a system that enables the creation of next-generation fuel storage/delivery tanks that permit vast areas of the U.S. transform biowaste (biogas) into commercially-important, renewable natural gas on a larger scale. There is a pressing need to replace automotive fossil fuels with renewable fuels. One immediately realizable step in the U.S. is to tap into renewable natural gas of variable grades from biowaste as well as renewable hydrogen from surplus electricity. Low-pressure storage can deliver these fuels to natural gas vehicle operators nationwide, even when off the natural gas grid. This project provides both fundamental insights into low-pressure onboard gas storage and the processes and protocols that permit a system to optimally function on demand both as a fuel storage/delivery system and as a gas separator. The project enables municipalities to use biogas even when they do not have a pipeline-grade renewable natural gas (removal of carbon dioxide) processor or the ability to compress natural gas to fueling-station pressures. The project also enables communities to market locally produced renewable energy. The project seeks to develop, demonstrate, and bring to the marketplace a natural gas tank that can be configured as a dual, on-demand gas storage and separation system for storage and delivery of fuels. The tank will also perform on-board separation of carbon dioxide from low-grade renewable natural gas to generate high-grade renewable natural gas. The gas tank design will fill a critical knowledge gap in the detailed understanding of the adsorption of mixtures into porous materials. The team proposes to build an experimental, theoretical, and computational framework that will lead to new design principles for optimal storage, delivery, and separation of gases in conditions similar to what is expected in a vehicle. Extensive multi-component 3-dimensional (3D) adsorption isotherm surfaces will be studied experimentally and computationally to obtain performance metrics for different materials and adsorption/desorption cycle paths. The team also seeks to understand the behavior of co-adsorbing gas mixtures and their interaction with adsorbents. The project seeks to: create laboratory models of gas storage/separation systems by investigating co-adsorption of mixtures producing 3D isotherms, establish kinetic benchmarks for their desorption, identify optimal protocols for gas storage and separation, and demonstrate a system on a prototype automotive tank, including multiple fill/empty/separation cycles, assessing tank regeneration procedures. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-10

Since 1980, the US has experienced more than $2.7 trillion in costs due to climate-related disasters. It includes sea-level rise driven by global climate change, which poses substantial and persistent threats to coastal communities, home to approximately 40% of the nation's population. The projected global and regional sea-level rise predicts elevated risks but lacks local embeddedness, community engagement, and actionability. This project will develop researcher-community partnerships to co-produce a new decision-support toolkit to help visualize, test, and prioritize localized adaptation and mitigation strategies to improve coastal resilience. It will advance knowledge of hazard risk modeling and resilience planning, being rooted in place-based participatory approaches to integrate local stakeholder knowledge and experiences in conceptualizing, designing, and assessing potential solutions, which are fundamental to achieving resilient communities. By engaging frontline organizations in co-development processes, this project will increase cross-sectoral partnerships that will have broader impacts through regional-to-local knowledge translation, develop capacity, and lead to more synergistic resilience policies. It will also include training of graduate student researchers and incorporate lessons into a cross-disciplinary curriculum on sustainability and resilience to reach a larger audience. The project will contribute to broadening participation in higher education and workforce development for next-generation scholars and practitioners. Within the context of coastal resilience to sea-level rise, there is little evidence-based research on modeling the effects of local adaptation and mitigation policies on hazard risk reduction. This project will provide innovative earth system science modeling tools to examine the dynamic interactions between resilience strategies across different spatial, temporal, and organizational scales and evaluate their expected benefits and trade-offs, with a focus on addressing underlying social inequalities and vulnerabilities. Project activities and methods include: (1) developing equitable partnerships with resilience policymakers in Greater Miami, FL, including local governments and community-based organizations using iterative mapping and snowball sampling methods; (2) deconstructing and mapping the complex network of grey infrastructure and nature-based solutions across spatiotemporal scales and hierarchies using participatory workshop and co-development methods; and (3) rigorously designing and evaluating an integrative dashboard solution using focus groups and research translation workshops to inform modeling frameworks, questions, and social benefits that frame how the project can support pathways to resilience. Ultimately, this project will deliver actionable, science-based solutions to assist policymakers in evaluating the effectiveness of various sea-level rise hazard risk-reduction measures and exploring interactive scenarios and future pathways to enhance community resilience and improve well-being. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

The Epoch of Reionization (EoR) begins when the first luminous objects in the Universe form and their intense ultraviolet emission starts to reionize the neutral hydrogen of the intergalactic medium (IGM). With continued emission of ionizing radiation, reionization fronts form gradually expanding bubbles around the luminous sources. The growth of these ionized bubbles is patchy in both time and space, but the bubbles eventually merge and the EoR ends. Astronomers have yet to study the EoR through the most direct method: tracing the neutral IGM itself through detection of the redshifted 21 cm line. The CO Mapping Array Project is a Line Intensity Mapping experiment using a spectral line other than 21 cm. A collaborative project between California Institute of Technology, University of Miami, and University of Maryland will duplicate the existing Pathfinder receiver and use it to perform a survey of rhe carbon monoxide (CO) line across the sky. The research team will work with the Caltech Education Office to develop material to teach students in underserved high schools about coding and astronomy. During the summer, the project will provide training to teachers to deliver this material and will support the teachers with classroom visits during the school year. The field of 21 cm cosmology has the potential to probe the structure and evolution of the inter- galactic medium, from the Cosmic Dark Ages through to Cosmic Dawn, the Epoch of Reionization and beyond. There are many challenges to this work: a foreground-to-signal ratio spanning five orders of magnitude, strong radio frequency interference (RFI), and subtle instrumental systematic errors. The COMAP project expects to overcome these challenges. After the COMAP survey, the team will cross correlate the resulting CO temperature cube with observations of the same field by a 21 cm cosmology experiment, the Low Frequency Array. These experiments have very different systematic errors, RFI environments and foreground levels, and the planned cross-correlation will therefore be insensitive to these effects. The investigators forecast that the resulting constraint on the CO × HI power spectrum will be 30 times better than the best current limits on either CO or HI. This provides a path to the first unambiguous confirmation of the EoR-era 21 cm signal and a route to tighter constraints on the HI autocorrelation power spectrum alone. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This project aims to uncover the secrets behind the growth of supermassive black holes (SMBH) located at the centers of galaxies. These enormous black holes are crucial for understanding the evolution of the Universe, as they significantly influence their host galaxies by affecting star formation and the development of galactic structures. The primary focus is to explore how SMBHs grow, either through the accumulation of matter or by merging with other black holes. The research will also provide educational opportunities and foster diversity within the scientific community. By engaging with the Native Hawaiian community and other underrepresented groups, the project aims to inspire and nurture the next generation of scientists. The project's main goal is to understand the growth mechanisms of supermassive black holes. It has three specific objectives: 1) to determine the merger rates of SMBHs and relate these to gravitational wave observations; 2) to investigate the growth of SMBHs during the peak period of black hole activity (known as cosmic noon) and its connection to accretion rates; and 3) to map the complete history of SMBH accretion. The research employs a multiwavelength survey approach, leveraging optical, infrared, and X-ray observations to minimize bias against obscured black holes. Advanced AI techniques will be used to analyze large imaging surveys, identifying dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) and galaxy mergers. This will help predict gravitational wave events and measure black hole masses and luminosities. Data will be collected using various observatories, including privileged access to Euclid data and several ground-based telescopes. Results will be shared through AGN-DB, an AI-managed database, and supported by tools like THALES and AGNFinder for comprehensive data integration. The project also includes significant educational outreach and diversity initiatives, providing research experiences and professional development for underrepresented students in astronomy. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This is a collaborative project among the University of Miami, Indiana University and Nova Southeastern University. Chikungunya (CHIK) is a viral disease transmitted to humans through the bites of mosquitoes infected with the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). CHIKV is endemic in Central and South American countries, posing significant public health burdens. As the “gateway to Latin America”, Miami-Dade County, Florida, has seen annual importations of CHIKV cases over the last decade. Miami-Dade County has an abundant population of Aedes mosquitoes, a suitable climate that promotes the growth of these mosquito vector species, and the potential for local CHIKV circulation. Integrating Aedes mosquito data collected in Miami-Dade County and local CHIK outbreak data from Brazil into a hybrid machine learning and mathematical modeling framework, the investigative team will reconstruct CHIKV dynamics in Brazil and evaluate control efforts in Florida. The project will further assess the risk for importation and local transmission of CHIKV in Florida considering global environmental changes. This study will provide valuable insights into the transmission dynamics of CHIKV and assist in developing more effective preventive and control measures. Findings can increase preparedness to anticipate and respond to other reemerging arboviruses such as dengue virus and yellow fever virus, as well as similar arboviruses yet to emerge. The project includes various activities for interdisciplinary training of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. Networking activities are planned to encourage collaboration between researchers, especially young researchers from historically underrepresented groups in mathematics. The project aims to develop a novel method that integrates differential equations and machine learning techniques to incorporate complex features into traditional ecological and epidemic models. This method aims to: (i) identify climate and environmental factors affecting Aedes mosquito population growth; (ii) provide accurate projections on vector abundance to design mosquito control measures; (iii) reconstruct local transmission of CHIKV during recent outbreaks in Brazil; (iv) model the importation of CHIKV into Florida and the transmission of CHIKV from imported cases to local mosquitoes; (v) investigate how global environmental change may affect the population dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes and the local spread of CHIKV in South Florida. The obtained results will improve preparedness and response also for other emerging and reemerging arboviruses, such as the dengue virus, Zika virus, and yellow fever virus. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

High-altitude organisms experience unique physiological challenges resulting from low atmospheric O2. However, responses can vary from mild to severe depending on how long species have been exposed to such environments. This is because the time required to acclimatize or adapt can vary from thousands to millions of years. Particularly affected by low O2 are mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell because they play a central role in energy production via oxidative phosphorylation, where adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is generated and then used for everything ranging from ion transport to muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, substrate phosphorylation, and chemical synthesis. Here, two key hypotheses will be tested: (1) that in high-altitude species exposed to hypoxia longer, the rate of mitochondrial respiration has declined to match O2 supply, and that efficiency has increased to maximize the energy, ATP, produced per unit O2 consumed; and (2) that high-altitude populations will have augmented antioxidant defenses to limit reactive oxygen species, to which high-altitude populations may be especially vulnerable. This will be done using high-resolution respirometry of isolated mitochondria across waterbirds in the high Andes, and in collaboration with partners with expertise in biochemistry and physiology. Fundamental questions will be answered about the tempo by which animals evolve in extreme environments that also challenge >80 million humans living at high altitude. Broader impacts will include training of graduate and undergraduate students, development of a K-8 specimen-based science program in a rural elementary school, and enhancement of undergraduate courses in the U.S. and an internationally-recognized workshop. High-altitude (HA) hypoxia creates unique physiological challenges that vary with the evolutionary time organisms have been exposed to these low O2 environments. In mountains such as the Andes, this can range from thousands to millions of years. Particularly affected by low O2 are mitochondria, because they play a central role in energy production via oxidative phosphorylation, where ATP molecules are generated at the site of O2 consumption and then used for everything ranging from ion transport to muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, substrate phosphorylation, and chemical synthesis. Two key hypotheses will be tested: (1) that in HA species exposed to hypoxia longer, rates of mitochondrial respiration have declined to match O2 supply, and that mitochondrial efficiency has increased to maximize the energy, ATP, produced per unit of O2 consumed; and (2) that HA populations will have augmented antioxidant defense capacities to limit production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), to which HA populations may be especially vulnerable. This will be done using high-resolution respirometry of isolated mitochondria across 14 different waterbird families. The study will answer fundamental questions about how animals have evolved to survive in hypoxia across longer and shorter evolutionary time scales. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is a highly competitive, federal fellowship program. GRFP helps ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of financial support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM and STEM education. This award supports the NSF Graduate Fellows pursuing graduate education at this GRFP institution. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

This project investigates how rising air temperatures affect mature trees in the lowland Amazon rainforest. In this project, researchers will compare adult trees growing at different temperatures in the rainforests surrounding Peru’s “Boiling River” and will identify the adaptations that the trees are using to avoid heat stress. This will be one of the first-ever field studies to test for adaptations to rising temperatures in adult rainforest trees, thus filling an important gap in knowledge about the ability of trees to respond to changes in their environment, as well as the consequences of rising global temperatures for rainforest diversity, structure, and function. This study will increase our knowledge about how environmental change affects tropical tree species and it will provide valuable information that will be used to inform predictions and conservation management strategies. The results of this research will also be integrated into diverse environmental education initiatives to increase public awareness about the ecology and conservation of tropical rainforests and tropical trees. The Boiling River is a unique geothermal river in Peru’s west-central Amazon where river waters are heated to near-boiling temperatures, raising air temperatures in the surrounding forests by several degrees and creating what is likely the hottest closed-canopy forest on Earth. At the Boiling River, researchers will conduct a suite of ecological and physiological studies to determine the ability of different tree species to adapt and acclimate to elevated temperatures, which match the future conditions predicted for much of the Amazon. Specifically, researchers will 1) create high-resolution maps of the climate and environmental conditions in the forests around the Boiling River; 2) census and measure the functional traits of trees growing at different temperatures along the river in order to characterize changes in functional diversity and composition in relation to temperature; and 3) compare the morphology and physiology of tree species in relation to their realized thermal niches. This research will augment and transform our knowledge about the effects of rising global temperatures on the Amazon’s diverse tropical forests and will provide data that can help to parameterize models predicting future climate change. In addition, the research team will run a suite of educational activities aimed at raising public awareness about the impacts of global change on tropical forests. Specifically, the researchers will develop new teaching materials and active education activities for K-12 and university students and will disseminate the data and results to a broad public audience through various outlets. This research is co-funded by the Population and Community Ecology program in BIO/DEB and the Integrative Ecological Physiology Program in BIO/IOS. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Algebraic varieties are shapes defined by solution sets of systems of polynomial equations. A fundamental problem in geometry is the classification of algebraic varieties, as it helps us gain a better understanding of the structures and relations between them. The first step in classification is called birational classification, i.e. two algebraic varieties are called birational if they are equal outside some lower-dimensional loci. In this proposal, the PI will investigate new birational invariants, atoms, based on foundations coming from theoretical physics. The theory of atoms has its origin in conformal field theory and homological mirror symmetry. This project will also support training of early-career mathematicians and dissemination events through the Institute of Mathematical Sciences of Americas in the University of Miami. More specifically, the PI’s approach in birational geometry is based on developing a new singularity theory of Landau-Ginzburg models and a non-commutative refinement of the notion of an eigenspectrum of quantum multiplication operators. These new non-commutative spectra provide natural obstructions to rationality and equivariant rationality of Fano varieties. This could lead to even stronger birational invariants as well as to new unexpected bridges, including: a new connection between Steenbrink spectra of the LG models and asymptotics of quantum differential equations; new birational applications of atoms to the cases of singular varieties and the case of varieties over algebraically non closed fields; and a new relation between non-Kahler manifolds, their Homological Mirror Symmetry (HMS) and their atoms. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Wetlands are a critical habitat for carbon storage, as well as a potential source of greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide and methane) emissions. Little is known about how wetlands function, especially in the tropics. With changing climate, it is expected that tropical wetlands, especially seasonal ones, may shift between carbon consumption and release of carbon. Methane, which is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is typically produced under flooded conditions, although some evidence suggests that shifts between wet and dry conditions also lead to its release. Savannas (Cerrado) in Brazil have a range of grassland types including ever-wet peatlands, seasonally wet grasslands, and dry grasslands that are never flooded, with the seasonal wetlands shifting in water levels between dry and wet seasons. It is expected that these ecosystems will become hotter and drier in the future. Brazilian savannas have been understudied and under protected; they are also at risk of conversion for example to agribusiness and urban development. They are the source of the headwaters for river systems such as the Amazon, meaning they are important for providing clean water and other resources to the people and other organisms dependent on them. Understanding Brazilian savanna carbon dynamics now and under future environmental conditions is critical for the region. They can also be used as models to understand tropical savannas around the globe. This proposal makes use of the natural gradient, from ever-wet peatlands to dry grasslands, and seasonal shifts through time to collect data on the amount and frequency of greenhouse gases emitted today and the changing extents of wetlands seasonally. Researchers will use these data to predict how savannas may store and release carbon under future warming and drying climates. As part of this project, student biologists will be trained, including in classes on savanna field ecology and workshops on using field data to predict changes in greenhouse gas release in the future. Biologists and indigenous artists will also collaborate on artwork to demonstrate the importance of savanna systems for and to public audiences. This proposal will answer three questions: Q1. What are the drivers of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in carbon storage and flux across saturation gradients? Q2. How do saturation extents (areas and perimeters) in tropical grasslands change over seasonal and decadal scales? Q3. How will rates and forms of carbon emissions from tropical grasslands change under future climates? To test Q1, spatially distributed measurements will be coupled with high-temporal resolution measurements to understand greenhouse gas, soil, and vegetation carbon dynamics across the saturation gradient. Greenhouse gas variability will be measured spatially and temporally with chambers. Site changes through time will be determined by initial soil characterization, combined with seasonal measurements of plant phenology, stomatal conductance, porewater chemistry, environmental and groundwater measures. To test Q2, high resolution remote sensing and field reference data will be combined to map wetland extent seasonally. Carbon and lead isotope dating will be used to understand wetlands extent changes at decadal scales. To test Q3, data from Q1 and Q2 will be utilized in Earth system models. Estimates of carbon sequestration patterns and greenhouse gas emissions will be spatially simulated with projections of carbon balance changes and greenhouse gas with expected shifts in regional climate and hydrology. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

Subduction zones are regions where two tectonic plates move towards each other and one of them sinks, or “subducts”, beneath the other. They cause major hazards like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. They are also the main way that surface materials, such as water, are dragged deep into the interior of Earth. Many such effects stem from the chemical changes that subducting rocks undergo as they sink deeper and get hotter. The sinking tectonic plate's temperature, known as the "subduction zone thermal structure," influences these changes. One important avenue of subduction research thus aims to constrain this thermal structure and how quickly it changes. However, because many of the important processes mentioned above occur very deep below the surface, we cannot make direct measurements of the temperature here. To overcome this, the researchers will instead use chemical measurements of rocks that have resurfaced from an ancient subduction zone. By analyzing the chemistry of these rocks, they can measure the extreme pressures and temperatures they experienced when they were deep underground. To do this, they will focus on the western Alps of Switzerland and Italy, which is a well-studied fossilized subduction zone. They will combine measurements of the rocks with computer simulations of this ancient subduction zone, to home in on this subduction zone’s thermal structure. This study will help us understand when, why, and how quickly these temperature changes occur. This project will also support student researchers and benefit society through educational and scientific outreach activities. The team's outreach component will be a subduction-focused workshop at the University of South Carolina. It will bring together geoscientists from the southeastern U.S, with the goal of fostering collaboration and team building. In this project, the researchers aim to constrain the time-evolving pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions along the well-studied Western Alps paleo-subduction interface, the timescales of metamorphism, and the mechanisms responsible for spatio-temporal variations in this thermal structure and metamorphism. They will combine garnet petrochronology (P-T constraints and geochronology) with P-T-time constraints from the literature to create a series of “snapshots” of the evolving Alpine paleo-subduction P-T conditions. These field-based constraints will be integrated with geodynamic subduction models to help determine the geodynamic mechanisms and parameters needed to explain the Ps, Ts and rates of metamorphism observed in the exhumed rock record. This integrated approach will enable them to test their primary geodynamic hypothesis: A highly time-dependent thermal evolution is causally linked to spatio-temporal dependent changes in the lithology/structure of the downgoing plate and to the significant three-dimensionality of the Alpine subduction zone. The petrochronology work will benefit from the large spatial and temporal subduction rock record offered by the Western Alps, allowing for the sampling and examination of lithologically various exhumed terranes to determine a P-T-time history. Recent advances in the time-dependent modeling of subduction zone thermal structure will enable the team to test the hypotheses within 3-dimensional and “dynamic” models (i.e., with no external forces imposed on the system). An important component of this project is the bi-directional integration of the modeling and the geological observations, wherein a), constraints from the rock record will inform the dominant physical processes that enter the geodynamic modeling, and b), targeted sampling and analysis will be informed by the geodynamic modeling results. This project will also support student researchers and benefit society through educational and scientific outreach activities. The outreach component will be a subduction-focused workshop at the University of South Carolina. It will bring together geoscientists from the southeastern U.S, with the goal of fostering collaboration and team building. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-08

This award is being funded by the MPS-LEAPS (Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways) Program and managed by the Broadening Participation (CHE-BP) Program in the Division of Chemistry. With this support, Professor Agatemor and his students at the University of Miami intend to develop and investigate photoluminophores that emit light in an aqueous environment using biocompatible and eco-friendly deep eutectic solvents (DESs). Photoluminophores, molecular entities that emit light after absorbing photons, are used in many aspects of modern life, including medicine, energy, and chemical synthesis. However, most currently used photolumiphores are toxic and quench their emission in an aqueous environment, limiting their real-world applications. Successful implementation of the project described here could enable a holistic description of photoluminescence and potentially lead to the development of sustainable science and technologies, including solar energy harvesting technologies and solar photochemical synthesis procedures. Professor Agatemor will also provide hands-on training on chemical synthesis, characterization, and cell biology to students to foster students' interest in STEM careers. The project aims to investigate the mechanism behind the photoluminescence of DESs. The DESs will be facilely synthesized by mixing hydrogen bond donors with acceptors in different molar ratios, allowing control of physico-chemical and photophysical properties. The central postulation is that molecular interactions are important to the photoluminescent behavior of the DESs. Therefore, molecular interactions, such as pi-pi and hydrogen bond interactions, within the DESs and the DES-water system will be elucidated using viscometry, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and 1H-1H two-dimensional magic-angle spinning nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy. Steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopies will be used to investigate the mechanism underpinning the DES emission in an aqueous environment. The photochemistry of the DES will be investigated in cell culture assays and through photochemical synthesis protocols. An expected outcome of the project is to allow students to appreciate the power of chemistry in harnessing light for various real-world applications and develop the skills for a successful STEM career. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-06

In this project, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics & Mechanisms B Program of the Chemistry Division, Professors Chao Luo and Andre Clayborne of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at George Mason University are investigating the electrochemistry of carboxylate compounds in rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries. They are seeking a fundamental understanding of the correlation between chemical structures and electrochemical behaviors. Rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries are attractive alternatives to the well-known lithium ion battery, which are widely used in electric cars, electronic, and energy storage. Research activities will involve graduate, undergraduate, high school, and middle school students. Outreach activities include the development of sustainable battery workshops for high school and middle school students, and the training of high school students with basic hands-on skills for battery research to enhance their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Current inorganic anodes limit the development of rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries, because of low capacity, poor cycle life, and sluggish reaction kinetics. Carboxylate compounds, with their advantages of lightweight and low cost, stand out as promising anode materials for rechargeable sodium batteries and rechargeable potassium batteries. However, they can suffer from low Coulombic efficiency and slow reaction kinetics. Professors Chao Luo and Andre Clayborne plan to overcome these limitations by studying functional groups, heteroatoms, conjugation structure, structural isomerism, and interfacial chemistry in conjunction with computation chemistry and data analytics. Innovative structure design and facile fabrication approaches will be developed to synthesize carboxylate-based organic anodes. The combination of extensive electrochemical and material characterizations, in situ/ex situ electrode measurements, and computational chemistry could lead to the fundamental understanding of the battery chemistry of new carboxylate anodes. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-01

The overall goal of this project is to deliver an innovative, integrated, and adaptable CO2 capture-conversion system to enable decarbonization of the cement industry while producing valuable cement supplements from waste CO2. In transitioning to a net-zero emission and circular economy, waste CO2 in industrial flue gases is considered as a valuable resource for production of a wide range of value-added products. Cutting America’s CO2 emissions in half by 2030 requires investment in industry sectors like cement that cannot shift entirely to carbon-free energy sources just yet. The U.S. is currently producing ~90 million tons of cement every year, emitting nearly the same amount of CO2. If no eco-efficient alternative cements can be invented to completely replace Portland cement, a promising strategy to decarbonize the cement industry in the foreseeable future is to transform Portland cement into blended cement. In this project, the approach is to capture CO2 from cement flue gas and use it as a renewable feedstock to produce blended cement using carbon-negatively processed industrial wastes. The proposed capture-conversion technology will be integrated into a cement production unit, where the CO2 comes from the flue gas of the cooler end of the kiln, and the waste materials and waste heat from the cement plant can be used to run the CO2 conversion process. The project team will explore the fundamental chemistry needed to develop economically viable technology to convert the captured CO2 to blended cement. The fundamental findings at the molecular level (reaction chemistry and sorbent development) will be merged with extensive process modeling, simulation, and design optimization, along with techno-economic analysis (TEA) and rigorous life cycle assessment (LCA) of representative cement manufacturing facilities with and without the integration of the CO2 capture-conversion process. The team will leverage convergence science principles to advance the scientific, technological, and socio-economic knowledge needed to overcome challenges associated with: 1) CO2 capture, 2) CO2 conversion, 3) process systems engineering and integration, and 4) environmental sustainability assessment for expediting the decarbonization of the cement industry. The project has the potential to open new opportunities for achieving net-zero CO2 emissions from the cement industry while producing a valuable cement supplement from waste resources (e.g., alkali industrial wastes such as off-specification coal ashes). Assuming broad technology adoption and replication, potential profitable CO2 emission reductions of >50 Mt/year are projected for U.S., the possibility of which is enhanced by collaboration with the Ash Grove Cement Company. Components of the collaboration with the Ash Grove partner include graduate student summer internships and seminars on CO2 capture-conversion by both University researchers and Ash Grove engineers. 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Mitigating and removing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is one of today's most pressing grand challenges. One possible approach to address this challenge is through direct air capture technologies (DAC). DAC technologies can extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere to be stored permanently. Traditional methods for separating gaseous mixtures involve either adsorbing high-pressure gases onto a solid surface and releasing (desorbing) them when the pressure is reduced (known as pressure swing adsorption) or using temperature changes to achieve separation (known as temperature swing adsorption). However, these methods are unsuitable for DAC systems because the concentration gradient, which drives the mass transfer of CO2, is very small. As a result, these methods are highly inefficient in terms of energy usage. Additionally, the current state-of-the-art sorbent materials based on amines or ionic liquids require a lot of energy to desorb the CO2 and regenerate the sorbents. Furthermore, since most sorbent materials have low thermal conductivity, externally heating them for regeneration is inefficient and leads to additional heat losses. It is crucial to develop new materials and technologies that can address these drawbacks and enable the successful implementation of large-scale DAC systems. This project will investigate a class of CO2 sorbent materials that can be induced to release the adsorbed CO2 by applying an external magnetic field. The magnetic field generates local heat within the material, so external energy input is not required. The research will yield new insights into the fundamental energy and mass transfer mechanisms in these magnetic field-responsive sorbents (MF-RSs). The project will also provide opportunities for undergraduate student research experiences, curriculum development, and K-12 STEM outreach at the Missouri University of Science & Technology and the University of Southern California. The purpose of this work is to gain a fundamental understanding of energy and mass transfer mechanisms in MF-RSs for use in DAC systems, namely, composites of F3O4 magnetic nanoparticles and microporous metal-organic frameworks (F3O4/MOF-amine) or mesoporous aminosilicates (Fe3O4/SiO2-amine). The external magnetic field generates local heat due to the static hysteresis and dynamic core losses of the magnetic nanoparticles. The adsorbed CO2 is desorbed without external heating, overcoming the issue of low thermal conductivity of most sorbent materials and avoiding the heat losses accompanying externally heated methods. Computational and experimental investigations will be conducted to understand the factors affecting CO2 release and system regeneration in MF-RSs. The intermolecular attractions that result in the low-energy release of CO2 from magnetic sorbents upon exposure to an external magnetic field will be characterized. Specifically, the research will probe the extent of electron transfer perturbation upon magnetic field induction. The study will also elucidate the effects of heat capacity-magnetization tradeoffs on diffusive thermal and molecular transfers. Finally, the magnetic field-triggered CO2 transport mechanisms during sorbent regeneration in the presence of oxygen, nitrogen, and water will be investigated. A host of experimental and computational techniques will be applied to reveal the energy and mass transfer mechanisms of CO2 adsorption and desorption from MF-RSs in the presence of an external magnetic field. These techniques include molecular-level in-situ spectroscopic measurements and transient desorption tests such as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR), zero-length column (ZLC), and magnetic induction swing adsorption (MISA), which will be combined with density-functional theory (DFT) and nanoscale molecular dynamics simulations. The investigation will open new avenues for developing low-energy sorbent regeneration 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.