Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

NSF Awards · FY 2026 · 2026-08

Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI) supports cutting-edge scientific projects benefitting individuals, the environment, national security, and economic competitiveness. Despite the potential benefits, recent attacks have compromised the integrity of scientific data and resources such as computing time and network bandwidth, ultimately affecting the public’s confidence in scientific results. As a response, countermeasures have been proposed based on Zero Trust (ZT), an emerging paradigm calling for the continuous evaluation and enforcement of authorization policies, which protect RCIs by restricting access to sensitive data and resources. However, it is difficult for practitioners of RCIs, namely, administrators, researchers, and students, to correctly write, evaluate, and enforce the many different authorization policies needed to provide effective cyber-protections. To address these challenges, this project develops ZT-Agents, which leverage Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to provide next-generation cyber-protections for RCIs, ultimately pursuing the following goals: (i) Advancing the state-of-the-art in cyber-protections by developing AI agents for continuous evaluation and enforcement of authorization policies for RCIs; (ii) Enabling practitioners to conveniently learn and retrofit Agentic AI-augmented authorization technologies for RCIs, balancing security, usability, and the needs of research-driven enterprises; (iii) Providing evidence-backed technical recommendations and best practices on ZT-inspired continuous authorization technologies for RCIs, thus favoring efficient implementations in practice; (iv) Disseminating next-generation cybersecurity and Agentic AI solutions via hands-on challenges to students in College and K-12 levels, as well as to practitioners of RCIs; and, (v) Disseminating the results of this project via publications in well-reputed scientific venues as well as articles and presentations for public audiences. 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 2025 · 2025-10

A stressful environment presents major challenges to organisms, including imposing new and potentially more requirements for them to survive. Partnerships between two different organisms, such as the mutualistic associations between a plant and soil fungi, can determine how they respond to, and thrive under the new environment. However, the status of these associations can change, for example, from beneficial (both partners exchange benefits) to neutral (no benefits or harm) or harmful (one partner may cause harm to the other), depending on the prevailing conditions. For coastal marshes facing new, stressful environments, these associations can be critical, but insights are limited. This project will evaluate the extent of mutual partnership between a saltmarsh grass and fungal partner along a natural stress gradient. It will also assess if, when and how these associations change when exposed to salinity stress. The outcomes of the project will include a publicly available database/collection of fungal beneficial partners that can aid management decisions geared towards conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems under increasing environmental stress. The project will provide 3-year training of early-career Americans, who will receive cross-disciplinary education and training across different skillsets including fieldwork, greenhouse, microbial, genomic and analytical skills. Through partnerships will local communities, it will further benefit local high school students and biology teachers who will be given opportunities to conduct classroom research on saltmarsh and fungi as well as present their work and network with other students and researchers in a local symposium that the team will organize. Extreme environmental events can influence the evolutionary trajectories of host-endosymbiont associations. While several theoretical models predicting organismal responses exist, very few capture how host-endosymbiont relationships can evolve under extreme events. The proposed research will develop a framework that combines the stress gradient hypothesis and the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution to predict the evolution of specialized host-endosymbiont relationships in dynamic environments, and the adaptive benefits of such partnership in shaping host species resilience to extreme events. This framework will be tested using Spartina alterniflora, a dominant salt marsh grass, and its dark septate endophyte (DSE) fungal partners. The project will (Aim 1) evaluate levels of S. alterniflora population genomic variation and structure and levels of in situ DSE colonization along natural gradient of salinity. It will (Aim 2) characterize the DSE community, genotypic diversity and functional traits promoting salinity stress tolerance by conducting salinity assays to isolate, identify and determine fitness of DSE strains/genotypes associated with specific S. alterniflora genotypes. Finally, (Aim 3) the frequency, direction, dependency and specialization of the S. alterniflora-DSE relationship will be tested when exposed to different salinity regimes. A reciprocal-cross experiment will be conducted to determine the fitness outcomes and specialization among host-DSE pairings across the salinity gradient and when exposed to novel salinity conditions. These integrative experiments will enable us to achieve a holistic perspective on how evolution of specialized host-endosymbiont interactions can contribute to organism resilience in new and stressful environments. 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 2025 · 2025-10

Distributed software systems are collections of computer programs that utilize computational resources across multiple computing devices to achieve a common, shared goal. They are used everywhere these days, from banking and reservation systems to online gaming and social media. Finding and fixing bugs in distributed systems is difficult because bugs can spread across multiple computers and cloud environments, making traditional troubleshooting methods ineffective. A particularly common and challenging to manage type of problems are concurrency bugs that occur when multiple software processes within a program try to access and modify shared data simultaneously. This project introduces an automated tool to help developers identify and fix concurrency issues in distributed systems. It uses innovative techniques to simulate real-world scenarios, uncovers hidden communication patterns, and detects common but difficult-to-find problems. Outcomes from this research will be included in college-level computer science courses on distributed systems and software engineering. Rust has gained popularity for distributed system development due to its memory safety feature. However, current methods to trigger concurrency bugs in Rust code require substantial human effort and expertise, and effective automated testing tools are lacking. This project addresses these challenges in three ways. First, it will conduct an empirical study of real-world modern distributed systems implemented in Rust to identify current trending issues and their root causes. Second, it will develop a static distributed system dependency analysis and a deterministic simulation testing framework driven by system-level scheduling, enabling automated schedule generation to expose concurrency and other emerging bugs. Third, it will provide an open-source testing platform for public access and future integration. The project will produce a benchmark suite of prevalent and emerging bugs in modern distributed systems to facilitate high-quality bug reproduction. It will also serve as a foundation for future research in improving system reliability and enhance the security of distributed software 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.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-09

With the support of the Chemical Mechanism, Function, and Properties Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Pavel Anzenbacher of the Department of Chemistry at Bowling Green State University and Professor Mark A. Olson of the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi are studying how to transform simple one-dimensional molecules into complex three-dimensional structures that function as chemical sensors. This project will create new molecular receptors that recognize and bind biologically and pharmacologically relevant substances and convert this recognition into a mechanical response — a process known as chemomechanical transduction — that is visibly detectable. This research will advance our fundamental understanding of how molecules recognize each other and change shape upon binding, knowledge that can be applied to develop new diagnostic tools and smart materials useful in health, chemical monitoring, and security applications. The project also provides rich educational opportunities where undergraduate and graduate students will participate in cutting-edge photochemistry experiments and receive mentorship in research. Through new course-based undergraduate research experiences and summer internships between the two universities, the team will train a cohort of young scientists in advanced chemical techniques and inspire them to pursue STEM careers and graduate programs. The team will synthesize extended viologen-like host oligomers with precisely defined lengths and functional groups using solid-phase chemistry. These electron-poor, cationic hosts will be decorated with fluorescent dyes to enable optical signaling. The hosts are designed to bind electron-rich aromatic guest molecules (for example, indole-based neurotransmitters like serotonin or related drug compounds) through charge-transfer interactions. Upon guest binding, the flexible one-dimensional host strands will fold or aggregate into ordered molecular assemblies, effectively converting from 1D to 3D structures. This binding-induced conformational change — a form of chemomechanical transduction — will bring the attached dyes into proximity, triggering a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) turn-on signal or aggregation-induced emission. If the guest molecule is chiral, it is expected to twist the host-guest assembly into a helical form, yielding a detectable chiroptical signature such as circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). The researchers will use a broad array of spectroscopic and analytical techniques to investigate these phenomena: for example, time-resolved fluorescence measurements will quantify FRET efficiency, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (including 2D NMR and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy) will elucidate the structure and dynamics of the complexes, and isothermal titration calorimetry will determine binding strengths and thermodynamic parameters. By correlating the host length and structure with its optical and chiral responses upon guest binding, this study will reveal fundamental principles governing supramolecular recognition and assembly. The outcomes will advance knowledge in the photochemistry and physical chemistry of supramolecular systems and lay the groundwork for innovative sensor technologies for chemical analysis and molecular sensing. 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 2025 · 2025-08

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, located on the Texas Gulf Coast and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved site for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), will continue to offer a ten-week summer research experience in UAS technology to ten undergraduate students each year. Students are selected through a nationwide recruitment process aimed at attracting highly talented undergraduate students in computing or related disciplines. This unique research experience exposes undergraduate researchers to a wide range of UAS applications, addressing regional and national challenges such as coastal management, coastal ecology, human safety, precision agriculture, and UAS technology security. The program includes mentoring by experienced faculty, skill-building seminars and workshops, research presentations, graduate school preparation, and other professional development activities. The objective of the program is to provide participants with valuable research experiences in a dynamic environment focused on the development of secure, autonomous UAS technology. Activities include research in applied computing for UAS-based applications, along with skill-building sessions designed to enhance group cohesiveness and refine technical writing, communication, and research skills. Research is concentrated in areas such as autonomous UAS, UAS security, and the use of unmanned systems across various fields. Participants will write and submit research papers on their work for presentation at local, regional, and national symposiums. Through the program, participants will explore opportunities for UAS technology in commercial, civilian, and governmental sectors, gain confidence in research, become motivated to pursue advanced degrees, and develop a passion for lifelong learning in computing. 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 2025 · 2025-03

Sulfur is a major element in the ocean and is found primarily as dissolved inorganic sulfate. However, trace amounts of sulfur exist as dissolved organic sulfur (DOS). Research on DOS in the ocean began in the 2000’s. This is because it is difficult to measure DOS concentration in a solution having almost one million times more inorganic sulfate. While relatively small in quantity compared to inorganic sulfur, DOS plays critical roles in oceanic and atmospheric processes. For example, sunlight degrades DOS into carbonyl sulfide gas, which moves into the upper atmosphere, forming sulfate particles that block sunlight reaching the Earth. Many DOS compounds are essential for microbial growth in the ocean. Additionally, some DOS compounds react with essential (e.g., zinc) and toxic (e.g., mercury) trace metals to affect their solubility and biological availability. To uncover the mysteries of DOS, this study will utilize archived samples collected from over 100 locations in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Antarctica and collect fresh samples in the North Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda. The scientists will measure the total concentrations of DOS in these samples and determine the compounds that make up DOS. Graduate and undergraduate education is a central part of this project. The project will support one graduate student at Old Dominion University and graduate and undergraduate students at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The scientists will share their research with the public through already scheduled lectures and forums. They will also develop and use a virtual reality (VR) experience to simulate what it is like to go to sea and collect samples for DOS. This research project will uncover the processes governing the marine DOS cycle in the Pacific Ocean, with three primary objectives: 1) Accurately quantify the DOS inventory across the entire Pacific Ocean to clarify its role in the global sulfur cycle. 2) Identify the abiotic and biotic processes responsible for DOS production and removal along two meridional Pacific transects, encompassing different biogeochemical regimes, hydrothermal plumes, and oxygen minimum zones. 3) Conduct a year-long, monthly collection of depth profiles at the Bermuda-Atlantic Time Series (BATS) to investigate the reactivity of DOS and its components. The research will leverage archived samples from three Pacific meridional transects, spanning from Alaska to Antarctica and Antarctica to Mexico, along with newly collected samples from the monthly BATS cruises. The project will improve understanding of the inventory and cycling of DOS in the ocean and provide research training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Results from this study will be communicated to the public through lectures and a virtual reality experience. 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 2025 · 2025-02

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), a Hispanic-serving institution in South Texas. Over its 6-year duration, this project will fund scholarships for two years to approximately 40 full-time graduate students pursuing master's degrees in chemistry, coastal and marine system sciences, and environmental sciences. Key components of the program include: 1) a multi-tiered mentoring program involving faculty, peers, and industry professionals, 2) workshops on technical skills, career preparation, and mental health, and 3) opportunities for students to develop and present research, enhancing both academic and professional success. The Science Education & Advancement Pathways in Physical and Environmental Sciences (SEA-Paths) project not only supports individual student success but also strengthens TAMUCC's role in addressing critical environmental challenges facing the region, aligning educational outcomes with local job market needs in STEM fields. The overall goals of SEA-Paths are to increase the enrollment and retention of low-income students, boost graduation rates, and facilitate transitions to doctoral programs or employment in STEM fields. By addressing the financial, academic, and professional development needs of its students, this project seeks to elevate social mobility, broaden participation in the STEM workforce, and contribute to the economic growth of South Texas through strategic education-to-employment pathways. In addition, by fostering collaborative activities among scholars, peers, faculty, and industry mentors, the program seeks to create a thriving and inclusive STEM community in South Texas. Ultimately, the project aims to improve the quality and quantity of STEM professionals, addressing the demand for skilled workers in STEM fields within the region and beyond. Project outcomes will be shared broadly through the program website, academic publications, and conference presentations. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Awards · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Online speech that threatens persons, groups, or organizations necessitates sophisticated tools for effective detection and mitigation. This project aims to construct an advanced hybrid machine learning pipeline to enhance the analysis of speech and detection of speech differences in online environments. The project focuses on three key aspects: detecting the characteristics of individual speech posts, understanding and mitigating the spread of threatening speech, and addressing the lack of comprehensive multilingual datasets, particularly for English and Spanish-speaking communities. By combining the analytical capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) for content analysis with Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for understanding social dynamics, this project develops a robust suite of tools adaptable to various speech detection scenarios. Additionally, it creates and publishes new datasets that expand the coverage of speech analysis in English and fill the critical gap in speech research for the Spanish-speaking environment. This project advances speech detection research through an effective hybrid machine learning pipeline. It focuses on three main objectives: enhancing the accuracy and reliability of threat detection using Large Language Models (LLMs), understanding the dynamics of threat propagation with Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), and creating a comprehensive multilingual dataset suite for threat detection. The LLMs analyze both explicit and implicit speech across various classes in multilingual contexts, primarily focusing on English and Spanish. The GNNs identify the origins and patterns of attacks in speech, predict its spread and trajectory, and develop strategies to mitigate its effects. The multilingual dataset suite supports diverse speech themes, ensuring balanced diversity and addressing size limitations. 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

Oceans cover over 70% of the Earth's surface and their ceaseless movement from tides, waves, and currents creates a potentially important energy source that could be an important component of the energy transition for coastal and island communities. Similarly, the constant cycling of onshore and offshore winds over the course of a 24-hour period creates an additional marine related source of green, renewable energy. The Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC), the Center for Growing Ocean Energy Technologies and the Blue Economy (GO Blue) engages in faculty-driven/industry-relevant, basic, use-inspired research focused on creating new knowledge and innovations of value to industries and start-ups in the marine energy ecosystem. Created by three universities: the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the Stevens Institute of Technology; and Texas A&M University at Corpus Christie, this national Center has the potential to address critical problems and issues that are holding the economy back from realizing economically viable electricity coming from marine and coastal marine-related energy sources that generate electricity to feed the national power grid. Broader impacts of the Center include the creation of new knowledge and solving of technical problems and socio-economic issues associated with marine electrical energy generation, close collaboration between university faculty and students and industry, training students in innovation; entrepreneurship; and workforce and workplace safety, and developing new educational programs to build the marine energy workforce of the future. Other impacts include engaging groups underrepresented in science and engineering in marine energy pursuits and public outreach and community engagement around marine energy issues. The Go Blue Industry-University Cooperative Research Center will harness the expertise of over 30 faculty and researchers from three universities and engage their students and postdocs in basic but industry-need-inspired research. Engineering research in this center will be inherently multidisciplinary spanning the fields of electrical, mechanical, civil, ocean, materials, and environmental engineering.This multi-university collaboration provides expanded access to world-class schools of naval architecture and engineering, state-of-the-art ocean technology test facilities, and computational facilities to Center faculty and students, regardless of home institution, as well as to members of the Center Advisory Board through faculty-initiated research projects of high priority to the marine energy economic sector. The geographical distribution of the three partner universities: The Great Lakes (Michigan), ocean (Stevens Institute), Gulf of Mexico (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), creates a national ensemble that allows the Center to tackle and experiment with new ideas, technology, and energy implementation scenarios in vastly different marine/coastal/large freshwater lake environments and settings. Center research ideas come from faculty who listen to the needs of the marine energy economic sector, as represented by dues-paying members of the Center Advisory Board. Faculty research is funded by pooled Advisory Board membership fees for projects of high priority to the sector, as indicated by the collective members of the Center Advisory Board. Center research thrusts are marine energy technology for renewable energy production, powering the blue economy which includes power generation and marine transport, and marine energy societal acceptance; economic viability; and environmental sustainability. 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 study will provide a comprehensive description of large-scale deep cycle turbulence (DCT) variation in the equatorial oceans. This will be achieved by using the state-of-the-art ocean general circulation model (OGCM) simulations with a suitable vertical mixing scheme that can be directly validated against microstructure measurements and is capable of reproducing characteristics of DCT. The influences of DCT on the sea surface temperature (SST) and upper ocean heat transport in the equatorial oceans across different timescales will be quantified, which play an essential role in tropical air-sea interactions and global weather and climate variability. Additionally, examining DCT modulated by various processes through sensitivity simulations will further advance our understanding of upper ocean mixing processes, leading to improved representation of these processes in the models. The project will investigate the spatiotemporal variation of DCT in the equatorial oceans and their influence on SST and heat transport based on integrated analysis of observational data and global OGCM simulations. A vertical mixing scheme that allows the modeled turbulent dissipation to be directly compared with that from microstructure measurements will be used in the OGCM simulations. Specific objectives include: Investigate the spatial variation of DCT on intraseasonal to seasonal timescales and its impact on SST and upper ocean heat transport in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Determine the surface forcing and subsurface conditions that favor the DCT formation associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and examine the possible existence of DCT associated with the equatorial current system in the Indian Ocean. Investigate spatial distribution of DCT and its influence on the SST modulated by Tropical Instability Waves and seasonal freshwater discharge from the Amazon River in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. 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

Many marine organisms, from corals to fishes, have complex life cycles with relatively sedentary adults and dispersive larvae. The larval phase remains one of the big unknowns in marine ecology. It involves a number of complex questions. How far do larvae disperse from their parents? What causes variation in larval dispersal distance? What are the consequences of variation in larval dispersal distance? These types of questions are being addressed using clown anemonefish (a.k.a. Nemo), using a combination of laboratory experiments, field experiments, molecular genetics, and mathematical modeling. The clown anemonefish has become a model system for investigations in marine science due to its tractability in the laboratory and in the field. The research objectives are integrated with multiple broader impact activities: undergraduates and graduate students will be trained in the field of marine ecology and are learning transferable skills in experimental design, data collection, data management, statistical modeling, and scientific communication; high school students are being provided opportunities to participate in all aspects of the scientific process, so that they might consider STEM more seriously as a career choice; a book is being written, targeting a teenage audience and presenting marine ecology research and profiling marine ecology researchers, so that the field can be better understood by the general public; and the research is to be published in popular science magazines in English and Spanish. Insights from this research may also ultimately inform the creation of marine protected areas and better fishing regulations. Understanding the patterns and causes of marine larval dispersal is central to understanding marine metapopulation dynamics. In recent years, great advances have been made in measuring larval dispersal, using genotyping and parentage analysis to document self-recruitment and export and provide quantitative estimates of dispersal kernels. This prior work revealed that there is substantial intraspecific variation in larval dispersal distances. One of the most plausible explanations -- the testing of which is the focus of this project - is that there is plasticity in larval dispersal traits and distances in response to variation in the quality of parental environments. The investigators are integrating laboratory experiments, field experiments, and theoretical modeling and using the clownfish (Amphiprion percula) as a model system. First, the hypothesis that parents in high- and low-quality environments will produce larvae that differ in morphology, behavior, physiology, and gene expression is being tested. Second, the hypothesis that parents in high- and low-quality environments will produce larvae that differ in their dispersal distance distributions is being tested. Third, the generality of the results and their broader implications is being investigated using theoretical modeling to evaluate the evolutionary causes and ecological consequences of dispersal plasticity. 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

Gas hydrate is an ice-like substance that contains mostly water and methane gas, requiring moderate pressure and low temperature to form and is often found in deep-water sediments and polar regions. Following depressurization or increasing temperature, hydrates melt into water and methane, which can lead to ocean acidification and the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Polar hydrates are particularly unstable after ice-sheet retreat due to increased temperature and loss of pressure from the ice overburden. New heat flow and sediment core data from the Ross Sea, Antarctica collected during an RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer research cruise tentatively scheduled for February-April 2025 will provide the basis for future ice sheet and hydrate modeling to investigate the mechanisms that control the rate at which the hydrate stability zone has adjusted to the retreat of the Antarctic Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum. Results will provide information on the amount of methane released in the past and potentially into the future, a significant contribution towards broader international initiatives to investigate carbon fluxes in Antarctica. This project will collect key datasets for investigating potential instabilities of the Ross Sea gas hydrate system. Warming, uplift, and depressurization from post-glacial rebound are predicted to lead to hydrate destabilization in polar regions, making these hydrates particularly vulnerable to change. Bottom simulating reflections (BSRs) in seismic data, marking the base of hydrate stability, can be used to constrain sub-seafloor temperatures. In the Ross Sea, in an area near the Terror Rift, there is a significant discrepancy between BSR-derived temperatures and those from seafloor heat probes from the 1980s, indicating the hydrate system may be out of equilibrium and still be adjusting following ice-sheet retreat. Alternatively, vertical migration of deep-sourced thermogenic natural gas may result in a more stable hydrate than one formed from pure microbially formed methane. This project will collect key observations that will aid in distinguishing between these mechanisms. Heat flow data, collected along geochemical coring transects and co-located with seismic data will provide necessary constraints to discern between BSR- and seafloor-derived temperatures. Additional sediment cores will be collected to determine the timing and rate of past ice-sheet retreat. These data form the basis for reconstructing the evolution of the Ross Sea gas hydrate system from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present, providing constraints on methane flux from dissociating hydrate in the past and therefore informing the future. The project will also offer undergraduate and graduate students hands-on experience in marine heat flow studies, and, more broadly, Antarctic science. 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

Concrete is responsible for over 7 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions. Because of these devastating environmental impacts, it is critical to develop alternative, eco-friendly solutions for concrete. This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) award supports the development of a novel Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) that addresses environmental sustainability and volume instability issues in traditional UHPC. The innovative UHPC involves replacing carcinogenic quartz materials with waste mine tailings and incorporating a green ternary binder system composed of low-carbon super-sulfated cement, silica fume, and magnesium oxides. This research aims to reduce the carbon footprint and production costs of UHPC while promoting waste material utilization, contributing to a circular economy and national prosperity. Enhanced volume stability and mechanical performance will improve infrastructure resilience, particularly in regions prone to natural disasters and climate change. Furthermore, this research provides valuable cross-disciplinary training in concrete sustainability and material synthesis and characterization for both graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, a Minority and Hispanic-Serving Institution. Researchers will also engage with outreach programs to recruit talented K-12 students and women to participate in STEM fields. The goal of this research is to investigate how the integration of different particle size distributions of waste granular mine tailings and a ternary binder system alters the synthesis, physicochemical, and mechanical properties of UHPC across multiple scales. To accomplish this goal, the researchers will conduct three main tasks: (i) Optimize the volume fractions and particle distribution of magnesium iron silicate waste mine tailings using a packing model to minimize physical interlocking and discontinuities, thus enhancing mechanical properties; (ii) Unveil the hydration mechanisms of the combined binder system and assess how silica fume acts as a catalyst for the formation of Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (C-S-H) and Calcium-Aluminum-Silicate-Hydrate (C-(A)-S-H), and how magnesium oxide contributes to the creation of Magnesium Silicate Hydrate (M-S-H), thereby densifying the microstructure and enhancing cohesion, friction, and fracture properties; and (iii) develop statistical models that understand the trade-offs between properties such as mechanical performance and volume stability, and mix design parameters and their interactions, enabling new predictive capabilities. This project will lead to the development of a sustainable and resilient UHPC for infrastructure applications. 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

Reactive nitrogen plays a pivotal role in understanding the origins of life and assessing the potential for life on other planets. Decades of research have been dedicated to unraveling the mysteries surrounding reactive nitrogen's origins and the magnitudes of its sources on early Earth. This research aims to provide evidence of the significance of hydrothermal air-water ammonia flux and characterize the chemical signatures of this process expected to appear in the rock record. Through field and laboratory experiences, the research has a broader aim of enhancing capacity and instigating transformative experiences for students and principal investigators at a Research-2 Minority Serving Institution. A key focus is to address the scarcity of hands-on research experiences available to these populations. In contrast to contemporary environments where nitrate is a primary reactive nitrogen species, the reducing conditions of early Earth were characterized by the dominance of ammonia/ammonium (NH3/NH4+). Numerous hypotheses have been proposed regarding the abiotic production of ammonia. However, investigations into the potential magnitude of these abiotic mechanisms suggest their insufficiency to sustain the Archean biosphere, thereby implicating an early biotic source. Whether sourced abiotically or biotically, a continuous flux of reactive nitrogen to early habitats would have been indispensable for the origin and proliferation of life. Recent modeling efforts have suggested ammonia flux from hydrothermal features (e.g., hot springs) may have been a primary source of reactive nitrogen to the early Earth. This conceptual validation underscores the necessity for direct measurements to validate modeled ammonia flux accuracy. This research will quantify ammonia flux from hot springs, alkaline lakes, and fumaroles and determine the nitrogen isotopic composition (delta-15N) of ammonium (NH4+) and total nitrogen (N) in water and sediment sampled from these features along with the delta-15N of ammonia (NH3) in the associated atmosphere and fumaroles. This will be accomplished through developing direct and indirect NH3 flux measurement methods to sample hot springs in Yellowstone National Park and alkaline lakes in California. Flux measurements will be scaled to determine the portion of early Earth that would need to be covered by these features to produce significant NH3 flux. Nitrogen isotopic composition results from water, sediment and sediment samples will provide a foundation for exploring the existence of NH3 flux mechanisms vs. other abiotic and biotic processes documented in the delta-15N rock record and will help unravel the development of Earth’s biogeochemical N cycle. This exploration not only enhances our comprehension of terrestrial processes but also extends its reach to potential biosignatures on extraterrestrial bodies. 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 · 2024-07

Over a century ago, the Research Vessel Albatross collected fishes from the Philippines, now stored at the Smithsonian Institution. The archive provides the potential for rare insights into how fish have evolved in response to fishing, habitat loss, and other challenges. The research will compare historical and modern fish and will focus on blue sprat, a small coastal species important for food. The research findings can help understand adaptation across many species facing similar challenges. The project will also support paid research internships for students with limited access to careers in science. The project will host workshops to build international exchange with the Philippines. Finally, this research can inform fisheries by identifying fishing zones and where seafood was caught. This project will help to understand the architecture and genomic origins of rapid adaptation, in part by testing the hypothesis that local adaptation provides the raw material for rapid evolution through time. Species objectives include to 1) assemble and annotate high-quality genomes to understand genetic architecture in blue sprat (Spratelloides delicatulus); 2) resequence the genomes of ~1000 individuals across at least five sites in historical and modern eras to identify loci targeted by spatially divergent or temporal selection, and 3) measure morphology and growth to test for the functional importance of genomic variation. The project will focus on historical (1907-1909) samples held by the Smithsonian Institution and modern samples collected in collaboration with Silliman University. The ethanol preservation by the R/V Albatross is a unique scientific accident that provides excellent DNA preservation over the last century. 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.