Elizabeth Brunt, M.D., professor of pathology and immunology, has received a five-year, $329,257 subcontract from Saint Louis University and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for research titled “The Saint Louis University Component of the NASH Clinical Research Network.” …
Francesc Ferrer, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, has received a three-year, $120,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Research in Cosmic Rays, Magnetic Fields and the Nature of Dark Matter.” …
First-year students Nate Hausfater, Jereme Kramer, Zach Levinson, Varun Manohara, Andrew Wiens and Mark Wilensky are graduates of the 2008 Students and Teachers as Research Scientist (STARS) Program, sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. For their work, Levinson and Weins received the LMI Aerospace/D3 Technologies Award for Excellence in Research. Washington University faculty members serve as mentors to the STARS program, which introduces high-school juniors and seniors to the various aspects of the scientific enterprise as practiced by scientists in academic, private or corporate research institutions. …
Sophia E. Hayes, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, has received a three-year, $375,539 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “MRI: Development of Combined Optically-pumped and Optically-detected NMR of Bulk and Nanostructured Semiconductors.” This grant is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. …
Mark J. Miller, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and immunology, has received a five-year, $1,900,000 grant from the Nat-ional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research titled “Bacterial Capture and Antigen Presentation in Spleen.” …
Juan B. Pena, Ph.D., assistant professor of social work, has received a two-year, $152,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for research titled “Suicidal Behaviors Among Dominican Youth.” …
Gang Shen, Ph.D. postdoctoral research associate in chemistry in Arts & Sciences, has received a three-year, $342,000 grant from the United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity for research titled “Development of Lipid and Nanoparticle-Based Anti-sense Breast Cancer Imaging Agents.” …
Philip Skemer, Ph.D., assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, has received a four-year, $285,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Deformation and Micro-structural Evolution of Harz-burgite.” This grant is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. …
William D. Smart, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science and engineering, has received a three-year, $487,209 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “HCC: Small: A Physical Vocabulary for Human-Robot Interaction.” …
Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, Ph.D., professor of chemical engineering, has received a three-year, $174,992 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Towards a Molecular-Scale Understanding of Flow-Induced Gelation in Rodlike Micelle Solutions.” …
Xiang Tang, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics in Arts & Sciences, has received a three-year, $109,088 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Noncommutative Geometry: Its Applications to Geometry and Analysis.” …
Douglas A. Wiens, Ph.D., professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, has received a three-year, $249,999 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Polenet East: An International Seismological Network for East Antarctica.” Also receiving the grant was Andrew A. Nyblade, Ph.D., of Pennsylvania State University. This grant is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Speaking of
Cynthia Hudson and Makiba Foster, WUSTL librarians, presented on “Social Media and Collaboration 2.0” at the annual Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA) conference in St. Louis Sept. 13. The ASPA is an association of U.S. agencies that assess the quality of specialized and professional higher education programs and schools. Member organizations include the American Library Association, American Dental Association and American Medical Association. …
Alex MacCurdy, senior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, presented his research on “Vacuum Insulation Systems in Cryogenic Storage Vessels” at the NASA Under-graduate Student Research Program this past summer at John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Working with NASA scientists and engineers, students participating in the program conducted and presented research during the 10-week internship on a select topic. …
Yoram Rudy, Ph.D., the Fred Saigh Distinguished Professor of Engineering, delivered the Tawara Lecture “Cardiac Excitation and Arrhythmia in the Human Heart: Insights from Noninvasive ECG Imaging (ECGI)” at the Inter-national Congress of Physio-logical Sciences in Kyoto, Japan, July 30. During Aug. 2-13, Rudy presented a series of invited lectures in Taiwan at the following universities: National Taiwan University in Taipei, National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Providence University, and National Chung Hsing Universities in Taichung. A National Workshop at National Cheng Kung University Aug. 2 celebrated 18 years to the publication of the Luo-Rudy model of the cardiac cell.