2004 — 2007 |
O'day, Peggy Traina, Samuel Leppert, Valerie |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope For Environmental, Biological, and Materials Research and Education At Uc Merced @ University of California - Merced
0420982 O'Day
This award will fund the acquisition of a variable-pressure scanning electron microscope (SEM) for our new Imaging and Microscopy Facility (IMF) at the University of California, Merced (UCM), the tenth campus of the UC system and the first new UC campus in nearly 35 years. The academic program at UCM emphasizes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary training in the thematic areas of environmental science and engineering, materials science and engineering, and quantitative and systems biology. Scanning electron microscopy serves as a basic research tool for the characterization of solids in a wide variety of studies in environmental, materials, and biological sciences. A versatile SEM will immediately address the research and education needs of a majority of the science and engineering faculty already on-board at UCM. We anticipate significant growth of our user base over the grant period as UCM opens for students and expands its faculty. We anticipate that this instrumentation will meet basic research and teaching infrastructure needs in microscopy for the next 5-10 years, will assist in recruiting the best new faculty to our university and, because of the visual nature of microscopy, contribute greatly to outreach efforts to K-14 and the community. A mission of UCM is to serve the rapidly growing population of the San Joaquin Valley, which is dominantly Hispanic, has a high immigrant and first-generation population, and is historically underrepresented in higher education. We envision this SEM and the IMF as a nascent centralized user facility that will be a key factor in supporting the teaching and research mission of UCM across science and engineering, and a driver for our growth into a mature research university.
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0.915 |
2004 — 2006 |
Bales, Roger Estrin, Deborah (co-PI) [⬀] Kaiser, William Harmon, Thomas Traina, Samuel |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Cleaner: Planning a Multiscale Sensor Network to Observe, Forecast and Manage @ University of California - Merced
0414300 Harmon This proposal by UC Merced and the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS) at UCLA targets the greater San Joaquin River basin (SJRB) for distributed, networked sensing of watershed quality. Creating a large-scale sensor network that integrates in-situ and remote sensor data with state-of-the-art simulators and adaptive management tools will require interdiscipline collaboration of the highest caliber, and will result in an observational network that reveals previously unobservable phenomena. The sensor network will serve as a model for elucidating trends and differentiating between cyclical and episodic trend drivers, including interannual and spatially distributed variations in water cycle components from changes created by global warming and intermittent events, such as brush fires, droughts, and El Nino episodes.
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0.915 |
2004 — 2007 |
Traina, Samuel |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Proposal: Probing the Reductive Potential of Wetland Sediments and Pore Waters @ University of California - Merced
Traina 0337339
Freshwater wetland sediments are complex biogeochemical systems, which contain a host of natural reductants formed from microbial activity. These natural reductants such as Fe(II) in various forms and natural organic matter (NOM) may be capable of being involved in a number of environmental and biogeochemical reactions. Moreover, many wetlands are capable of removing organic pollutants from surface runoff by sedimentation. To date the fate of many of these contaminants are assumed to be recalcitrant or undergo transformation through microbial processes. Because of the variety and abundance of natural reductants present in sediments and their porewaters many of these pollutants may react through abiotic pathways. We hypothesize that two different groups of environmental "reagents" in wetland sedimentary environments may be particularly potent in promoting the transformation of organic compounds susceptible to reductive processes. These include (1) Fe(II) species that have recently been proven highly reactive reductants of nitroaromatic and azo compounds (particularly when adsorbed to Fe(III) oxides), and (2) natural organic matter that is capable of acting as reductants by themselves or synergistically with Fe(II).
We propose to probe the reductive potential of wetland sediments and porewaters through a multifaceted investigation using nitroaromatic and azo compounds that span a range of physicochemical properties (from polarity to reactivity). The rates at which well-defined adsorbed Fe(II) and NOM isolated from porewaters will react with representative groups of our probes will be determined in well-controlled batch experiments. Relevant parameters will be systematically varied to aid in the identification of the reactive species and to facilitate understanding kinetic processes and reaction pathways. Careful attention will be paid to identifying reaction products. Further experiments will be conducted in real systems with porewaters and sediments isolated anoxically from a site in Ohio (Old Woman Creek: a NOAA site) and in Georgia (Bishop Pond: a USDA site). We will conduct probe reactivity studies in both native porewaters and sediment slurries. To elucidate between sediment/surface driven processes as oppose to reactions in the solution phase, we will use azo-probes covalently bonded to Sepharose beads. These bonded probes will be separated from particle phases by dialysis membranes. Finally, we will investigate these processes in situ at both sites using the azo probes. In order to differentiate between porewater driven processes to those catalyzed by the sediments, the azo probes will be buried in the sediments using a "peeper" that will prevent direct contact with any solid phases. Parallel experiments using buried "peepers" containing sediments will be conducted to determine the overall rate of reduction.
The results of these investigations will provide information useful in assessing the reductive potential of wetland sediments to abiotically transform those organic compounds susceptible to reduction that are of environmental interest. These studies will improve our understanding of biogeochemical redox processes in wetland sediments. Finally, we have included a comprehensive outreach plan where middle school students from diverse backgrounds will be actively involved in the proposed research project.
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0.915 |
2005 — 2010 |
Bales, Roger O'day, Peggy Harmon, Thomas Traina, Samuel Conklin, Martha (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Technician Support: Phase I: a Multi-Purpose Environmental Analytical Laboratory At Uc Merced @ University of California - Merced
EAR-0518860 Traina
Phase I Technician Support will provide partial salary support for the laboratory manager of the Environmental Analytical Laboratory (EAL) at the University of California, Merced (UCM), the tenth campus of the UC system and the first new UC campus in nearly 35 years. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary environmental and biological research is the core of the first research, graduate, and undergraduate programs at UCM, with a majority of initial science and engineering faculty working in a variety of environmental and biological research areas. The EAL lab manager will oversee the operations of this campus analytical facility in support of interdisciplinary environmental research among a diverse group of faculty and research scientists. The laboratory will support the training of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral scientists in modern analytical methods. The laboratory manager will also collaborate with faculty on research projects, work with faculty to incorporate instrument use into classes and outreach activities, and contribute to the development of novel analytical methods. Currently NSF-funded research topics at UCM that will utilize EAL include investigations on abiotic transformations of pesticides, chemical analyses of Greenland ice cores, hydrologic investigations within the GLOBE program, environmental sensor networks, and biogeochemical transformations of arsenic.
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0.915 |
2006 — 2008 |
Viney, Christopher (co-PI) [⬀] O'day, Peggy Traina, Samuel Leppert, Valerie |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Acquisition of a Powder X-Ray Diffractometer For Environmental and Materials Research At Uc Merced @ University of California - Merced
The acquisition of a powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD) system serves a variety of research and teaching needs at UC Merced, the new 10th campus in the UC system, which officially opened its doors for undergraduate and graduate students in Fall 2005. Powder XRD is an essential tool for ongoing environmental and materials research, and a critical instrument for the expansion of our interdisciplinary materials science and engineering and chemical sciences programs. We are purchasing a basic, high quality instrument with automated capabilities that can be easily reconfigured for different applications to serve a range of users and research demands. Features of the instrument include a solid-state X-ray generator with Cu X-ray tube, theta-theta goniometer (for a stationary sample, moving source and detector), fast solid-state detector with low background, and a temperature-controlled, inert gas sample chamber attachment (-193 C to +450 C) for air-sensitive samples and investigation of temperature-dependent phase changes. The XRD instrumentation will be openly available to users as part of our existing Imaging and Microscopy Facility, the first centralized campus recharge facility, and supported by a full-time laboratory manager who will be responsible for instrument oversight and user training. It will support faculty, graduate, and undergraduate research, and it will be used in courses such as environmental chemistry, instrumental/analytical methods, soil chemistry, materials science, and materials engineering. Current and planned research that will be supported at UC Merced includes: the chemistry and mobility of contaminants in the environment; environmental chemistry and mineralogy of geoparticles in soils, sedimentary environments, and engineered systems; atmospheric and environmental agglomerates and nanoparticles; properties of natural biomaterials; synthesis, characterization, structure, and properties of semiconductor nanoparticles. Main applications include qualitative and quantitative phase identification, amorphous/crystalline characterization, polymorph discrimination, impurity analysis, and temperature- and atmosphere-dependent phase transformation studies. The instrumentation will have a broad impact in contributing to UC Merced's mission to serve the rapidly growing population of the southern Central Valley of California, which is dominantly Hispanic, has a high immigrant and first-generation population, and is historically underrepresented in higher education.
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0.915 |
2007 — 2011 |
Traina, Samuel Dayrat, Benoit |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Reu Site: Summer Yosemite Research Training in Environmental Science @ University of California - Merced
Abstract
The Summer Yosemite Research Training in Environmental Science program offers undergraduate students a unique opportunity to actively experience field research in environmental science in a premier National Park, over a nine-week period in the summer. This REU is a collaboration between three institutions (the University of California at Merced, Yosemite National Park, and the USGS Western Ecological Research Center), and students interact with professionals engaged in multiple park-related activities, from research to management. Student activities mainly consist of individual research projects, spanning a broad range of disciplines such as Ecology, Geosciences, Biodiversity, Conservation, Restoration, Hydrology, and Engineering. Research training is provided by mentors from UC Merced (Schools of Natural Sciences, Engineering, and Social Sciences) and the USGS Western Ecological Research Center. Students also participate in a series of field trips and lectures led by teams of researchers and National Park Service staff members, focusing on Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. The Summer Yosemite Research Training in Environmental Science includes several outreach activities, such as a student research poster exhibit in the Park facilities for the general public, and a one-day field trip with high school students from the Central Valley of California (led by REU students at the end of the project). Students are recruited from the University of California at Merced, colleges in the Central Valley, and colleges nationwide. More information is available by contacting Dr. Benoit Dayrat at bdayrat@ucmerced.edu or by visiting http://qsb.ucmerced.edu/faculty/bdayrat/lab/REU.html. .
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0.915 |
2011 — 2016 |
Zatz, Marjorie Traina, Samuel |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Grfp) @ University of California - Merced |
0.915 |
2012 — 2014 |
Traina, Samuel Medina, Monica |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Linking Navigation Behaviors of Coral Larvae to Microbial Cues and Microbe-Mediated Mortality @ University of California - Merced
Many aquatic animals produce larvae that use complex swimming behaviors to locate settlement habitats. Microbes (Bacteria and Archaea) in the water column and on settlement surfaces may provide navigational information for animal larvae, however the role of microbes in each stage of the coral settlement process is not well understood. This project will use larvae from six Caribbean coral species to test a novel hypothesis about coral behavior, that coral larvae use waterborne microbial communities as navigational information and that they avoid adults of the same species. The study will: (1) determine how coral larvae navigate different reef microbial environments by quantifying their swimming behaviors using videoanalysis, (2) characterize microbial communities from part 1 using high-throughput DNA sequencing, (3) test for behavior, survivorship, and settlement effects in larvae exposed to individual bacterial species, and (4) observe whether patterns of coral settlement in the field are consistent with laboratory results.
Intellectual merit: Coral reefs create food, economic revenue, shoreline protection, and cultural pride, yet they are massively threatened by human activity. Meanwhile, coral recruitment rates continue to decline on Caribbean reefs. This project will advance knowledge of: the microbial cues key to successful coral recruitment, the conditions under which coral larvae can identify lower-mortality habitats, and the best approaches for helping threatened corals survive their most crucial life history stage.
Broader impacts: At a research site in Curaçao, we will continue to communicate our findings through the CARMABI Foundation nature education program and through CARMABI's broader outreach channels (news coverage, public lectures). We will continue to communicate with local scuba divers, nature resource managers, and government officials on Curaçao, and broadly through publications, presentations, photography exhibits, blogging, and podcasts. The project will support the training of one female postdoctoral researcher and two students.
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0.915 |