Elizabeth Capaldi - US grants

The long term aim of the project is to understand how motivation affects what is learned, particularly what is learned about rewards. The work proposed concerns conditioned flavor preferences based on positive outcomes. We aim to understand how hunger affects the learning and performance of conditioned flavor preferences based on taste and on calories, how contrast effects enter into conditioned flavor preference learning, what factors determine learning over a delay in this situation, and how different aspects of the reinforcer may be associated differently with flavors, depending on hunger and on previous learning. The research will potentially produce methods for conditioning preferences for low calorie nutritious foods, which would be of importance in treating obesity and possibly other feeding disorders. The work is also relevant for learning theory generally and for understanding normal feeding.

NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY Capaldi, IBN 94-19986, Stimulus selection effects in conditioned preferences and aversions Many organisms, including humans, have strong food preferences and aversions which are important influences on diet. Most of these preferences and aversions are learned. The mechanisms involved in this learning are quite complex, involving both the sensory qualities (taste and odor) and the dietary value of the food. For example, rats can learn to prefer an arbitrary flavor (such as unsweetened cinnamon) if it is associated with a food that has either calories or a good taste (such as sugar). Previous work has suggested that tastes are more easily learned as the basis for aversions while odors are more easily the basis for learned preferences. Capaldi will carry out a series of experiments which will investigate the relationships between preferences and aversions on the one hand and odor and taste on the other in an attempt to determine why this might be the case. The results will reveal new information about learned food preferences and aversions, with important implications for both general learning theory and the understanding of the origins of human food choice.

Behavioral development occurs in many species of invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans. As individuals age and pass through different stages of their lives, their behavior changes, often in predictable ways. Often an individual's behavior increases in complexity and is influenced by learning and memory. A major challenge in biology is to understand how genetic and environmental factors act on the brain to regulate the development of behavior. The goal of this project is to study the structural plasticity of the brain and to understand how endocrine-mediated behavioral development affects the use of memory. Although insects are not usually thought of as representative species for understanding complex behaviors, the honey bee in an excellent model with which to study behavioral development. Bees have a relatively simple nervous system that underlies a rich behavioral repertoire; bees exhibit division of labor within the colony and extensively use memory during orientation and foraging. The bee will thus be used to couple established techniques in neuroscience, endocrinology, and behavior in an effort to understand the factors that transform a naive bee into an experienced one. The first line of study will examine the ontogeny of orientation flights in honey bees. These flights occur prior to the initiation of foraging and allow the bee to learn visual aspects of the environment for use during foraging. The second line of study will determine if orientation behavior is dependent upon exposure to juvenile hormone, an insect hormone known to control development. The third line of inquiry will determine if the transition to orientation and foraging is dependent upon the neuropils of the mushroom bodies. The principle significance of this research is that it will advance our knowledge of how the developing brain acquires and stores visual memories.

HRD-9817676

This Minority Graduate Education proposal is a collaborative project between the University of Florida and Florida A&M University to develop a comprehensive professional development program to identify and nurture "at promise" minority students who have the ability and interest to pursue an academic career in science and engineering. It incorporates current understanding of the obstacles faced by students who chose to enter his career track.

The objectives if the program are:
1. Increase the pool of minority undergraduate students who are prepared and choose to pursue a doctoral career in science and engineering (S&E)
2. Increase the number of minority doctoral students who are prepared and choose to pursue an academic career as faculty members
3. Provide financial support for minority students who choose this career path
4. Provide affective support to facilitate the successful completion of doctoral degrees by these students
5. Diversify the S&E graduate population at UF
6. Increase the number of minority S&E faculty members

Strategies to accomplish this include recruitment, mentoring, academic preparedness and professional development components. These strategies will be model for other institutions across the country truly committed to increasing the pool of talented minority faculty in science and engineering.

0132204
Daniel

Funds from this grant will support the acquisition of a state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an environmental cell which allows for imaging of hydrated samples at variable pressures. The so-called environmental SEM (ESEM) will also be configured with an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) to allow for quantitative compositional analysis of samples. The ESEM facility at Bucknell will support the research programs of faculty members Chris Daniel (metamorphic petrology/structural geology), Beth Capaldi (entomology), Carl Kirby (environmental geochemistry) and Margot Vigeant (Chemical Engineering) and their students at this liberal arts institution. Specific research thrusts include investigations of the Proterozoic tectonic history of the southwestern U.S. based on SEM and EMP analyses of metamorphic phases to elucidate their P-T history and patterns of chemical zoning, investigations of bacterial interactions with solid iron phases found in rocks exposed to acid mine drainage, studies of biofilms on medical devices and industrial piping and structural studies of live pollen-insect interactions to elucidate insect sensory structures and mechanisms.
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Arizona State University's (ASU) Innovation through Institutional Integration (I-3): The Modeling Institute integrates the efforts of its most successful NSF-sponsored initiatives in STEM teacher education and more: Modeling Physics (numerous NSF programs); Project Pathways (MSP); Professional Learning Community Resources (TPC); Project Learning through Engineering Design and Prime the Pipeline Project (ITEST); Ask-a-Biologist (NSDL); SMALLab (CISE & IGERT); Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER); and MARS (NASA). The I-3 Modeling Institute focuses on the integrative theme of critical educational junctures at the middle grades level. The result of this I-3 effort is intended to be the production of 200 middle grades teachers with STEM endorsements through a program of study that integrates modeling as the core construct; development of ten STEM sustainability-themed master's level courses; persistence of these STEM teachers as professionals through the establishment of Scientific Villages (professional learning communities); STEM-net (a Phoenix area STEM teacher professional development network) and Ask-A-Scientist resources (a web-based portal for on-demand learning); and College For Kids (a summer camp for middle school students and practicum for nascent STEM middle grades teachers).

The I-3 Modeling Institute draws upon ASU's seminal work in modeling and employs it as the integrative construct, connecting mathematics and scientific content through meaningful activity. The I-3 Modeling Institute's theory of action emanates from research studies that show the capacity to create models of scientific phenomena and to test those models is dependent on the development of mathematical ways of thinking about the phenomena, including the ability to make sense of patterns in data. Moreover, studies of student learning demonstrate that context is critical for coming to understand mathematical concepts and skills. This project incorporates cutting-edge research-based instructional and assessment methods, centered on Modeling Instruction in a sustainability context.

Innovative aspects of the I-3 Modeling Institute include: recruiting and preparing a large number of in-service elementary teachers to become middle grades STEM teachers; infusing the modeling construct into a master's level STEM education program; integrating sustainability science as a problem-solving context in the science and mathematics courses; and coordinating across STEM departments, resulting in powerful linkages to research scientists as part of the STEM education learning community. The I-3 Modeling Institute supports the career trajectory of elementary school teachers towards a disciplinary specialization that enables them to enrich the educational experiences of middle school students. The I-3 Modeling Institute focuses on improving the learning of middle grades students, themselves. Research indicates that middle school is where interest in mathematics and science begins to wane, along with test scores and STEM career aspirations. I-3 Modeling Institute graduates are equipped with a toolbox of knowledge and skills to engage students in dynamic mathematics and science learning.

The I-3 Modeling Institute, developed in partnership with two of the fastest growing school districts in Arizona, leverages the most successful aspects of each of the programs to be integrated in order to generate an enduring STEM certification and professional development program for elementary school teachers to become middle school science and mathematics teachers in urban Phoenix and rural Maricopa county schools. Ultimately, the partnership upon which this program rests is the nucleus for a vibrant STEM education community supporting ongoing professional development and collaborations among university researchers and secondary STEM educators.