F. Fred Choobineh - US grants

9400146 Choobineh This research will develop a standard methodology for creating effective Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) controllers, using a combination of Fuzzy Logic (FL) and Neural Network (NN) technologies. This combination is known as a Neuro-Fuzzy Logic Controller (NFLC), and holds promise in the control of automated manufacturing systems. To facilitate the development of an NFLC, Generalized Stochastic Petri Nets (GSPNs) will be used. Specifically the GSPN of an FMS will be partitioned into two subnets - one for the physical plant, and one for the controller. The productivity of an FMS is highly dependent upon the effectiveness and efficiency of the controller algorithms employed. Current FMS controllers fall substantially short on these measures.

The Nebraska Research Infrastructure Improvement grant will continue development of the research and education infrastructure in genomics, cell biology, nano-materials science and mobile computing. Infrastructure building will help to create the Metabolite Signaling Center (MSC) that will be used to study molecular response to metabolites using primarily genomic technologies and the Nebraska Center for Cell Biology at Creighton University that will be devoted to studying the dynamic behavior of cells using sophisticated optical imaging instruments.

Planning and development activities will be undertaken in nano-materials science and mobile computing - two state emerging research areas. In nano-materials, the state seeks to coalesce its experience to create a nationally, competitive, multidisciplinary research team in an entirely new class of electronics and sensors. The research area will also complement the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) in Nebraska that focuses on Nanoscale magnetic material research, with a limited device component.

In mobile computing, Nebraska proposes to stimulate economic development by forming partnerships with several local industries and establishing strong educational and research programs in this area. The goal is to develop basic mobile computing infrastructure (hardware, software, and personnel) to increase the competitiveness for federal funding.

Integrative educational and outreach activities for K-12 students and teachers, undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and industry will be supported with funds from this project. Activities will include Young Women in Science conferences, Young Nebraska Scientist (YNS) K-12 Summer Research Experience, Young Nebraska K-12 Classroom Modules, Community and State College outreach, faculty seed funding and fellowships, and university industry R&D support.
Institutions participating in the project include Nebraska's four research universities - University of Nebraska (Lincoln), University of Nebraska (Omaha), Nebraska Medical Sciences Center (NMSC), Creighton University (CU), Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) two private, two public, and two community colleges.

Nebraska EPSCoR research infrastructure improvement project builds on the State's strengths in engineering and biosciences, and establishes a strength-based interdisciplinary Center for Nano-Enhanced Epigenetics Research (NE2R). Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene functions not associated with changes in DNA sequences. The central theme of the Center is to enhance the understanding of how chromatin and its structure influence global gene expression patterns within an organism and whether the process can be influenced directly and in real time.

Three specific "research aims" for the NE2R Center are: (1) Chromatin Expression Networks - investigates the relationship of chromatin modification and remodeling on global gene expression patterns in plants and animals. This research focuses on how entire complexes of genes can be co-regulated in a coordinated manner. The intent is to improve understanding of how an organism develops when entire repertoires of genes must be coordinated, and what happens when an organism faces a pathogen attack or environmental stress. (2) Chromatin Structural Analysis - focuses on understanding structural features of chromatin and its associated proteins. This research explores how chromatin organization changes during the aging process, particularly in mammals. (3) Targeted Intra-Cellular Chromatin Manipulation - focuses on learning about physical properties of the plant cell wall, developing nano-devices for intracellular delivery, and testing experimental approaches of intracellular delivery in both animal and plant systems. This research investigates the feasibility of using emerging nanotechnology to facilitate cell biology studies for delivery of biomolecules into live cells. The NE2R Center integrates research efforts of plant and animal biologists, computational biologists, and engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Creighton University. The research is expected to lead to new insights into biological processes, understanding the recovery of regenerable cells and development of novel techniques and devices.

The broader impacts of the Nebraska EPSCoR plan are extensive. The Center adds significant value to recent State and private sector investments in a growing biosciences sector, generating opportunities for scientific breakthroughs impacting agriculture, medicine and technology. The NE RII project also has a significant impact in fostering strong multi-institutional and interdisciplinary collaborations among participating universities and with private industry.

Statewide Broadening Participation Alliance (BPA) programs develop the next generation of STEM professionals by engaging students of all ages in life science, bioengineering and other STEM-related activities. Undergraduate and graduate research opportunities are well integrated into the research plan. A number of activities (Young Nebraska Scientist Initiative, Minority Opportunity Portfolio programs) specifically focus on increasing participation of members of underrepresented groups. The Faculty Development of Tribal Colleges program provides research opportunities to faculty at these institutions; additional programs afford similar opportunities to faculty at small, regional colleges and universities. A bioscience curriculum is being developed at Little Priest Tribal College for possible use by other Tribal Colleges. Outreach to rural middle and high school teachers and students enhance their bioscience understanding and provide opportunities for hands-on laboratory experiences in schools and at the universities.

Proposal Number: EPS -1010674
Institution: University of Nebraska
Linked to: EPS-1010094
Institution: University of Puerto Rico
Proposal Title: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure-enabled
Computational Nanoscience for Energy Technologies

This EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-2 award builds a consortium of five universities and two computing centers in Nebraska (NE) and Puerto Rico (PR) for collaborative leadership in nanoscience for energy technologies. This consortium brings together the expertise and resources of both the jurisdictions to build a critical mass of computational materials scientists. The project will develop an adaptive cyberinfrastructure that provides access to local and national computing resources and provide research based education for postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students in computational nanoscience. The consortium will enable new collaborative cutting-edge research in energy technologies, expand opportunities for research in four-year colleges, and increase the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields in both NE and PR.

Intellectual Merit
The research is focused on exploring new functional properties of novel nanomaterials for energy efficient electronics and the development of nanocatalysts for energy applications. Predictive computational modeling efforts will provide routes for testing new ideas and guidance for optimized physical experimentation. The consortium members will work collaboratively in a modern computational environment linked with national resources such as the Open Science Grid and TeraGrid. Computational materials researchers and software developers in NE and PR will collaborate to create an Open Source Code Library (OSCL) of electronic structure and quantum chemistry codes and facilitate the design of new materials and nanostructures for efficient energy applications.

Broader Impacts
The NE-PR consortium will expand and enhance the computational capabilities, networking possibilities for research and educational activities at the universities of NE and PR. The OSCL will serve as a repository of nanoscience codes which will benefit the computational nanoscience community. Overall, the consortium will bring together human resources and facilities of NE and PR across institutional, geographical and cultural boundaries and enable new collaborative cutting-edge research in energy technologies. This project will train a diverse, well-prepared, and internationally competent STEM workforce necessary to sustain the nation's competitive edge. The participation of Hispanic students in the cyber-workforce will be increased. The project includes a strong dissemination component aimed at engaging low-income, first generation pre-college students and teachers at underserved school districts, as well as raising the awareness of the general public about nanoscience.

Nebraska 2010-12 RII Track C2

Proposal Number: EPS-1006988
Institution: University of Nebraska
Project Director: F. Fred Choobineh

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

Nebraska plans to invest in the foundation for a statewide cyber backbone for high speed data and video transfer that will be created by expansion of the Nebraska University Regional Optical Network (NURON), a fiber ring between Lincoln and Omaha with connectivity to Internet 2 through Kansas City. The project?s lead institutions are: the University of Nebraska (NU) Central Administration, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). Institutions located in 29 Nebraska communities will participate in the project.

Expansion of NURON is planned to be completed in three phases; however, the goal of this project is to invest in the first phase of the three phases required to build the network. In phase 1, 21 institutions (29 sites) of higher learning across the state, ranging from community colleges to research universities, would be connected. NURON will have seven primary sites (hubs), connected by fiber loops, that would serve as access points for secondary sites. Secondary sites would be connected to the hubs in star configuration. These hubs would be used to connect to Network Nebraska-Education which already has begun providing regionally unified technology for distance delivery of educational content including formal K-12 courses and to the Nebraska State Telehealth Network which currently links 83 state healthcare providers.

Intellectual Merit
Expansion and enhancement of NURON is expected to provide Nebraska with cyber-infrastructure (CI) resources to connect the state?s Education and Telehealth Networks to higher education?thus providing new education, healthcare, and research opportunities to citizens of the state?and to connect these networks to national cyber networks providing access to supercomputing computing and other resources around the state, country and the world. This project would facilitate a) collaborative intra- and inter-state research in multiple disciplines by forming research clusters with the required critical mass and b) the creation of distributed sensor networks tied to NURON hubs for collection of real time environmental and climate data to conduct environmental and climate research.
Examples of research and education efforts enabled by this NE RII C2 project include:
(a) The Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at CERN in Switzerland - Five UNL Physics faculty members are participating in this large scale international project at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
(b) Geosciences and climate modeling - UNL researchers are trying to use the Great Plains as a testbed for studying regional climate impacts. They will simulate land surface fluxes of water, carbon, and energy impact atmospheric processes at scales ranging from local weather to global greenhouse effects.
(c) Bioinformatics - Nebraska researchers generate an enormous amount of molecular genomic and proteomic data. The investments of the RII C2 proposal would further enhance the analysis capability of Nebraska?s current (RII 2007-2010) researchers beyond the current grant, and further assist algal researchers who are a part of the RII proposal (RII 2010-2015).
(d) Computational Nanoscience - Five UNL and two UNO faculty members collaboratively have been working in the area of computational nanomaterials. Examples of their notable discoveries include the discovery of a new form of water, prediction and understanding of electron tunneling through ultra-thin ferroelectrics, discovery of the first metallic nanocluster - hollow gold nanocages, and many others. This area is the focus of the Nebraska - Puerto Rico RII Track-2 proposal.

Broader Impacts
The creation of a state cyber backbone will remove distance as a barrier to sharing and collaboration and would a) facilitate expansion and accessibility of online courses and provide an impetus for establishing formal policies among state colleges and universities for acceptance of online credits hours by non-originating institutions; b) provide a statewide reliable network with higher speed and bandwidth to deliver K-12 course content to disadvantaged students and, in turn, level the playing field for the rural students with respect to their metropolitan counterparts; c) permit sharing of medical expertise across Nebraska; d) permit creation of a reliable monitoring network for security enhancement; and e) connect University of Nebraska research and extension sites dispersed throughout the state.

Proposal Number: EPS-1004094

Proposal Title: Nebraska 2010-15 RII Project: Nanohybrid Materials & Algal Biology

Institution: University of Nebraska

This project invests in two independent research areas of local and national importance by capitalizing on Nebraska's core strengths in nanomaterials and algal biology. It proposes to establish two interdisciplinary research centers of excellence: the Center for Nanohybrid Functional Materials and the Nebraska Center for Algal Biology and Biotechnology. These centers are expected to assemble the expertise of 29 faculty members from seven disciplines to collaboratively address important fundamental science questions that also align with state and NSF priorities in nanoscience and energy. The project?s participating institutions are: the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton University, Doane College, University of Nebraska at Kearney, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Little Priest Tribal College, and Nebraska Indian Community College.

Intellectual Merit
The Nanohybrid Center proposes to pursue new sensing principles for nanohybrid materials that combine molecular scale recognition elements (such as DNA, dyes, or aptamers) with scaffolds composed of 3D ordered nanostructures. The new hybrid materials are anticipated to have unique chemical and physical properties. These novel features may offer yet unglimpsed potential for applications in health diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and domestic security. Algae have tremendous potential for providing large quantities of lipid-based biofuels on land unusable for production of food crops. The commercial use of algae for biofuels has yet to be realized because of the limited knowledge of the genetic and biochemical factors that regulate the growth of algae and their ability to accumulate lipids. The Algal Center would address this barrier by conducting basic research on the biology and metabolism of algae. Algae available today exhibit only a small portion of the genetic potential that lies within their genomes, and knowledge of fundamental algal biology is woefully limited.

Broader Impacts
By providing collaborative opportunities for scientists, engineers, and private industry partners, this project proposes to dramatically advance the knowledge base in the areas of nanohybrid materials and algal biology and biotechnology. The proposed research in these fields holds great potential for the development of applications in health diagnostics, environmental monitoring, domestic security, and renewable and ecologically friendly energy production. The project would: 1) develop public-private collaborations through the University-Industry R&D Partnership Program, culminating in Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants; 2) promote technology transfer through the Nebraska Engineering, Science, and Technology Internship Program; and 3) form project-focused relationships with local and national technology companies. This project also would develop a pipeline of future scientists across Nebraska and enhance participation of individuals from under-represented groups in the bioscience, engineering, and other STEM fields through the Underrepresented Opportunity Portfolio. Research findings would be disseminated through conferences, presentations, interactive Web sites, and NE EPSCoR outreach programs.

Non-technical Description
The atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) research groups in Nebraska and Kansas will form a collaborative consortium to study and develop ways to control fundamental processes of electron motion in atoms, molecules, and nanostructures that occur at ultrafast (femto (10-15) to atto (10-18) second) time scales. The project will bring together experimental and theoretical physicists, chemists and electrical engineers from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), the Kansas State University (KSU), and the University of Kansas (KU) as well as the facilities for AMO research at the James R. Macdonald Laboratory (JRML) at KSU, Extreme Light Laboratory at UNL, Physics and Chemistry departments at KU, and the computing resources at the partner institutions to explore novel states of matter. The project team plans to engage in synergistic activities to expand and diversify the STEM workforce by engaging students, teachers, and researchers at broad ranging educational levels. Research and educational collaborations among the consortium partners as well as at national and international levels and the preparation of a diverse, globally engaged STEM workforce training are expected to be sustained beyond the award period.

Technical Description
The projects will use femto to atto second pulses of light to trigger different types of reactions in matter and use pump-probe measurements, high harmonic generation, and ultrafast electron diffraction methods to study and image atomic and molecular motions. Detailed experimental and theoretical studies will be carried out to understand the molecular ionization processes caused by the interaction of strong laser fields and molecules. Participating researchers will build an electron spectrometer with angular resolution, improve the accuracy of extracting the molecular structure parameters, and establish an improved ionization theory for polyatomic molecules. Another aspect of the project will focus on experimental and theoretical studies to investigate the interaction of nanostructures to ultrashort pulses of extreme ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Applications such as ultrafast optical free electron beam switches will also be explored. The project will leverage the infrastructure and education, diversity, and outreach programs established by Kansas and Nebraska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to engage and inspire students at all levels. During the three years of this Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 project, the program expects to provide 19 person-years of postdoctoral training and support 48 graduate students, 18 undergraduates and 18 faculty members from two-and four-year colleges, 18 high school students, and 30 high school teachers in research.

Non-technical Description
The Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation (CRRI) promises to break new ground in understanding of how plants interact with their environment via their root systems, with the goal of applying that knowledge to provide society with new technologies for more secure and resilient food systems. The project is built upon an excellent statewide foundation of research facilities and expertise, while also making critical improvements to this research infrastructure. Much of this knowledge will be made publicly available online. The Center will be strongly integrated across many disciplines, involving scientists and engineers with expertise in plant systems, chemical ecology, and microbiology, among others. In parallel with its research agenda, the project will continue several successful programs that provide outreach and workforce development opportunities aimed at improving the accessibility of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education throughout the state.

Technical Description
The CRRI will employ integrated systems and synthetic biology approaches to investigate plant root metabolism and its interdependence on the near-root soil microbial community (i.e., the rhizobiome). The genetic variability of maize lines will be studied in the context of their influence on root exudate production and in turn on the rhizobiome. These results will be used to develop improved models to describe genetic influences on plant systems behavior and to drive the development of new engineered maize lines with improved responses to abiotic stresses. The project will lead to improved understanding of the genetic diversity of plant roots and the rhizobiome. It will also lead to technological advances toward the engineering of agriculturally vital crops.