Science Research Roundup: September 2016

Lucia Strader, assistant professor in the Department of Biology, will co-direct the new Science and Technology Center for Engineering MechanoBiology, which will be supported by a $23.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The Washington University team behind the center includes Ram Dixit and Elizabeth Haswell, associate professors of biology, Anders Carlsson, professor of physics, and faculty from the School of Engineering & Applied Science. The center will bring together a consortium of researchers – engineers, biophysicists, and biologists – with the mission of identifying and harnessing the mechanical functions of both plants and animals at the cellular level. "Together we can move forward from individual efforts to understand biomechanics to synergistic efforts, through integrating multiple approaches from each of our fields," said Strader. "I look forward to seeing the advances we can make."

Elizabeth Haswell, associate professor of biology, was named a Faculty Scholar by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), in partnership with the Simons Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The newly created Faculty Scholars Program selects outstanding early-career scientists in basic biological and biomedical research, as well as in chemistry, physics, computer science and engineering disciplines that are related to biology or medicine. Haswell’s award provides $900,000 in support over a five-year period.

Sarah Elgin, the Viktor Hamburger Professor of Arts & Sciences and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor in the Department of Biology, was awarded a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research on "Repeat-Induced Heterochromatin Formation in Drosophila."

Richard Mabbs, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received $440,000 from the National Science Foundation for a three-year study on "Electron-Molecule Temporary States: Vibronic Coupling in Excited Anions."

Henry L. Roediger III, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and an internationally recognized scholar of human memory, has received the the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science. He also received the 2016 Mentor Award from the Association for Psychological Science.

Kater Murch, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, has received $320,000 from the National Science Foundation for a three-year study on "Measurement and Control in Open Quantum Systems."

Rachel D. Roberts, professor in the Department of Mathematics, has received a three-year, $221,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled "Taut Foliations and Contact Topology."

Timothy Wencewicz, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, is a recipient of the inaugural ACS Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Award. The award is given to early-career researchers who have made significant contributions to the field of infectious diseases.

Jeff Gill, professor in the Department of Political Science, was granted $126,000 from the National Science Foundation for a three-year research project titled "Smooth National Measurement of Public Opinion Across Boundaries and Levels: A View From the Bayesian Spatial Approach."

José E. Figueroa-López, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, was awarded a three-year, $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a research project titled "A New Approach Toward Optimal and Adaptive Nonparametric Methods for High-Frequency Data."

Ryan Ogliore, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, has received $100,000 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for a field-emission scanning electron microscope that will be used to analyze samples of comets and asteroids.

Richard D. Vierstra, the George and Charmaine Mallinckrodt Professor in the Department of Biology, received a one-year, $98,000 grant from the Department of Energy to undertake a project titled "Molecular Dissection of the Arabidopsis 26S Proteasome."

Anna Hood, a Chancellors Fellow in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, was granted $87,000 from the National Institutes of Health for a two-year research project titled "Biological Interventions to Improve Cognition in Children with Sickle Cell Disease."

Christine Floss, research professor in the Department of Physics, has been awarded $30,000 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to support a project titled "Characterizing Comet 81P/Wild 2 with Acfer 094 and Tagish Lake Analog Foils."

Crickette Sanz, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, and David Morgan, research associate in the Department of Anthropology, received a $20,000 grant from the Columbus Zoological Park Association to undertake research titled "Goualougo Triangle Ape Project: Developing Conservation Policies and Local Leadership to Ensure the Long-Term Survival of Chimpanzees and Gorillas in the Congo Basin."

Marina Gross, a University Fellow in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, received a $1,000 grant from the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students for research on using pupillometry to separate attention from effort and study the influence of time pressure.

Liviu Mirica, professor in the Department of Chemistry, has won the American Chemical Society’s 2016 Saint Louis Award, presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the profession of chemistry and demonstrated the potential to further advance the profession.

See something we missed? Let us know.

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Crystal Gammon, grants and science writer in Arts & Sciences.

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