Grants
NSF Insures a Great Start to Their CAREERs
This article was originally printed in the March 2006 issue of CLASnotes.
Laura Baudis
Ronald Castellano
This summer, deep in an underground laboratory in Italy’s Abbruzzese Mountains, Assistant Physics Professor Laura Baudis will attempt to solve one of the most challenging puzzles in cosmology today.
The National Science Foundation has awarded Baudis a CAREER grant, allowing her to continue her research, which uses liquid xenon to detect non-baryonic dark matter, a material that holds galaxies and clusters together but emits no electromagnetic radiation. According to the very successful concordance model of cosmology, non-baryonic dark matter constitutes 23 percent of the universe, however the composition of dark matter and its distribution in the galaxy remain unclear. Baudis hopes her research will help unveil some of the mysteries of dark matter, leading to a greater understanding of how our galaxy and the larger structures in the universe formed.
Baudis, who joined the physics department in 2004, and is the department’s third female faculty member, never planned to have a career in physics. In high school, she enjoyed literature, math and science classes, but not until she took modern physics in her final year did she realize she wanted to become a physicist. “If I wouldn’t have been forced to take it, I probably wouldn’t have realized how much I liked it, and it’s pretty fun,” she says.
Baudis plans to use part of her CAREER grant to help continue her mentoring program for female physics students. The program pairs a graduate student mentor with an undergraduate student, aiming to increase the number of women who obtain advanced degrees in physics, and also invites guest speakers to talk to the students about the challenges facing women in the field of science. She says these role models are important because they show female students it is possible for them to have successful, rewarding careers in science.
The NSF also awarded a CAREER grant to Assistant Chemistry Professor Ronald Castellano, who came to UF in 2002 after receiving his PhD in chemistry from MIT and training as a postdoctoral fellow at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland. Castellano’s research focuses on self-assembly, which is the spontaneous association of molecules into larger aggregates.
In nature, multiple copies of a monomer or functional unit come together to create a new entity with properties and functions distinct from those of the monomers that formed it. Castellano and his team of students will use self-assembly as a tool to create new devices and materials, focusing on sigma-coupled donor-acceptor molecules as the aggregating species. Until recently, such systems have been studied only at the molecular level.
“The more we learn about how nature creates large complex machinery from relatively small building blocks, the better we can understand biological function, design new therapeutics to interfere with biological function (drugs), and apply related strategies to other problems and disciplines in science,” Castellano says. “Our ability to exercise control in how small molecules organize in solution and on surfaces has a dramatic consequence on their properties. The more strategies at our disposal to control such behavior, the better.”
Castellano’s CAREER grant integrates an outreach project called Partnerships in the Chemical and Materials Sciences (PITCAMS), which aims to enhance chemical and material science knowledge of local 8–12th grade science teachers through workshops and symposia. Castellano, who will dedicate about $40,000 to PITCAMS, was thrilled to receive financial support for his research, but he finds NSF’s willingness to also invest in research and education endeavors an equally exciting aspect of receiving the CAREER award.
“It will become increasingly important that our profession, academia at large research institutions, acknowledges the educational role that faculty play,” Castellano says. “From undergraduate and graduate mentoring to outreach and innovative instructional activities, our most vital role is in education and mentoring.”
The NSF’s most prestigious award program for junior faculty, the CAREER program, receives about 2,500 proposals a year. CAREER awards support early career-development activities of junior faculty who show successful integration of research and education and provide a minimum grant of $400,000 during a five-year period.
—Tiffany Iwankiw
Grants through the Division of Sponsored Research
December 2005 – January 2006 Total: $5, 739, 411
December 2005 Total=$3,232,871 |
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BOINSKI S H |
ANT |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$104,527 |
SOCIAL CONVENTIONS, SEXUAL SELECTION AND ACOUSTIC SIGNALS IN WILD BROWN CAPUCHINS |
HAMANN III F |
AST |
SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INST NASA |
$40,982 |
AALS IN QUASARS: DIAGNOSTICS OF THE ENVIRONMENT |
BOWES G E |
BOT |
MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL |
$3,000 |
MISCELLANEOUS DONORS |
KITAJIMA K |
BOT |
FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS |
$20,938 |
SUBCONTRACT TO RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: LYGODIUM GROWTH |
ANGERHOFER A |
CHE |
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$99,746 |
NATIONAL HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LABORATORY-IN HOUSE RESEARCH PROGRAM |
BENNER S A |
CHE |
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
$191,000 |
GENOMIC APPROACHES TO NEURONAL DIVERSITY AND PLASTICITY |
DURAN R S |
CHE |
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA |
$54,000 |
ADVANCED SPACE-QUALIFIED RADIOMETRIC CALIBRATION TARGETS FOR MARS AND PLANETAR |
DURAN R S BLACKBAND S J |
CHE |
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$114,805 |
HIGH MAGNETIC GRADIENT STUDIES OF MULTI-COMPONENT CORE-SHELLPRACTICE |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$7,797 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM (AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT #57821) |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$23,390 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
RENOVIS |
$11,158 |
SYNTHESIS OFCOMPOUNDS & REAGENTS |
KLEIMAN V D |
CHE |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$49,941 |
NANOSCALE ASSEMBLIES OF CONJUGATED POLYELECTROLYTES, ENERGY TRANSPORT, ENERGY TRANSDUCTION AND PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES |
MCELWEE-WHITE L A |
CHE |
NASA J H GLENN RESEARCH CENTER |
$51,680 |
IMPROVED CATALYSIS FOR FUEL CELLS, FUEL REFORMATION AND EFFICIENT HYDROGEN PRODUCTION TASK 1: BIMETALLIC CATALYSIS. |
MCELWEE-WHITE L A |
CHE |
WILLIAM & MARY U S NAVY |
$46,816 |
HIGH BRIGHTNESS ELECTRON SOURCE DEVELOPMENT - YEAR FOUR |
REYNOLDS J R |
CHE |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$149,862 |
NANOSCALE ASSEMBLIES OF CONJUGATED POLYELECTROLYTES, ENERGY TRANSPORT, ENERGY TRANSDUCTION AND PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES |
SCHANZE K S REYNOLDS J R |
CHE |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$149,862 |
NANOSCALE ASSEMBLIES OF CONJUGATED POLYELECTROLYTES, ENERGY TRANSPORT, ENERGY TRANSDUCTION AND PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES |
WAGENER K B |
CHE |
U S ARMY ARMY RESEARCH OFFICE |
$52,509 |
POLYCARBOSILANE ELASTOMERS VIA CHAIN-INTERNAL AND CHAIN-END LATENT CROSSLINKING |
YOST R A |
CHE |
FINNIGAN CORP |
$36,000 |
FUNDAMENTAL & INSTRUMENTAL STUDIES OF GC/MS/MS ON THE GCQ |
SAPIENZA C M |
CSD |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
$7,946 |
RESPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN VENTILATOR DEPENDENT PATIENTS |
SAPIENZA C M |
CSD |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NICHD - CHLD HLTH & HUMAN DEV |
$152,800 |
EXPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON'S |
BINFORD M W VAN HOLT T |
GEOG |
NASA |
$24,000 |
TWENTY YEARS OF LAND-COVER AND LAND-USE CHANGE EFFECTS ON NEARSHORE MARINE RESOURCES IN SOUTHERN CHILE |
PLEASANTS J M |
ORHST |
WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS ST JOHNS RIVER |
$47,143 |
ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT ORAL HISTORY PROJECT |
AVERY P R YELTON J M |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$95,148 |
TASK B: RESEARCH IN EXPERIMENTAL HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS: CLEO AND CMS |
AVERY P R YELTON J M |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$29,342 |
TASK B: RESEARCH IN EXPERIMENTAL HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS: CLEO AND CMS |
BAUDIS L |
PHY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$151,095 |
CAREER: SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER AND MENTORING FEMALE PHYSICS STUDENTS |
HILL S O |
PHY |
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$121,288 |
DEVELOPMENT OF A PULSED BROADBAND HIGH-FIELD/HIGH-FREQUENCY EPR SPECTROMETER |
KONIGSBERG J MITSELMAKHER G |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$19,100 |
TASK H: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN COLLIDER PHYSICS AT CDF |
KONIGSBERG J MITSELMAKHER G |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$119,760 |
TASK H: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN COLLIDER PHYSICS AT CDF |
MITSELMAKHER G KORYTOV A |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$24,526 |
TASK G: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN COLLIDER PHYSICS AT CMS |
MITSELMAKHER G KORYTOV A |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$126,601 |
TASK G: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN COLLIDER PHYSICS AT CMS |
RAMOND P SIKIVIE P |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE |
$149,680 |
TASK A: RESEARCH IN THEORETICAL ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PHYSICS |
REITZE D H STANTON C J |
PHY |
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NAT HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LAB NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$14,885 |
ULTRAFAST COHERENT CONTROL IN HIGH MAGNETIC FIELDS |
REITZE D H STANTON C J |
PHY |
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NAT HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LAB NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$83,522 |
ULTRAFAST COHERENT CONTROL IN HIGH MAGNETIC FIELDS |
TAKANO Y |
PHY |
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY |
$5,500 |
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF QUANTIZED HALL EFFECTS AT THE NHMFL HIGH-B/T FACILITY |
DEVINE D P |
PSY |
CURE AUTISM NOW (LACAN) |
$54,799 |
SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR: PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES IN A RAT MODEL |
BLUM S E |
RLL |
FRENCH AMER CULTURAL EXCHANGE |
$1,800 |
FRENCH-AMERICAN CULTURAL EXCHANGE, TOURNEES FILM FESTIVAL |
HENRETTA J C |
SOC |
UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
$26,932 |
POPULATION AGING RESEARCH CENTER |
PERZ S G SOUTHWORTH J |
SOC |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$585,904 |
AGENTS OF CHANGE: INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGE, HUMAN AGENCY, AND RESILIENCE IN SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS |
PERZ S G SOUTHWORTH J |
SOC |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$133,087 |
AGENTS OF CHANGE: INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGE, HUMAN AGENCY, AND RESILIENCE IN SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS |
KHURI A I CASELLA G |
STA |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$10,000 |
2006 WINTER WORKSHOP ON FRONTIERS OF THEORETICAL STATISTICS |
TRAVIS T A |
WST |
NATL FDTN ON ARTS & HUMANITIES NATL ENDOW FOR THE HUMANITIES |
$40,000 |
CONTEMPORARY U S LITERATURE AND THE SELF-HELP MOVEMENT |
January 2006 Total=$2,506,540 |
||||
BURNS A F |
ANT |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$2,000 |
GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - COST OF EDUCATION ALLOWANCE |
CHALFIN B H |
ANT |
WOODROW WILSON NATL FELLOW FDN |
$33,000 |
WOODROW WILSON CENTER FELLOWSHIP |
MOSELEY M E |
ANT |
U F FOUNDATION |
$13,430 |
MATCH - NEH GRANT: RITUAL FETING AND RELIGIOUS CNVERION IN AN ANCIENT NATIVE EMIRICAN EMPIRE (PROJECT 00000829) |
GONZALEZ A H |
AST |
SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INST NASA |
$28,727 |
DECELERATING AND DUSTFREE: EFFICIENT ENERGY STUDIES WITH SUPERNOVAE AND CLUSTERS |
BOWES G E |
BOT |
MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL |
$2,164 |
MISCELLANEOUS DONORS |
CASTELLANO R K |
CHE |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$406,305 |
CAREER: SIGMA-COUPLED DONOR-ACCEPTOR INTERACTIONS IN SELF-ASSEMBLY |
DURAN R S SCOTT M J |
CHE |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$109,290 |
THE US/FRANCE REU SITE IN CHEMISTRY |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$38,983 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM (AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT #57821) |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$16,707 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$12,252 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM (AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT #57821) |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$41,210 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH & ENGINEERING COMPANY |
$12,252 |
JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM (AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT #57821) |
KATRITZKY A R |
CHE |
U S NAVY |
$246,790 |
SYNTHESIS OF ACETYLENES/DI-ACETYLENES, STUDY OF THEIR 1,3-DIPOLAR CYCLOADDITION |
REYNOLDS J R |
CHE |
CIBA SPECIALTY CHEMICALS |
$179,249 |
POLY(3,4-DIOXYPYRROLES) AS CONDUCTING AND ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMERS |
RICHARDS N G |
CHE |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDDK - DIABET DIGEST & KIDNEY |
$206,249 |
BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF OXALATE DECARBOXYLASE |
WINEFORDNER J D |
CHE |
AERODYNE RESEARCH INC NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$39,381 |
STTR PHASE I: SOIL CARBON MONITOR |
SAPIENZA C M |
CSD |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
$42,506 |
MASKED FACES IN PARKINSON DISEASE: MECHANISM & TREATMENT |
SAPIENZA C M |
CSD |
NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NICHD - CHLD HLTH & HUMAN DEV |
$33,712 |
EXPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON'S |
WINGATE J M VINSON B P |
CSD |
THE BLUE FDTN FOR A HEALTHY FL |
$50,000 |
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA SPEECH AND HEARING CLINIC - ADULT THERAPY FUNDING |
CHANNELL J E |
GEOL |
JOINT OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$28,271 |
MAGNETIC STRATIGRAPHY FOR IODP SITE U1313 IN THE 2.4-6 MA INTERVAL |
CHANNELL J E |
GEOL |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$81,958 |
MESOZOIC PALEOMAGNETISM IN ADRIA AND AFRICA: SOLVING A PERSISTENT PUZZLE IN ALPINE TECTONICS |
CHANNELL J E |
GEOL |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$10,536 |
MESOZOIC PALEOMAGNETISM IN ADRIA AND AFRICA: SOLVING A PERSISTENT PUZZLE IN ALPINE TECTONICS |
GREGORY F G MCKNIGHT S A |
HIS |
UNIV OF SIEGEN |
$29,949 |
MYSTICISM AND MODERNITY |
MCCULLOUGH S A SUMMERS S J |
MAT |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$22,950 |
SOUTHEASTERN ANALYSIS MEETING |
CHENG H P |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$83,715 |
INTERFACIAL PHENOMENA IN NOBEL METAL-C60 INTERACTIONS |
LEE Y |
PHY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$118,192 |
NATURE OF PURE & DIRTY LIQUID 3HE-FUNDAMENTAL INVESTIGATIONSAND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES |
MITSELMAKHER G KORYTOV A |
PHY |
FERMILAB U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$13,379 |
ENDCAP MUON SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CMS PROJECT FY 2004 |
STANTON C J REITZE D H |
PHY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$245,587 |
OPTICAL CONTROL IN SEMICONDUCTORS FOR SPINTRONICS AND QUANTUM INFORMATION PROCESSING |
STANTON C J REITZE D H |
PHY |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$29,250 |
OPTICAL CONTROL IN SEMICONDUCTORS FOR SPINTRONICS AND QUANTUM INFORMATION PROCESSING |
STEWART G R |
PHY |
U S DEPT OF ENERGY |
$138,811 |
NOVEL STRONGLY CORRELATED (PRIMARILY F-) ELECTRON BEHAVIOR |
SULLIVAN N S |
PHY |
HISTORY OF SCIENCE SOCIETY |
$36,000 |
HISTORY OF SCIENCE SOCIETY PROJECT |
BARKIN J S |
POL |
U S DEPT OF EDUCATION FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIV |
$3,222 |
FLORIDA NETWORK FOR GLOBAL STUDIES TITLE VI NATIONAL RESOURCCENTER PROPOSAL |
HOZIC A A |
POL |
U S DEPT OF EDUCATION FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIV |
$3,222 |
FLORIDA NETWORK FOR GLOBAL STUDIES TITLE VI NATIONAL RESOURCCENTER PROPOSAL |
KRAUSE J L |
QTP |
U S NAVY |
$15,200 |
PARTIAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR 06 SANIBEL SYMPOSIUM |
BABB F E |
WST |
U S DEPT OF EDUCATION FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIV |
$537 |
FLORIDA NETWORK FOR GLOBAL STUDIES TITLE VI NATIONAL RESOURCCENTER PROPOSAL |
EVANS D H |
ZOO |
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$4,000 |
INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE: GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM ALLOWANCE |
HOLT R D |
ZOO |
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION |
$127,554 |
CATS, RATS, AND THE PREVALENCE OF MICROPARASITES IN AN URBANLANDSCAPE |
Credits
Photos
Castellano photo courtesy Chemistry
Baudis photo by Jane Dominguez