Maverick Science mag 2013-14

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F a c u l t y N e w s Todd Castoe, assistant professor of biology, was lead author of a paper published in December by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which said the Burmese python’s ability to ramp up its metabolism and enlarge its organs to swallow and digest prey whole can be traced to unusually rapid evolution and specialized adaptations of its genes and the way they work. Castoe was part of an international team which sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus). Because snakes contain many of the same genes as other vertebrates, studying how these genes have evolved to produce such extreme and unique characteristics in snakes can eventually help explain how these genes function, including how they enable extreme feats of organ remodeling. Such knowledge may eventually be used to treat human diseases. Woo-Suk Chang, assistant professor in biology, received $100,000 from Novozymes Biologicals, Inc., a biotechnology company, to study symbiotic nitrogen fixation and discover a way to deliver nitrogen through a better inoculant in crops (i.e., soybeans) which is more efficient and better for the environment. Inoculants are microorganisms which are added to crops to promote plant health. Manfred Cuntz, professor of physics, secured a $15,000 grant from the NASA Education & Public Outreach program to fund an updated version of a show about the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) for the Planetarium at UT Arlington. SOFIA is an airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer and other space telescopes as well as major Earth-based telescopes. Since the debut of the Planetarium’s original show, SOFIA has obtained many additional findings, which the new show will include. Yue Deng, assistant professor of physics, received a $408,000, three-year award from NASA’s heliophysics division in January 2013 to develop a 3-D look at how electrodynamic energy from solar winds enters and moves throughout the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Deng aims to help scientists and engineers protect satellites, power distribution systems and other vital infrastructure from the potentially harmful effects of these inevitable bursts of energy. She is co-developer of a new 3-D Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model, or GITM. Rasika Dias, distinguished professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry, received a $450,000, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to develop new chemical processes and technologies based on a better understanding of the way that metals such as gold, silver, mercury and zinc bind with organic compounds for chemical reactions. The project involves reactions used widely in industry and research laboratories. Dias’ work will explore the interaction between six metals found in the right section of the Periodic Table of Elements’ d-block and what are called pi-acid ligands, which include familiar organic compounds like carbon monoxide, ethylene, acetylene and the related olefins and alkynes. 44 Maverick Science 2013-14 John ‘Trey’ Fondon, assistant professor of biology, co-authored a study on gene mutation in pigeons which was published in the Feb. 17 edition of the journal Current Biology. The study explored pigeons as a model for vertebrate evolution and found that mutations and interactions among just three genes create a wide range of color variations. One of those genes may be an example of a “slippery gene” more prone to evolutionary changes. The genes in the study have previously been linked to skin and hair color variation among people, as well as the development of melanoma. Matthew Fujita and Todd Castoe, assistant professors of biology, were among 30 co-authors on a 2013 Genome Biology publication that described their work on an international effort to sequence the genome of a western painted turtle, only the second reptile species to have its genetic information fully mapped. Researchers found that some of the turtle’s extraordinary abilities – like being able to withstand oxygen deprivation and near total freezing of its tissue – may be linked to sets of genes that are common to all vertebrates, but used uniquely in the turtle. It also showed that the turtle genome has evolved extremely slowly. Robert Gatchel, the Nancy P. & John G. Penson Endowed Professor of Clinical Health Psychology and director of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Health & Chronic Illnesses, received the 2013 Dallas Psychological Association's Distinguished Psychologist Award. Gatchel was nominated based on his years of contributions to the psychological community as well as his mentorship of graduate students. Laura Gough, associate professor of biology, co-authored a paper in the May 15 edition of the journal Nature which challenges long-held ideas about the effects of temperature increases in the Alaskan tundra. Gough and other researchers working at the U.S. Arctic Long Term Ecological Research Site in northern Alaska found that carbon stocks in soils subjected to 20 years of experimental warming did not differ from soils that experienced ambient air temperatures. They believe a complicated interplay between increased woody-shrub growth and the soil could be counteracting the warming effects, but they say more study is needed in the form of continued monitoring as the Arctic continues warming and additional experiments that alter temperatures over the long-term. Jared Kenworthy, associate professor of psychology, co-authored a study by a UT Arlington research team published in the August issue of the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science that found feelings of entitlement and superiority that go beyond patriotism and love of country may be a key predictor for Americans who will feel or behave negatively toward undocumented Latino immigrants. The study looked at those enhanced feelings of superiority – referred to as group-level narcissism – along with a factor called national in-group identification, which happens when a person’s individual identity is strongly tied to and dependent on their membership in a group, like being an American. Peter Kroll, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is part of a multidisciplinary team which received a $640,000 National Science Foundation grant to assemble a computer-based “genome” that will aid in the design and development of advanced new materials that are super hard, can resist extreme heat, are highly durable and are less expensive. The work is funded through a 2011 White House “Materials Genome Initiative” intended to cut in half the time it takes to develop novel materials that can fuel advanced manufacturing. The effort has been compared with the national Human Genome Project launched in the 1980s. Daniel Levine, professor of psychology, was cochair of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2013), held August 4-9 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas. The IJCNN is the premier international conference in the area of neural networks. IJCNN 2013 was organized by the International Neural Network Society (INNS), and sponsored jointly by INNS and the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society – the two leading professional organizations for researchers working in neural networks. J. Ping Liu, professor of physics, received three research grants: (1) a $490,000, two-year grant from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop rareearth-free nano-composite magnets (manganese and bismuth-based) which will not be dependent on the expensive rare-earth elements currently used in most magnets; (2) a $300,000, two-year grant from the Department of Defense Army Research Office for research on magnetic thin films; (3) a $100,000 industrial sponsor grant for research on bulk magnetic materials. Fred MacDonnell, professor of chemistry, and recently retired UT Arlington research associate professor Norma Tacconi were awarded a three year, $430,346 National Science Foundation grant to study a new method for converting carbon dioxide to methanol. The grant is part of the Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) program, which aims to promote environmental sustainability. It was part of $49 million in inaugural grant awards given to 101 scientists and engineers. The NSF started SusChEM in 2012 to support the discovery of new science and engineering that will provide a safe, stable and sustainable supply of chemicals and materials sufficient to meet future global demand. Fred MacDonnell, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, led a team which co-authored a paper published in the May edition of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics that identified two ruthenium-based complexes the team believes could pave the way for treatments that control cancer cell growth more effectively and are less toxic for patients than current chemotherapies. The team describes two Faculty continued on page 46
S t u d e n t a n d A l u m n i N e w s Ali Alam, a second-year medical student at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine who earned a B.S. in Biology from UT Arlington in 2012, received two fellowship awards over the summer for his research into the most common and malignant form of brain tumor, glioblastoma. The first is the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship, which is for $2,500. The second is the Alpha Omega Alpha Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship, given by Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society, which is for $5,000. Jayant Bhalerao, a Ph.D. student in physics, was selected as a NASA/Texas Space Grant Consortium Fellow for the 2013-14 academic year. The fellowship consists of a $5,000 supplemental stipend. Over the last eight years, the Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC) has awarded over $1.25 million in fellowships and scholarships. Bhalerao’s faculty mentor is Sangwook Park, assistant professor of physics. Emmanuel Fordjour, a junior in the Honors Biology program with a minor in chemistry, earned the Joan Abramowitz Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement for his poster presentation at the Joint American Society of Microbiology Branch conference in November in New Orleans. He is involved in molecular microbiology and bacterial infectious disease research in the lab of Julian Hurdle, assistant professor of biology. Fordjour’s project was titled “Analysis of Anti-Clostridium difficile Activity of Paired Antibiotic Combinations”. Clostridium difficile is an intestinal bacterium that causes severe to fatal diarrhea, killing over 15,000 people annually in the United States. John Gurak, a junior in chemistry/biochemistry, was one of fewer than 40 scholars nationwide to be awarded the EPA National Center for Environmental Research’s two-year fellowship for undergraduate study for 2013. It provides $50,000 over two years to cover costs of tuition, books, travel to conferences and other expenses. Trevor Henry, a senior in interdisciplinary studies (biology, geology and teaching) and a student presenter/educator at The Planetarium at UT Arlington, received a Hamilton Planetarium Scholarship, which includes a cash award which is renewable on an annual basis and entitles Henry to memberships in the international and regional planetarium associations. Yayu ‘Monica’ Hew, a 2013 UT Arlington aerospace engineering and physics graduate, was one of Aviation Week’s “Twenty20s” honorees. The Twenty20s recognize top science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students. The program connects the next generation of aerospace and defense talent with established leaders who have created many of the “firsts” driving innovation in the 21st century. Hew is pursuing her master’s degree in aerospace engineering at Stanford University. Alicia Machuca, a Ph.D. student in mathematics, received a Student Presentation Award at the 2013 Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans (SACNAS) National Conference in early October in San Antonio. Her presentation was titled “An Exact Solution Formula for the Kadomtsev-Petvishvili Equation”. Machuca, in her fifth year of doctoral studies, conducts research in partial differential equations. Her advisor is Tuncay Aktosun, professor of mathematics. Aaron Myers, a master’s student in Earth and Environmental Science and an environmental analyst with Associated Air Center in Dallas, helped Associated Air win a 2013 Texas Environmental Excellence Award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The award, for Pollution Prevention, was given to Associated Air for creating a safe alternative to hexavalent chromium, which is used to meet requirements for corrosion protection but is highly toxic. The facility team of which Myers is a part came up with a way to use an alkaline detergent wash and solgel conversion coating instead of the “alodine” (chromate conversion) coating. Myers also helped Associated Air win the Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) award from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) for efforts in reducing and, in some cases, eliminating hexavalent chromium from its processes. Donivan Porterfield, an analytical chemistry and radiochemical measurements scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M., received the 2013 Award of Merit from the American Society for Testing and Materials in November. Porterfield earned a B.S. in Chemistry from UT Arlington. The award recognizes Porterfield for his extensive knowledge and commitment to excellence in standards development. The UT Arlington physics team educated and entertained area students at the 10th annual Aviation & Transportation Career Expo on October 4. The event, sponsored by DFW International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration, American Airlines and Tarrant County College, was held at the C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth and the American Airlines hangar at DFW Airport. More than 3,000 students and about 1,000 teachers and administrators from 60 North Texas schools learned about aviation, transportation and science in general at the Expo. UT Arlington team members included Nilakshi Veerabathina, senior lecturer in physics, Robert Bruntz, physics staff, and physics students Andrea Marlar, Elijah Murphy, Timothy Hoffman, Ashley Herbst, Sarah Moorman, Monica Hernandez, Jeremiah Browne, Kyle van Zuiden and Benjamin Rodriguez. The UT Arlington chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society, inducted eight new members in a ceremony November 19 in the Chemistry & Physics Building. Sigma Pi Sigma is a national organization open to students and faculty, or to anyone who makes a significant contribution to the field of physics. The UT Arlington chapter selects new members based on a vote by active members from the eligible pool of candidates, including undergraduate students who are in the top third of their class. Fall 2013 inductees included: (undergraduates) Aaron Benjamin Baca, Jeremiah D. Browne, Matthew Chrysler, Ricky Hensley, Codie Mishler, Ying Wun Yvonne Ng, Timothy Blake Watson; (faculty) Nilakshi Veerabathina, senior lecturer in physics. College of Science students earned numerous awards at the 2013 Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students (ACES) symposium, held March 27 in the E.H. Hereford University Center. They include: Ashley Asmus, biology, Graduate Sustainability Award ($200) for the project, “Living fast above the Arctic Circle: tundra arthropod assemblages under severe seasonal constraints”. Undergraduate Poster Presentation Sabra Ramirez, chemistry, President’s Poster Award ($200) for the project, “Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfur-Containing Aliphatic Photoluminescent Polymers”. Hasan Sumdani, biology, Provost’s Poster Award ($100) for the project, “Protists and Bacteria in an Aquatic Environment”. Aliza Denobrega, psychology, Honorable Mention ($25) for the project, “Estrogen Modulates Conditioned Cocaine Reward”. Undergraduate Morning Oral Presentation Catherine Greene, biology, Provost’s Award ($100) for the project, “Population Seasonal Growth Dynamics of the Invasive Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in Lake Texoma, Texas”. Jessica Azzinnari, biology, Graduate Dean’s Award ($50) for the project, “Life History Tradeoffs of Vaejovis Scorpions in Response to Environment Disturbances”. Undergraduate Afternoon Oral Presentation Keith Gray, physics, Provost’s Award ($100 ) for the project, “Examination of the outgassing spectrum on several generations of micro-channel plate photomultiplier tubes”. William Rush Scaggs, biology, Graduate Dean’s Award ($50) for the project, “Rhodium Catalyzed Regio- and Stereocontrol of Homoallylic Silyl Ethers”. Graduate Poster Presentation Nagham Alatrash, chemistry, President’s Poster Award ($200) for the project, “Chemotherapy with Metals: Biological Activity of Lipophilic Ruthenium (II) Polypyridyl Complexes”. Angela Osen, geology, Honorable Mention ($25) for the project, “Late Permian climate sensitivity to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and precession cycles: implications for the mass extinction”. Graduate Morning Oral Presentation Ashley Asmus, biology, President’s Award ($300) for the project, “Living fast above the Arctic Circle: tundra arthropod assemblages under severe seasonal constraints”. Students/Alumni continued on page 46 Maverick Science 2013-14 45
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Page 47 and 48: CHANGE A LIFE YOUR ANNUAL GIFTS SHA

Maverick Science mag 2013-14

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