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RGI Awards Announced for 2007-2008

UWM will fund 42 proposals in the 2007-2008 Research Growth Initiative, an internal seed-funding competition aimed at enhancing the university's research and scholarly work and supporting the state's economic development through innovation.

The winners were chosen from the original pool of 183 by independent review panels consisting of experts and scholars from top U.S. research institutions, including Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Harvard, Penn State, Northwestern, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and UW-Madison.

Although the funds to be awarded to each project are still under negotiation, the projects are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines, from chemistry, anthropology, and engineering, to urban planning, music, and literature.

The awardees are:

Modeling The Fate Of Lead In Battlefield Soils

Joseph H. Aldstadt, Chemistry

Co-PIs: Erik R. Christensen, Civil Engineering; Timothy J. Grundl, Geosciences

Lake-Atmosphere Gas Exchange In Lake Michigan

Harvey A. Bootsma, WATER Institute

High-Dielectric-Constant Nanotube-Polymer Composites For Electromechanical Actuation

Jian Chen, Chemistry

Co-PI: Sarah Gong, Mechanical Engineering

Optimum Experimental Design Of A General Purpose Load Transducer

Anoop K. Dhingra, Mechanical Engineering

Gender Stereotypes Voting for Women and Evaluations of the American Political System

Kathleen A. Dolan, Political Science

Barriers For Women In STEM Careers

Nadya A. Fouad, Educational Psychology

Novel Photopolymerizable Macromers For Tissue Engineering Applications

Sarah Gong, Mechanical Engineering

Co-PI: Douglas A. Steeber, Biological Sciences

Structure Context and Voting Behavior in Mayoral Elections

Thomas M. Holbrook, Political Science

Late Paleozic Gondwanan Ice Age As Exposed In The Depositional Basins In Western Argentina

John L. Isbell, Geosciences

Electrostatic-Force-Assisted Cold Gas Dynamic Spray Of Nanoparticles: A New Low Temperature Process

Tien-Chien Jen, Mechanical Engineering

Co-PI: Junhong Chen, Mechanical Engineering

Quality And Coordination Of Care For Persons With Disability: Developing A Survey Measure

Mark V. Johnston, Occupational Therapy

Co-PIs: Amy Darragh; Kris Barnekow Occupational Therapy

Stochastic Mode Reduction In Prototype Climate Models

Sergey Kravtsov, Mathematical Sciences

A Boundary-Layer Parameterization For Weather Forecast Models

Vincent E. Larson, Mathematical Sciences

Improving Stratigraphic And Chronologic Control For Olduvai Gorge Bed II Archaeological Sites Using Tephra Geochemistry

Lindsay J. McHenry, Geosciences

Kynureine-3-Monooxygenase And Ischemic Stroke

Graham R. Moran, Chemistry

Determining The Structure Of Individual Biological Molecules

Abbas Ourmazd, Physics

Co-PIs: Valentin Shneerson; Dilano K Saldin; Physics

Structure-Function Relationships In Metalloenzymes With Multiple Redox-Active Centers

A. Andrew Pacheco, Chemistry

Thermoacoustic Tomography–Attenuation Correction

Sarah K. Patch, Physics

Real-Time Traffic Management And Surveillance Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Zhong-Ren Peng, Urban Planning

Co-PIs: Jun Zhang, Tian Zhao, Electrical Engineerg & Computer Science

Cellular Zinc Imaging With Fluorescent Probes: What Is Being Imaged?

David H. Petering, Chemistry

Underwriting The Accident: Narratives Of American Chance 1871-1935

Jason R. Puskar, English

Brain Impedance Measurement Technique For Monitoring Of Anesthetic-Induced State Transition

Valerica Raicu, Physics

Urban Redevelopment And Machine Building In Postwar Chicago: An Institutionalist Perspective

Joel S. Rast, Political Science

Late Prehistoric Ceramic Chronology In The Western Great Lakes

John D. Richards, Anthropology

Co-PI: Robert J. Jeske, Anthropology

Demonstration Of Feasibility Of Self Healing Metal Matrix Micro And Nanocomposites

Pradeep K. Rohatgi, Materials

Co-PI: Ryo S. Amano, Mechanical Engineering

Death And Butterflies In German New Guinea

Nigel T. Rothfels, Edison Initiative

Do Lianas Alter Nutrient And Water Dynamics In Tropical Forests? An Experimental Test

Stefan A. Schnitzer, Biological Sciences

Consumer Evaluation Of Assistive Technology: Web Based Data Collection And Reporting

Roger O. Smith, Occupational Therapy

Co-PIs: Kathleen L. Rust, Todd D. Schwanke, R2D2 Center

Near-Infrared Photobiomodulation For Immobilization-Induced Muscle Atrophy

Ann C. Snyder, Human Movement Sciences

Co-PI: Janis T. Eells, Clinical Laboratory Sciences

Detection Of Infectious Disease Using High-Frequency Microelectronic Biosensors Based On Organic Semiconductors

Douglas A. Steeber, Biological Sciences

Co-PI: David P. Klemer, Electrical Engineerg & Computer Science

Feasibility Study Involving Monolingual Spanish-Speaking Hispanic Women Living With HIV

Patricia E. Stevens, Nursing

Service Capacity Competition During The Era Of Managed Care: The Case Of Urban Hospitals

Hanh Q. Trinh, Health Care Administration & Information

An Investigation Into The Role Of Atmospheric Teleconnections In Climate

Anastasios A. Tsonis, Mathematical Sciences

Mastering Sensibility: The Aesthetics Of Flaubert And Baudelaire In Light Of Contemporary Medical Conceptions

Florence Vatan, French, Italian and Comparative Literature

Leonard Sorkin International Institute Of Chamber Music Expansion

Jon Welstead, Music

Co-PIs: Caen Thomason-Redus, Todd Levy, Wolfgang Laufer, Judit Jaimes, Yuri Gandelsman, Ralph Evans, Christopher Burns, Efim Boico, Kevin Hartman, Music

Mathematical Problems In Quantum Computation

Jeb F. Willenbring, Mathematical Sciences

Examining The Role Of Attention In Tic Suppression: A pilot Investigation

Douglas W. Woods, Psychology

Co-PI: Christine A. Conelea, Psychology

Multiple Information Seeking Strategies In Information Retrieval: User Involvement And System Role

Hong (Iris) Xie, School Of Information Studies

Advancing Real-Time Non-Invasive Microscopic Chemical Imaging With Nonlinear Raman Spectroscopy

Vladislav V. Yakovlev, Physics

Dissecting The Type III Secretion System Regulon In A Model Plant Pathogen Erwinia Chrysanthemi 3937

Ching-Hong Yang, Biological Sciences

Phosphorus Acquisition: Exploring New Paradigms In Freshwater Phytoplankton

Erica B. Young, Biological Sciences

Co-PI: John A. Berges, Biological Sciences

Towards The Building Of The Next Generation Of Information Retrieval In Biology: Linking Abstract Sentences To Images

Hong Yu, Health Care Administration & Information

Co-PI: Joseph Bockhorst, Electrical Engineerg & Computer Science