Ponisseril Somasundaran

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0117622<br/>Somasundaran <br/><br/>Description: This award supports US-India cooperative research entitled "Modeling Flocculation-Dispersion of Colloidal Suspensions in a Particle Population Balance Framework." Flocculation and dispersion of colloidal suspensions are important unit operations in many industrial activities such as pulp and papermaking, mineral and ceramics processing, and water treatment. The investigators will undertake a detailed study of the nine enumerated steps in the flocculation/dispersion process. They will develop a comprehensive mathematical model that includes a variety of phenomena such as aggregation, interparticle forces, hydrodynamics and polymer adsorption. Although flocculation processes have been extensively modeled, the proposed work will be the first attempt to integrate the various subprocesses. The new model will be validated by comparison with existing experimental data. Predictions from the model will then be tested by performing new experiments. <br/><br/>Scope: The collaborators for this research are P. Somasundaran, Columbia University and P. Pradip and P.C. Kapur, Tata Research Design and Development Centre, Pune, India. The PIs are a team of world class scientists that have an excellent chance of achieving their research objectives. Development of a comprehensive model to predict the kinetics of flocculation will be very useful for water purification, waste treatment, product formulation, mineral beneficiation schemes, and environmental remediation. <br/>This project is jointly funded by the Division of International Programs and the Government of India's Department of Science & Technology. <br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>

Ahmed Naguib

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0242991<br/>Naguib<br/><br/>Description: This award supports a joint research project between Dr. Ahmed Naguib, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, and Dr. Zakaria Ghoneim and Dr. Mostafa Abdelkhalek, Department of Mechanical Power Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. They plan to conduct collaborative research on computational investigation coordinated with experimental work funded by NSF award CTS 011690. The investigation will focus on understanding the space-time character of the wall-pressure field and its generating flow sources on two different but related flow problems. The first of these is associated with the incompressible flow over a two-dimensional cavity. This flow has been computed recently by the Ain Shams University collaborators using Random Vortex Methods<br/>(RVM). The experimental investigation is aimed at verifying the existing computation of the cavity flow. The RVM code will be adapted to compute the flow field and associated wall pressure for the (second case) flow over an axi-symmetric backward-facing step. These computations will be coordinated with the experimental work conducted under the existing award. It is expected that the space-time databases to be compiled here could be used to investigate a host of other flow issues. Examples include the development of wall-pressure-based low-order models for active flow control, and testing of turbulence models for non-equilibrium flows. The resulting data sets will be published and made accessible to interested parties in the wider community of fluid dynamics researchers through web and conference-based dissemination.<br/> <br/>Scope: This project will enhance the existing NSF grant by the generation of time-resolved, spatial flow and wall-pressure information from the computations at conditions similar to those of the experiment. The proposed work is mutually beneficial as MSU gains the depth of adding a computational component to an experimental research project and Ain Shams University gains capability to conduct an experimental investigation complementing ongoing computational work. The project will support the travel of a masters degree student from Ain Shams University to MSU for three months to work under the supervision of the PI on constructing a cavity-flow setup and microphone-array sensor module. This hardware will later be used to conduct measurements in a wind tunnel facility at Ain Shams University under the supervision of Dr. Ghoneim and in coordination with the PI. This project is jointly funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Chemical and Transport Systems.<br/>

Jeffrey Clark

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0138493<br/>Clark <br/><br/>Description: This award supports US-India cooperative research entitled Development of a Digital Artifact Archive: An American and Indian Collaboration for Pottery Visualization and Analysis. Jeffrey Clark of Archaeology Technologies Laboratory (ATL) at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota and Vinod Nautiyal of the Department of History and Archaeology at HNB Garhwal University in Srinagar will link their databases to create a digital archive of historic and prehistoric artifacts, with special emphasis on archaeological collections of Indian pottery. These databases will become part of an NDSU project, the Digital Archive Network for Anthropology (DANA), which is a federation of distributed, interoperable databases, each with specific content that is of value to archaeology, anthropology, and related fields. DANA will contain three-dimensional (3D) models of artifacts that are sufficiently precise to allow for detailed measurements and analyses. <br/><br/>Scope: This research will make archival data and 3D renderings of physical objects through DANA available to researchers and eventually to other users via the internet using state-of-the-art technology for digital archiving and distributed networking. While the intention is to provide a unique and innovative set of products and services, the underlying technologies are understood on both sides and the collaboration will draw upon the strengths and experience of both partners. The immediate goal of the India collaboration is to demonstrate the viability of the DANA project internationally. In the long term, this effort is an important step toward enabling the conduct of research in a virtual environment. The Indian Department of Science and Technology(DST) is funding this research under the NSF/DST joint program. <br/>

Magdy Iskander

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1059673 <br/> <br/>This EAGER award is to support collaboration by Dr. Magdi Iskander, University of Hawaii, Manoa and Dr. Hala Elsadek, Electronics Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt as well as with Dr. Christian Pichot, University of Nice, France and Dr. Zhijun Zhang, Tsinghua University in China. They plan to develop novel non-invasive microwave vital signs sensor and low-cost wireless tele-healthcare system for monitoring remote patients. Based on results from this EAGER grant, the PI plans to submit a multi-institution proposal to NSF PIRE and the US-Egypt Joint Fund programs.<br/><br/><br/>Intellectual merit: This project is to develop wireless monitoring system for several vital signs. The scientists plan a comprehensive study, which includes the sensors, the DSP algorithms for data-transfer capabilities, and design and implementation of the microwave integrated circuits. They plan to use an array of distributed microwave sensors to simultaneously and continuously monitor several functions at multiple organs. Their aim of using reflection measurement, instead of transmission measurement, could eventually simplify the system, which leads to significant cost reductions. The described research falls strongly into the innovation category, which is a priority for NSF funding. The concept of a microwave stethoscope instrument, which is based upon reflection and absorption of microwave energy is novel, with good prospects for success. A qualified team of researchers has been assembled, and all are well positioned to perform the research. <br/><br/>Broader Impact: The PIs will develop the proposed system in collaboration with researchers from international institutions in France, Egypt and China. The international collaboration appears to be genuine, and enriches the potential research outcomes. The tasks to be performed by the collaborators are clearly outlined. The possibility of producing low-cost monitoring systems is of particular interest to countries participating in this project. Several students will be trained on the various technical aspects of this project. The interactions with international researchers and students in other countries can only enrich their educational experience. This award is co-funded by the US-France Program and the US-Egypt Program in the Office of International Science and Engineering, and by The Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems.

Paul Bierman

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0207669<br/>Bierman<br/><br/>Sediment samples were collected from Namibian Rivers with a vision to answer several fundamental scientific questions and in order to make a significant societal contribution. NSF funding will provide for isotopic analyses of these samples. Overall, the data we collect will be used to test the relationship between nuclide activity (a proxy for basin-scale sediment generation rates) and drainage basin lithology, relief, climate, and area. Such relationships will allow us to predict sediment generation rates where landscape conditions are similar, an important tool for land management.<br/>Cosmogenic nuclides provide a window into the past behavior of landscapes. When measured in drainage basin sediments nuclides such as 10Be and 26Al allow estimation of basin-scale sediment generation rates over time scales determined by the speed at which the sampled landscape erodes; in Namibia, nuclide activities integrate erosion rates over ~105 years. Samples collected from headwater drainages and drainages with little sediment storage will allow rigorous comparison between landscape-scale erosion rates over the later Pleistocene using cosmogenic nuclides and rates integrated over the Cenozoic using fission tracks. Such comparisons provide the fundamental data that allow one to explain the behavior of Earth's surface over time and to test models of landscape evolution such as those proposed to explain the retreat of great escarpments over time. Namibian rivers have wet headwaters where most floods are generated; the rivers lose water as they cross the hyper-arid Namib Desert. Such loss means that most flood events are discontinuous with sediment in transport being stranded at varying distances along the 300 to 400 km long river courses. Only the largest and rarest floods move sediment to the ocean. We will compare our nuclide-based findings related to sediment virtual velocity and sediment source with sediment composition and the historical flood frequency/magnitude records of the two rivers that we sampled in detail.<br/>Understanding long-term sediment fluxes down rivers is important for responsible management of water resources and river corridors. Dams have been placed on several Namibian Rivers and there are plans in the works for others such as a very controversial project in the Kunene River. Clearly, the life time and thus cost-benefit analysis for such massive hydraulic structures depends critically on knowing long-term sediment fluxes. Cosmogenic analysis of river sediments will provide such data. Land use in parts of Africa is intensive. In some places, desertification has been the result of overgrazing and population expansion. Cosmogenic data will determine background rates of sediment generation. Such rates can be compared to modern rates and thus provide the basis for responsible land use management decisions. <br/> <br/>.

Anthony Knap

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OCE-0526054<br/><br/>The processes of atmospheric transport and air-sea exchange play major roles in the geochemical cycling of biologically important elements, as well as impacting on the Earth's radiation budget and the distribution of pollutants and pathogens. There is a pressing need to better understand these processes, in order to predict and mitigate the effects of anticipated changes in the global climate and environment. This requires an increased observational and experimental capability with respect to atmospheric transport and atmosphere-ocean exchange processes – an imperative has been recognized in the emergence of research initiatives such as the Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS), GEOTRACES, and the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). <br/><br/>Bermuda has been a key sampling and observational location for a number of important studies of the marine atmosphere, by virtue of its location in the western North Atlantic, where the atmosphere is impacted by emissions from North America, Europe, North Africa and the surrounding ocean. Bermuda is now well equipped for such studies, with a 23-m high atmospheric sampling tower and site laboratories that were established at Tudor Hill, on the southwest coast of the island, during the NSF-AEROCE program (1987-1998).<br/><br/>Under this award, researchers at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research will receive funding to maintain and operate this valuable facility for use by the research community beyond August 2005. With this support they will: (1) maintain a state-of-the-art atmospheric sampling facility at Tudor Hill, Bermuda; (2) collect, archive and make freely available meteorological data and selected "core" atmospheric samples (weekly bulk aerosols and rainwater) for use by other researchers; and (3) provide the opportunity for the collection of additional atmospheric samples and data for other investigators, and for use of the facility by other investigators. They will assess modest facility-user fees for the collection of samples or data in addition to the weekly "core" sampling, or other uses of the facilities. The anticipated net revenue from these user fees over the project period (ca. $10,000-15,000 per year) will be used to defray the costs of additional technician support, maintenance and equipment replacement for the tower facility. <br/><br/>In terms of broader impacts, the continued operation of the Tudor Hill tower will facilitate a wide variety of ocean-atmosphere research, which is expected to further our knowledge of the Earth system and to improve our ability to predict and mitigate the effects of future environmental change. Within a regional context, the Bermuda tower will form part of an ocean observatory network in the Sargasso Sea, along with ongoing ocean time-series programs including Hydrostation S, the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS), the Bermuda Testbed Mooring Program, and the Oceanic Flux Program. Together, these observational programs promise an unprecedented understanding of oceanic and atmospheric processes. This project is expected to make significant educational contributions at a number of levels. Data and samples collected during our renewal project will be made available for use in graduate research projects, as they have been used during our current award. The Tudor Hill facility will also provide opportunities for undergraduate education, through use in BBSR's NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, and in lecture materials for undergraduate courses that are offered at BBSR. Descriptions of the research carried out at the Tudor Hill facility will continue to be used in BBSR's public outreach activities, such as public lectures, annual open-house day, and on the internet via the BBSR web site. <br/>

Scott Nixon

[email protected]

Following closure of the Aswan High Dam in 1965 and the elimination of annual flooding of the Nile basin, the Mediterranean Sea fishery off the Egyptian Coast collapsed. Beginning in the mid-1980's, landings began a dramatic recovery and have now reached levels well above those of the pre-dam fishery. Three major hypotheses have been advanced to explain the apparent increase in secondary production on the Egyptian Coast: replacement of the Nile flood nutrients by anthropogenic sources of nitrogen and phosphorous from agricultural drainage and sewage; replacement of Nile nutrients by a change in the large scale circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean waters; and that the apparent increase in production is actually an expansion of fishing effort and improved data collection and statistics. <br/><br/>The principal investigator will track stable nitrogen isotopes from alternate nitrogen sources to the formation of particulate organic matter, fish, and prawns in the large Nile delta lagoons and in fisheries landings from the nearshore Egyptian Shelf waters. Sources include nitrogen derived from land drainage, sewage, Nile water, and Mediterranean Shelf water. Historical changes in inorganic nitrogen over the past century will be examined in sediment cores from delta lagoons and from the near shore shelf. Progress reports will be posted regularly in log form on a website created for middle and secondary public school children. Classroom visits to local Rhode Island schools will emphasize comparing human impacts from sewage, fertilizers, and factories in Narragansett Bay to those in Egypt. With the assistance of colleagues in the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt, information will be translated into Arabic and published in popular Arabic journals such as Environment & Development Monthly and on heavily visited websites such as Islam Online. Funding for this project is provided by the Office of International Science and Engineering and by the Biological Oceanography Program.

Carol Myers-Scotton

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9319780 MYERS-SCOTTON ABSTRACT This a project to investigate the structural constraints on intrasentential codeswitching. Specifically, the investigators will collect and analyze intrasentential codeswitching in naturally-occurring languages in particular language pairs, some in the United States and others in Africa or Europe. The language pairs have been selected because apparent differences in the structure of their lexical items will test the hypotheses contained herein. While this study will further our knowledge about intrasentential codeswitching, it is more important for the information it will provide about the nature of lexical entries in some universal sense. This information becomes available from codeswitching data because the existence of sentences containing codeswitching seems to depend on compatibilities between the languages involved regarding Lexical-Conceptual Structures and Predicate-Argument Structures. The playing out of these compatibilities in codeswitching, in turn, provides a uniquely available 'empirical window' on the viability of key theoretical claims about the structure of language. The proposal's eight hypotheses extend the analysis found in the Matrix Language Frame Model of codeswitching (Myers-Scotton 1993b). Under this model, one of the languages participating in codeswitching is more dominant (the Matrix Language) in structuring codeswitching utterances. The less dominant language is called the Embedded Language. The distinction between content and functional categories is also critical in this model. While that model successfully predicts the form of Embedded Language material in sentential frames prepared by the Matrix Language, it is not sufficiently constrained to explain why one option rather than another occurs and the form which Embedded Language material takes. The hypotheses in this proposal provide necessary constraints. This research will provide evidence for or agai nst theories about the nature of the abstract features of lexical entries, including semantic content, and their relation to actually occurring forms. In addition, the results may provide motivations for language production modeling in psycholinguistics, especially in regard to the nature of lemma entries in the mental lexicon. Finally, the project has a material objective. It will provide a large-scale computerized data base of diverse codeswitching data. It is expected that collecting preliminary analysis, data base entry, formal analysis, and a presentation of the results of this study will require three years. ***

Michael Diercks

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How and why do languages vary? Studying closely related languages can tell us important details of the nature of human language, by holding most grammatical properties constant while varying others, across a set of languages. Understanding the limits on such variation?and how such differences arise historically?requires an accurate description of a group of related languages. <br/><br/>The heterogeneous varieties of Luyia, a group of Bantu languages of Kenya and Uganda, provide a laboratory for investigating such micro-variation in grammar. This project will produce the first comprehensive descriptions and formal analyses of four underdocumented Kenyan varieties of Luyia: Bukusu, Logoori, Tiriki, and Wanga. A series of monographs will be developed for each language which include a grammatical outline, a detailed description of the tonal system, in-depth studies in syntax, a collection of texts, and a dictionary. <br/><br/>The diverse tone systems of Luyia are a major focus of this work. Luyia tone has many notable features, including a rare process by which High tones spread leftward across and within words. Complex tonal patterns mark inflectional differences among verb tenses, and syntactically conditioned rules are also found in the phrasal tonology. A solid understanding of these processes bears crucially on theories of the phonology-syntax interface, which are concerned with what kind of syntactic information can be used by a phonological system. These theoretically and typologically interesting features of Luyia tone will be systematically investigated through targeted paradigmatic elicitation. <br/><br/>This project models team-based, data-rich and theoretically informed linguistic description and analysis. The Luyia team draws on the expertise of linguists in multiple subfields and brings together US-based and Africa-based scholars, enriching the practice of linguistics by each group. The monographs, text collections, and dictionaries produced by the project will be made freely available online, and relevant materials will be disseminated within the appropriate local communities.

Johannes Thewissen

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0216710<br/>Thewissen <br/><br/>Description: This award supports the US-India Cooperative Research: Evolution of the Cetacean Body Plan-Eocene Whales from India. US PI Hans Thewissen, Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine and Sunil Bajpai, Indian Institute of Technology (IITR), Roorkee, India will study one of the most remarkable evolutionary transformations in the vertebrate fossil record, the transformation of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) from terrestrial quadruped to obligate marine swimmer. They will examine the evolutionary processes and underlying causes, with special reference to the organ systems that underwent the greatest changes in the land to water transition. This project will test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that determined much of the cetacean body plan. These systems (locomotion, balance, and sound transmission) are documented by fossils and underlie the evolutionary success of the order Cetacea. The PIs will integrate traditional anatomical and functional data with new insights from developmental biology to yield new understanding of the evolutionary process. The investigators will collect and study fossils in India. <br/><br/>Scope: This will be a rare opportunity for the investigators to study the link between paleontology and development. The US and Indian PIs are eminently well qualified; they have complementary expertise and an established collaboration. Bajpai is the leading authority on fossil cetaceans in India and his institution houses its most significant collections. Beyond the scientific community, this study will enhance tools for teaching evolution to students and for explaining scientific processes to the public. The award will further partnerships among researchers including young scientists, collaborative links between the institutions, and advance theoretical interests in both countries. This project is jointly funded by the Indian Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the NSF/DST joint program. <br/><br/>