Lehigh University

NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH (NCSER)

NEW COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT TITLED: LIGHTWEIGHT HIGH ENTROPY METALLIC ALLOY DISCOVERY (LHEAD)

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY CARES ACT - INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY CARES ACT - STUDENT AID

TAILORING OF ATOMIC-SCALE INTERPHASE COMPLEXIONS FOR MECHANISM-INFORMED MATERIAL DESIGN

REVEALING THE HYDRODYNAMICS PRINCIPLES OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL FISH SCHOOLS: FROM BIOLOGY TO SCHOOLING ROBOTICS

NATURAL HAZARDS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY WITH LARGE-SCALE, MULTI-DIRECTIONAL, HYBRID SIMULATION TESTING CAPABILITIES 2021-2025

ART: BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE, ACCESSIBLE, AND SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM TO ACCELERATE RESEARCH TRANSLATION AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY -THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO ENHANCE AND ACCELERATE THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF RESEARCH CONDUCTED AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY CREATING AND OPERATING A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH TRANSLATION ECOSYSTEM THAT EFFECTIVELY GUIDES INDIVIDUALS AND PROJECT TEAMS ALONG THE PATHWAYS OF VENTURE CREATION, TRANSLATION TO EXISTING INDUSTRY, AND/OR SOCIAL IMPACT. ALL ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS AND ACTIVITIES WILL BE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED TO OPTIMIZE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY. A PEOPLE-FOCUSED APPROACH WILL BE TAKEN TO REALIZE MAXIMUM IMPACT ON THE TARGETED AND CAMPUS WIDE GRADUATE STUDENT, POST-DOCTORAL SCHOLAR, AND FACULTY POPULATIONS. THESE INDIVIDUALS WILL BE SUPPORTED BY AN ACTIVE NETWORK OF INTERNAL ART AMBASSADORS, EXTERNAL EXPERTS, AND AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT LEADERSHIP TEAM. THE ENTIRE EFFORT WILL ALSO BE ENHANCED BY GUIDANCE AND MENTORSHIP PROVIDED BY CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, AND ASSESSED IN REAL-TIME TO ASSURE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND LONG TERM PROGRAM SUSTAINABILITY. THE RESEARCH TRANSLATION ECOSYSTEM AT LEHIGH UNIVERSITY WILL BE CREATED THROUGH FULLY COUPLED INITIATIVES FOCUSED ON BUILDING INCLUSIVE RESEARCH TRANSLATION CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, PROVIDING RELEVANT EDUCATION AND TRAINING THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE TARGET POPULATIONS, AND DRIVING CULTURE CHANGE TOWARD RESEARCH TRANSLATION AS A PERVASIVE EMPHASIS THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY. THIS WILL INVOLVE THE CREATION AND/OR EXPANSION OF RESEARCH TRANSLATION FOCUSED POSITIONS, ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS, AND FACILITIES. THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONVENIENT OFFERING OF NEW SINGLE CREDIT EDUCATION AND TRAINING MODULES WILL ALSO BE CARRIED OUT, ALONG WITH THE MODERNIZATION OF INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES TO FAVORABLY SUPPORT RESEARCH TRANSLATION. FROM A PARTICIPANT STANDPOINT, INDIVIDUALS AND PROJECT TEAMS WILL BE GUIDED AS THEY DEVELOP THE MINDSETS, SKILL SETS, AND EXPERT CONNECTIONS NECESSARY TO ACCELERATE AND OPTIMIZE RESEARCH IMPACT. CAREFULLY SELECTED PROJECT TEAMS WILL RECEIVE SUPPORT EACH YEAR AS THEY CARRY OUT SEED TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS TO REALIZE NEAR TERM ECONOMIC AND/OR SOCIETAL BENEFIT FROM THE AFFILIATED RESEARCH INNOVATIONS. THE SUCCESS OF THESE TARGETED PROJECTS, ALONG WITH THE POSITIVE EXPERIENCES OF THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED, WILL HELP POSITION EFFECTIVE AND USE INSPIRED TRANSLATIONAL IMPACT AS A FOUNDATIONAL PRIORITY FOR UNIVERSITY BASED RESEARCH INTO THE FUTURE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK H: VISIT UNKNOWN PLACES CONFIDENTLY: MAPPING FOR ACCESSIBLE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS (MABLE) -WAYFINDING AND NAVIGATION WITHIN UNFAMILIAR INDOOR BUILT ENVIRONMENTS ARE CHALLENGING PROPOSITIONS FOR MANY PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. BLIND OR LOW-VISION USERS STRUGGLE DUE TO THE LACK OF ACCESSIBLE SIGNAGE AND THEIR INABILITY TO CREATE A MENTAL MAP OF THE SPACE. INDIVIDUALS WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS FIND IT DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY ACCESSIBLE ROUTES AND KNOW UPFRONT ABOUT POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THEY MAY ENCOUNTER. INDIVIDUALS WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS STRUGGLE TO CREATE OR RECOLLECT MENTAL MAPS THEY MAY HAVE MADE. SUCH CHALLENGES IN NAVIGATING UNFAMILIAR SPACES ARE A SOURCE OF CONSTANT ANXIETY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PWDS) AND A BARRIER TO EQUAL PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE. ACCESSIBLE SPACES REDUCE BARRIERS FOR PWDS TO USING SERVICES AND AMENITIES, INCREASING THE RANGE OF REGULAR ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED INDEPENDENTLY, INTEGRATING INTO THE WORKFORCE, AND INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY. THE PROPOSED PROJECT HAS THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY FOR PWDS WITHIN AND AROUND INDOOR BUILT ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH THE CREATION OF MABLE (MAPPING FOR ACCESSIBILITY IN BUILT ENVIRONMENTS). MABLE WILL PROVIDE DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY MAPS OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS WITH AN INTERFACE FOR ASSESSING, PLANNING, AND NAVIGATING WITHIN THEM BASED ON THE AFFORDANCES AND CAPABILITIES OF THE USER. IT WILL ALSO PERMIT MAP AUGMENTATION BY USERS BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS. ENVISIONED USERS INCLUDE PERSONS WITH VISUAL OR MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS (BLIND, LOW VISION, WHEELCHAIR USERS, CANE USERS, ETC.) AS WELL AS OTHER CATEGORIES OF DISABILITIES, AND PERSONS WITHOUT DISABILITIES WHO DESIRE PLANNING AND NAVIGATION ASSISTANCE. ACHIEVING BOTH SCALABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY WITH INDOOR MAPS IS A CHALLENGING PROPOSITION. COMPANIES FOCUSED ON ACCESSIBILITY MAPPING THAT CAN SCALE TEND TO PRIORITIZE FEATURES OR OFFERINGS THAT DO NOT COVER THE RICHNESS NEEDED FOR NAVIGATION. COMPANIES THAT FOCUS ON MAPPING WITHOUT ACCESSIBILITY EMPHASIZE SCALABLE OFFERINGS WITH REDUCED LABOR DEMANDS AND DEEP LEARNING ENABLED IMAGE PROCESSING. OTHERS THAT RELY ON USER CONTRIBUTIONS FOR SCALABILITY CANNOT GUARANTEE RICHNESS AND COMPLETENESS OF INFORMATION, AND DO NOT INTEGRATE LOCALIZATION TOOLS THAT CAN ENABLE REAL-TIME TURN-BY-TURN NAVIGATION AND EXPLORATION USING CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION. TO ACHIEVE BOTH SCALABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY, MABLE PROPOSES TO LEVERAGE ADVANCES IN AI, BUILDING MODELING, ROBOTICS, AR/VR VISUAL SCENE REASONING, AND LOW-POWER CONSUMER ELECTRONICS. MABLE WILL EXTRACT MOST ACCESSIBILITY-RELATED INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM FLOOR PLANS USING DEEP-LEARNING AUGMENTED IMAGE-PROCESSING ALGORITHMS, AND ANY MISSING INFORMATION CAN BE AUGMENTED THROUGH ROBOT MAPPING AND SURVEYING, AND STAKEHOLDER AND USER CONTRIBUTIONS. FURTHER, BY QUANTIFYING THE LOCALIZATION PERFORMANCE AND COSTS OF AN ARRAY OF INDOOR LOCALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES, THE MABLE PRODUCT WILL CREATE CUSTOM LOCALIZATION DEPLOYMENTS THAT WORK BEST FOR A STAKEHOLDER, ENCOURAGING GREATER ADOPTION. THE PROJECT WILL CREATE NEW KNOWLEDGE IN THE AREAS OF COLLECTION, PROCESSING, AND EVALUATION OF ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION FROM BUILT ENVIRONMENTS. IN ADDITION TO A SUSTAINABILITY MODEL, THE PROJECT WILL ALSO CREATE NEW FRAMEWORKS FOR QUANTIFYING ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM ACCESSIBLE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS ENCOMPASSING PERSPECTIVES OF FUTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH POTENTIAL, COST SAVINGS, AND RETURN ON INVESTMENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

NATURAL HAZARDS ENGINEERING RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE: EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY WITH LARGE-SCALE, MULTI-DIRECTIONAL, HYBRID SIMULATION TESTING CAPABILITIE

INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS INSTITUTE FOR NEW FUNCTIONALITY IN GLASS (IMI-NFG) - PHASE II

INTEGRATED MAGNETIC AND KINETIC PROFILE CONTROL FOR ADVANCED ITER SCENARIOS IN DIII-D

ADVANCING STEEL AND CONCRETE BRIDGE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE PERFORMANCE

ASSESSING TELEPHONE ALL NATIONS BREATH OF LIFE FOR EFFICACY

EARLY INTERVENTION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AT-RISK FOR ADHD: EVALUATING EFFICACY AND DELIVERY FORMAT FOR BEHAVIORAL PARENT EDUCATION

MODELING MECHANISMS IN CYTOKINESIS, CELL POLARIZATION AND MOTILITY

URBAN AND RESERVATION IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL NATIONS BREATH OF LIFE TO IMPROVE SMOKING CESSATION RATES AMONG AMERICAN INDIANS

CONTROL AND EXTENSION OF ITER AND ADVANCED SCENARIOS TO LONG PULSE IN EAST AND KSTAR

CONNECTIVITY OF CORAL ECOSYSTEMS IN THE NORTHWESTERN GULF OF MEXICO

NRT - STAKEHOLDER ENGAGED EQUITABLE DECARBONIZED ENERGY FUTURES -CARBON-BASED ENERGY SOURCES LIKE COAL, GASOLINE, AND DIESEL CONTRIBUTE TO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS WHICH ARE A LEADING CAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE HARM CAUSED BY FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY GENERATION INCLUDE RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND POLICY CHANGES. HOWEVER, MANY SOLUTIONS ARE EXPENSIVE, AND ACCESS TO THEM IS UNEQUAL. LOW-INCOME GROUPS HAVE HISTORICALLY SPENT A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF THEIR INCOME ON ENERGY AND MAY FACE ADDITIONAL ECONOMIC BURDEN IN THE FUTURE DUE TO UNEVEN DEPLOYMENT OF ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES AND PROGRAMS. DEVELOPING NEW CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS AND FINDING LOW-COST AND EQUITABLE WAYS TO DELIVER THEM WILL REQUIRE A WORKFORCE TRAINED TO INNOVATE NON-CARBON ENERGY SOLUTIONS AND INTEGRATE THEM WITH INFRASTRUCTURES AND POLICIES SO THAT ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND HEALTH BENEFITS CAN BE EQUITABLY SHARED. THIS FUTURE WORKFORCE WILL NEED TO ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITIES TO TAILOR ENERGY SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS NEEDS; COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITH STAKEHOLDERS FROM INDUSTRY, POLICY ORGANIZATIONS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES; AND ENSURE AWARENESS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS AMONG IMPACTED COMMUNITIES. THIS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH TRAINEESHIP (NRT) AWARD TO LEHIGH UNIVERSITY WILL ESTABLISH A PROGRAM TO TRAIN A NEW CLASS OF ENERGY WORKERS WITH THE SKILLS NEEDED FOR DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING CLEAN, EQUITABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS VIA INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN ENGINEERING, POLICY, ECONOMICS, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE, AND POPULATION HEALTH. THE PROJECT ANTICIPATES TRAINING 64 TRAINEES, INCLUDING 24 FUNDED PH.D. TRAINEES AND AN ADDITIONAL 40 GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WILL ENROLL IN CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS AND PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH PROJECTS. THIS NRT PROGRAM WILL INNOVATE THE TRAINING OF PH.D. AND MASTER?S STUDENTS THROUGH STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS, AND INTERDISCIPLINARITY TO PIONEER IMPACTFUL SOLUTIONS WHILE DEVELOPING KEY SKILLS FOR ENERGY SECTOR LEADERSHIP IN ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND POLICY ORGANIZATIONS. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH SEVEN NOVEL PROGRAM PILLARS: (1) COURSEWORK ON STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT THAT CULMINATES IN AN ANNUAL STUDENT-LED STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP; (2) A REQUIRED COURSE ON ETHICS AND EQUITY IN TECHNOLOGY; (3) A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING, POLICY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, ECONOMICS, AND POPULATION HEALTH GRADUATE COURSEWORK AND CERTIFICATE PROGRAM; (4) PARTICIPATION IN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TEAMS THAT TARGET LOCALLY BASED BUT UNIVERSALLY-RELEVANT TOPICS IN EQUITABLE ENERGY DECARBONIZATION AND REQUIRE THESIS CONTRIBUTIONS CONNECTING TECHNOLOGY, POLICY, AND STAKEHOLDERS; (5) REQUIRED STAKEHOLDER-BASED INTERNSHIPS; (6) COMMUNITY BUILDING TO AMPLIFY THE PROJECT?S VISION AMONG A BROADER STUDENT POPULATION; AND (7) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LEADERSHIP SEMINAR SERIES TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO A WIDE RANGE OF ROLES IN THE ENERGY SECTOR. PROGRAM OUTCOMES WILL BE MEASURED BY THE EFFICACY IN MEETING IDENTIFIED LEARNING OBJECTIVES, WORKFORCE PREPAREDNESS OF TRAINEES, AND ABILITY TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN STUDENTS AND ADDRESS WORKFORCE DIVERSITY IN THE ENERGY SECTOR. THE NSF RESEARCH TRAINEESHIP (NRT) PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BOLD, NEW POTENTIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE MODELS FOR STEM GRADUATE EDUCATION TRAINING. THE PROGRAM IS DEDICATED TO EFFECTIVE TRAINING OF STEM GRADUATE STUDENTS IN HIGH PRIORITY INTERDISCIPLINARY OR CONVERGENT RESEARCH AREAS THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE TRAINEESHIP MODELS THAT ARE INNOVATIVE, EVIDENCE-BASED, AND ALIGNED WITH CHANGING WORKFORCE AND RESEARCH NEEDS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

MACHINE LEARNING ENHANCED LASER INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY (LIBS) FOR AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF HYDROGEN PRODUCING GASIFIERS. THE PROJECT’S OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF LIBS INTEGRATED WITH MACHINE LEARNING (ML) DESIGNED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FEEDSTOCK STREAMS INTO ENTRAINED-FLOW AND FLUIDIZED BED GASIFIER SYSTEMS THAT PRODUCE CLEAN HYDROGEN WITH BIOMASS, WASTE PLASTICS, AND LEGACY COAL WASTE AS THE FEEDSTOCKS. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND CRITICAL FACTORS: (1) ASSEMBLING A MATERIAL INVENTORY AND DEVELOPING SAMPLING PROCEDURE; (2) DESIGNING AND ASSEMBLING LIBS SYSTEM FOR STATIC AND DYNAMIC CONDITIONS; (3) DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING ML ALGORITHMS FOR LIBS DATA PROCESSING; (4) INSTALLING LIBS+ML SYSTEMS ON ONE ENTRAINED-FLOW AND ONE FLUIDIZED BED GASIFIER; (5) INTEGRATING LIBS+ML OUTPUTS INTO GASIFIER CONTROL SYSTEMS; AND (6) PERFORMING A TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (TEA).

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

TAS::89 0222::TAS NEW: LASER FABRICATION OF ACTIVE SINGLE-CRYSTAL ARCHITECTURE IN GLASS; PI - HIMANSHU JAIN

LEHIGH ADVANCE: BUILDING COMMUNITY BEYOND ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS

ESTABLISHING MULTIMODAL BRAIN BIOMARKERS USING DATA-DRIVEN ANALYTICSFOR TREATMENT SELECTION IN DEPRESSION - PROJECT ABSTRACT MAJOR DEPRESSION IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ILL HEALTH AND DISABILITY WORLDWIDE ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. ALTHOUGH SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN UNDERSTANDING THE DISEASE AND DEVELOPING TREATMENTS, ANTIDEPRESSANTS, AS THE TREATMENT MAINSTAY, ARE EFFECTIVE FOR ONLY ABOUT 50% OF PATIENTS, IN PART DUE TO THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL HETEROGENEITY IN DEPRESSION. DEVELOPING ADVANCED DATA-DRIVEN TECHNIQUES BY LEVERAGING MACHINE LEARNING WITH LARGE-SCALE MULTIMODAL NEUROIMAGING DATA FROM RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS PROVIDES US A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE BRAIN BIOMARKERS TO IDENTIFY TREATMENT-PREDICTIVE NEUROBIOLOGICAL PHENOTYPES. ESTABLISHING SUCH BIOMARKERS IS CRUCIAL FOR REDUCING THE NEED FOR MULTIPLE DRUG TRIALS AND EXPEDITING REMISSION BY SHARPENING THE SEARCH FOR TREATMENT TARGETS. HOWEVER, INTEGRATIVE ANALYSIS OF MULTIMODAL DATA FOR IDENTIFYING BIOMARKERS AND DIFFERENTIATING INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES TO TREATMENT IN DEPRESSION REMAINS HIGHLY CHALLENGING AND UNDEREXPLORED. IN THIS PROPOSAL, WE WILL DEVELOP NEW DATA-DRIVEN ANALYTICAL TOOLS TO QUANTIFY MULTIMODAL MODERATORS AND SIGNATURES JOINTLY FROM PRE-TREATMENT FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG) DATA FOR THE PREDICTION OF TREATMENT RESPONSE TO ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION. IN AIM 1, WE WILL IDENTIFY MULTIMODAL MODERATORS OF TREATMENT EFFECT USING DATA FROM THE ESTABLISHING MODERATORS AND BIOSIGNATURES OF ANTIDEPRESSANT RESPONSE FOR CLINICAL CARE (EMBARC) TRIAL. A CANONICAL CORRELATION ANALYSIS-BASED DATA-DRIVEN MODEL WILL BE DESIGNED TO EXTRACT COMBINED FEATURES THAT FUSE TOGETHER COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FROM BOTH FMRI AND EEG MODALITIES. INTENT-TO-TREAT PREDICTION LINEAR MIXED MODELS WILL BE USED TO PROBE MULTIMODAL MODERATORS OF ANTIDEPRESSANT SERTRALINE VERSUS PLACEBO TREATMENT RESPONSE. IN AIM 2, WE WILL BUILD A SUPERVISED LATENT SPACE MODEL THAT UNIFIES THE FEATURE FUSION AND PREDICTIVE MODELING AND APPLY IT TO QUANTIFY MULTIMODAL BRAIN SIGNATURES THAT CAN PREDICT INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT RESPONSES TO SERTRALINE VERSUS PLACEBO MEDICATION. IN AIM 3, WE WILL RECRUIT 50 DEPRESSED PATIENTS AS AN INDEPENDENT COHORT UNDERGOING SERTRALINE TREATMENT TO OPTIMIZE AND VALIDATE THE IDENTIFIED MULTIMODAL BIOMARKERS. BOTH FMRI AND EEG WILL BE COLLECTED AT BASELINE FOLLOWED BY TREATMENT WITH THE ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION SERTRALINE (IN A MANNER PARALLELING EMBARC PROCEDURES) AND CLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF OUTCOMES. WE WILL RELEASE THE DEVELOPED SOFTWARE TOOLS AND COLLECTED DATA TO BE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY TO FACILITATE MULTIMODAL NEUROIMAGING STUDIES IN OTHER MENTAL DISORDERS.

ELECTRON CYCLOTRON HEATING & CURRENT DRIVE IN TOROIDAC GEOMETRY.

INTEGRATED LIBS-RAMAN-AI SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME, IN-SITU CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF MSW STREAMS

CAREGIVING, ATTACHMENT, AND REGULATION OF EMOTION (CARE)

ACCELERATING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN’S LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT WITH PARENTS PLUS

DESIGNING TWO-LEVEL BIOMIMETIC FIBRILLAR INTERFACES

LEHIGH AND WEST VIRGINIA INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENT CENTERS – CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE

MULTISCALE PREDICTIVE MODELING OF BLOOD CELL DAMAGE WITH EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION

A FEEDING TUBE MODEL FOR BACTERIAL CELL-CELL COMMUNICATION

A PUTATIVE HEPARIN RECEPTOR IN SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

HIGH-PERFORMANCE SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT IN NSTX-U VIA PHYSICS-BASED MODELING AND MODEL-BASED CONTROL

CRISP TYPE 2/COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PROBABILISTIC RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT OF INTERDEPENDENT SYSTEMS (PRAISYS)

EFRI BEGIN OI: BIOCOMPUTATION OF DYNAMIC PATTERNS WITH CORTICAL NEURONAL ORGANOIDS -INFORMATION PROCESSING IN THE BRAIN HAS INSPIRED ADVANCES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HOWEVER, SOME ASPECTS OF INFORMATION PROCESSING IN THE BRAIN HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT TO TRANSLATE TO CONVENTIONAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE. NEURONS IN THE CORTEX OF THE BRAIN CAN PROCESS TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL INFORMATION SIMULTANEOUSLY, UNLIKE ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS. THIS MAY EXPLAIN WHY HUMAN BRAINS CAN MAKE SENSE OF MOVING VISUAL SCENES ACCURATELY AND WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT EFFORT. THIS AWARD WILL SUPPORT A PROJECT TO EXPLORE THE USE OF LAYERED BIOLOGICAL NEURAL NETWORKS FOR PROCESSING DYNAMIC VISUAL INFORMATION. CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LAYERS WILL BE GUIDED BY HARNESSING NATURAL DEVELOPMENT TO MIMIC THE VISUAL PATHWAY IN THE BRAIN. FULLY DEVELOPED AND TRAINED, THESE LAYERED BIOLOGICAL NEURAL NETWORKS WILL BE USED FOR IDENTIFICATION OF MOVING OBJECTS IN VIDEOS. ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS (ELSI) OF THE USE OF HUMAN-DERIVED NEURONS TO CREATE ORGANOIDS WILL BE EXAMINED. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED DURING THE PROJECT MAY HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON NATIONAL NEEDS SUCH AS IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ENDOWING AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS WITH IMPROVED VISION. RESEARCH FINDINGS WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO COURSES, AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE RECRUITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROJECT TO PROMOTE THEIR INTEREST IN RESEARCH. K-12 OUTREACH WILL ALSO BE UNDERTAKEN TO PROMOTE STUDENT INTEREST IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND ENGINEERING. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS LONG-STANDING CHALLENGES IN COMPUTATION WITH LIVING NEURONS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL NETWORKS IN MULTILAYER ORGANOIDS. THESE CHALLENGES INCLUDE TRANSFER OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL INFORMATION, AGGREGATION AND COMPACTION OF NEURONS, UNDESIRABLE SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY, RANDOM CONNECTIVITY, AND SYNAPTIC SCALING. NETWORKS OF NEURONS WILL BE ORGANIZED INTO STACKED LAYERS. INTER-LAYER CONNECTIVITY WILL BE RETINOTOPIC, WHILE INTRA-LAYER CONNECTIVITY WILL PROVIDE RECURRENT CONNECTIVITY. THIS NETWORK STRUCTURE IS OPTIMIZED FOR PROCESSING OF SPATIOTEMPORAL INFORMATION. IT TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE RICH REPERTOIRE OF INTRACELLULAR DYNAMIC PROCESSES AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT RECURRENT CONNECTIVITY OF BIOLOGICAL NEURONS THAT ENDOWS THEM WITH COMPLEX TEMPORAL PROPERTIES. CREATION OF LAYERED ORGANOIDS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY ADVANCES IN 3D-PRINTED SCAFFOLDS THAT STABILIZE THREE-DIMENSIONAL NEURONAL CULTURES AND ADDRESS AGGREGATION AND SYNAPTIC SCALING CHALLENGES. AN ALL-OPTICAL INTERFACE WILL BE USED TO ENCODE AND DECODE INFORMATION AND TO PREVENT SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY. NEURONAL ACTIVITY WILL BE HARNESSED TO DEVELOP DESIRED CONNECTIVITY. COMPUTATIONAL MODELS WILL BE CREATED TO ASSIST WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENCODING, DECODING, AND TRAINING ALGORITHMS, AS WELL AS WITH SECURE INFORMATION PROCESSING. PERFORMANCE OF STRUCTURED ORGANOIDS ON OPTICAL FLOW AND MOVING OBJECT SEGMENTATION TASKS WILL BE ASSESSED. THIS PROJECT SHOULD LEAD TO THE CREATION OF FUNDAMENTAL NEW KNOWLEDGE IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING, BIOENGINEERING, AND NEUROSCIENCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO FUND RESEARCH SUPPORTING THE DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY DARPA ULTRA WIDE BANDGAP SEMICONDUCTORS UWBGS PROGRAM. THIS EFFORT SHALL BE CARRIED OUT GENERALLY AS SET FORTH IN EXHIBIT B, RESEARCH DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT, DATED JULY 8, 2024 AND IN THE RECIPIENTS PROPOSAL TITLED, DEVELOPMENT AND SCALING OF CUBIC BORON NITRIDE SUBSTRATES, DATED DECEMBER 14, 2023, COPIES OF WHICH ARE IN THE POSSESSION OF BOTH PARTIES.

CHARACTERIZATION AND RECOVERY OF RARE EARTH ELEMENTS/ELEMENTS OF INTEREST IN COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUAL WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTES ASSOCIATED WITH COAL POWER GENERATION THE PROJECT OBJECTIVE IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS/ELEMENTS OF INTEREST IN COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUAL WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTES ASSOCIATED WITH COAL POWER GENERATION, AS FUNCTION OF COAL TYPE, COAL COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGIES, AND AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DEVICES CONFIGURATIONS. THE SECONDARY OBJECTIVE IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR POTENTIAL RARE EARTH ELEMENTS/ELEMENTS OF INTEREST RECOVERY TO ENABLE COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUAL WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTE BENEFICIAL USE.

THIS PROJECT WILL ENHANCE AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR LOW-CARBON CONCRETE BINDER COMMERCIALIZATION, TO TEST LOW-CARBON NON-ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENTS THAT CAN DECARBONIZE THE CEMENT AND CONCRETE INDUSTRIES BY ADVANCING LOW TEMPERATURE CALCINED CLAYS WITH A 50% LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT THAN TRADITIONAL CEMENT. THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL FOCUS ON FIVE KEY OBJECTIVES: (1) RESEARCH ULTRASONICATION PROCESSING AS A CONTAMINANT SEPARATION AND CLAY BENEFICIATION PROCESS FOR LOW-GRADE KAOLIN (LGK) AND BLENDED CALCINED CLAYS. (2) PRODUCE CALCINED CLAYS AT APPRECIABLE QUANTITIES FOR ANALYSIS AND CONCRETE BATCHING USING THE ULTRASONICATION-CALCINATION-GRINDING PROCESS. (3) INVESTIGATE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF NATURALLY OCCURRING CLAYS AS COMPARED TO ULTRASONICALLY PROCESSED CLAYS, BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER CALCINATION. (4) TEST AND QUANTIFY THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND DURABILITY PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE MIX DESIGNS UTILIZING CALCINED CLAYS. (5) QUANTIFY THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF CALCINED CLAYS IN TERMS OF THE DOE’S METRICS AND TO DETERMINE AN OPTIMAL TRADE-OFF POINT TO MAXIMIZE DESIRABLE PROPERTIES.

EFRI-PSBR: CONTINUOUS LIQUID FUEL PRODUCTION VIA SCALABLE BIOSYNTHESIS OF ENZYME-QUANTUM DOT HYBRID PHOTOCATALYSTS

PARENTS PLUS EN ESPAÑOL

DMREF: THRIVING WHILE DETONATING - MATERIALS FOR EXTREME DYNAMIC THERMOMECHANICAL PERFORMANCE -THE ABILITY TO RELIABLY ORDER OUR GROCERIES OR TAKEOUT, ENJOY RAPID PACKAGE DELIVERY, CHECK THE WEATHER FORECAST, AND NAVIGATE WITH GPS IS ALL A PART OF THE UNITED STATES? EVER-GROWING SPACE ECONOMY. ONE PROMISING BREAKTHROUGH IN PROPULSION TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD ENABLE MORE AFFORDABLE AND EFFICIENT ACCESS TO SPACE IS THE ROTATING DETONATION ENGINE (RDE), A REVOLUTIONARY ENGINE CONCEPT NOW UNDER ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT. AN RDE GENERATES POWER THROUGH SUSTAINING A CIRCULATING DETONATION WAVE IN AN ANNULAR CHAMBER AT THOUSANDS OF METERS PER SECOND, ACHIEVING POWER LEVELS ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE HIGHER THAN CONVENTIONAL ENGINES, WHILE PROVIDING HIGHER EFFICIENCIES, MORE COMPACT DESIGNS, AND HIGHER THRUST-TO-WEIGHT RATIOS. WHILE THE RDE TECHNOLOGY IS ADVANCING RAPIDLY, THE LACK OF ESTABLISHED MATERIAL SOLUTIONS TO CONTEND WITH THE EXTREME THERMOMECHANICAL LOADINGS ASSOCIATED WITH DETONATION REMAINS A CRITICAL BARRIER TO DEPLOYMENT. CURRENT TESTING HAS REPORTED MATERIAL FAILURES AFTER ONLY A FEW ENGINE CYCLES, WITH NO CLEAR CONSENSUS ON IDEAL MATERIALS. METALS, COMPOSITES, AND CERAMICS ARE ALL BEING EXPLORED. THIS DESIGNING MATERIALS TO REVOLUTIONIZE AND ENGINEER OUR FUTURE (DMREF) PROJECT AIMS TO TACKLE THIS MATERIALS BARRIER BY ESTABLISHING A SYNERGISTIC PLATFORM INFORMED BY THE MATERIALS GENOME INITIATIVE. IT WILL INTEGRATE INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AND A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY TO ACCELERATE THE DESIGN OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE COPPER ALLOYS AND TESTING PROTOCOLS FOR THE KINDS OF EXTREME DYNAMIC CONDITIONS FOUND IN RDES. THROUGH A STRATEGIC COMBINATION OF (I) MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ENCOMPASSING MATERIALS SCIENCE, MATERIALS INFORMATICS, MECHANICS, AERODYNAMICS AND COMBUSTION, (II) ORGANIZATION OF WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES WITH ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRIAL PARTICIPATION, AND (III) EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH INITIATIVES TO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND THE K-12 COMMUNITY, THIS PROJECT WILL ESTABLISH A NEW HUB OF MATERIALS DISCOVERY AND DESIGN FOR EXTREME AEROSPACE ENVIRONMENTS AND HELP TRAIN THE NEXT-GENERATION WORKFORCE. THIS DMREF PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE A GENERATIVE AI MULTI-AGENT FRAMEWORK TO ENABLE CLOSED-LOOP DESIGN OF COPPER-BASED ALLOYS FOR EXTREME DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS, USING BOTH COLD SPRAY AND DIRECTED ENERGY DEPOSITION ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. THIS FRAMEWORK WILL COORDINATE EXPERIMENTAL AND SIMULATION ACTIVITIES THROUGH AN UNCERTAINTY-RESPONSIVE MODEL, GUIDING MATERIAL DESIGN THROUGH ITERATIVE LEARNING. A UNIQUE ASPECT OF THE PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND MINIATURIZED RDE MATERIAL TESTING PLATFORM, SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED AND INSTRUMENTED TO RAPIDLY SCREEN CANDIDATE MATERIALS UNDER REALISTIC RDE CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION, THIS PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE REDUCED-ORDER MODELS FOR CYCLIC AND HIGH-STRAIN-RATE MATERIAL PERFORMANCE AND GENERATE DAMAGE AND FAILURE MECHANISM REGIME MAPS, PROVIDING FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHTS INTO HOW COMPOSITION, MICROSTRUCTURE, AND GRADATION MAY MITIGATE HIGH-FREQUENCY, HIGH-AMPLITUDE THERMOMECHANICAL LOADS. THE RESULTING KNOWLEDGE WILL NOT ONLY ADVANCE COPPER-BASED ALLOYS BUT ALSO PROVIDE TRANSFERABLE PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING BROADER CLASSES OF STRUCTURAL ALLOYS VIA ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND COATED MATERIALS SYSTEMS FOR PROPULSION AND POWER GENERATION. THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF CIVIL, MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING INNOVATION (CMMI) OF THE DIRECTORATE FOR ENGINEERING (ENG), AND THE DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH (DMR) OF THE DIRECTORATE FOR MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES (MPS). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY PROJECT TITLE: FLEXIBLE COAL POWER PLANT OPERATION WITH THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE UTILIZING THERMOSIPHONS AND CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS. NEW AWARD

LEAP-HI/GOALI: MESO-SCALE MECHANISMS FOR FRICTION IN STRUCTURED SOFT MATERIALS: ELASTIC HYSTERESIS AND DISLOCATION ARRAYS

DMREF: DNA-NANOCARBON HYBRID MATERIALS FOR PERCEPTION-BASED, ANALYTE-AGNOSTIC SENSING -NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: SENSING SPECIFIC MOLECULES IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE AND FORMS THE BASIS OF MANY DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGIES. OFTEN, THIS IS ACHIEVED BY ONE SENSOR-ONE ANALYTE LOCK-AND-KEY MECHANISMS, E.G., BY ANTIBODY-ANTIGEN BINDING. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS MATERIALS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO SENSING BASED ON AN ARTIFICIAL PERCEPTION SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM COMPRISES A SET OF NANOSENSOR ELEMENTS CHOSEN FROM THE FAMILY OF DNA/SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES (SWCNT) AND WILL WORK ON BODILY FLUIDS. EACH NANOSENSOR ELEMENT (A PARTICULAR DNA/SWCNT COMBINATION) WILL HAVE ONLY A WEAKLY SPECIFIC RESPONSE TO AN ANALYTE OR PHYSIOLOGICAL STATE. HOWEVER, ACTING IN CONCERT WITH MACHINE LEARNING (ML) TECHNIQUES AND HIGH THROUGHPUT EXPERIMENTAL INTERROGATION, A SUITABLY DESIGNED NANOSENSOR ARRAY CAN ACCURATELY DETECT OR MEASURE MULTIPLE ANALYTES OR PHYSIOLOGICAL STATES IN BIOFLUIDS. A COMPELLING FEATURE OF THIS APPROACH WILL BE THE ABILITY FOR A NANOSENSOR ARRAY TO BE DESIGNED FIRST AND PRIMARILY BY THE CHOICE OF NANOSENSOR ELEMENTS AND SECONDARILY BY THE USE OF MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS. BECAUSE THE NANOSENSOR ARRAY WILL BE BUILT AS INITIALLY ANALYTE-AGNOSTIC, THE OPTIMALLY DESIGNED SENSOR ARRAY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A UNIVERSAL BIOFLUID SENSING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF DIAGNOSING MANY DISEASES. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: THE PRINCIPAL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT WELL-CHOSEN NANOSENSOR ARRAYS CAN BE FOUND AND TRAINED TO DETECT A VARIETY OF ANALYTES OR PHYSIOLOGICAL STATES IN AQUEOUS BODILY FLUIDS. THREE PRINCIPAL AIMS ARE PROPOSED: TO DEVELOP A METHOD FOR SELECTION OF A FUNCTIONALLY DIVERSE SET OF NANOSENSOR ELEMENTS FROM THE FAMILY OF DNA/SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES (SWCNT) BASED ON A STANDARD AMINO ACID TEST; TO DEMONSTRATE THAT AN INITIALLY ANALYTE-AGNOSTIC POOL OF NANOSENSOR ELEMENTS CAN BE USED AS ELEMENTS OF A SYSTEM THAT CAN BE TRAINED TO SENSE SPECIFIC ANALYTES OR PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS; AND TO ESTABLISH THE STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL BASIS FOR ANALYTE-DNA-SWCNT INTERACTIONS USING COARSE-GRAINED (CG) AND ALL-ATOM (AA) MOLECULAR MODELS. THE PROJECT INTEGRATES HIGH-THROUGHPUT EXPERIMENTATION, MACHINE LEARNING (ML), AND PHYSICAL MODELING IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THE MATERIALS GENOME INITIATIVE (MGI) MISSION TO DISCOVER, MANUFACTURE, AND DEPLOY ADVANCED MATERIALS MUCH MORE QUICKLY AND AT A MUCH-REDUCED COST. THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM IS LED BY SCIENTISTS FROM THREE INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING A CHEMIST, A MATERIALS SCIENTIST, A BIOENGINEER, AND A COMPUTER SCIENTIST. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

POROUS AND GLUED LANGMUIR-BLODGETT MEMBRANES

EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES TO IDENTIFY GENETIC ARCHITECTURE REGULATING AGGRESSION

IDENTIFYING ELECTRICALLY COUPLED NETWORKS IN VITRO - SUMMARY WE PLAN TO EXPLORE THE FUNCTIONAL TOPOGRAPHY OF ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES IN THE THALAMIC RETICULAR NUCLEUS (TRN), A CENTRAL BRAIN REGION THAT CONTROLS CORTICAL ATTENTION TO THE SENSORY SURROUND BY GATING THALAMOCORTICAL INTERACTIONS. DURING SLOW-WAVE OF SLEEP AND ABSENCE EPILEPSY, THE BRAIN IS UNRESPONSIVE TO SENSORY INPUT; THE TRN IS THOUGHT TO FOCUS THIS NEURAL “SEARCHLIGHT” OF ATTENTION, AND TO GENERATE THE RHYTHMS THAT APPEAR AS SPINDLES DURING SLEEP AND SHARP-WAVE DISCHARGES IN EPILEPSY. NEURONAL COMMUNICATION IN THE TRN IS DOMINATED BY THE ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES THAT ARE FORMED BY CONNEXIN36 GAP JUNCTIONS AMONGST ITS GABAERGIC NEURONS. OUR BEST UNDERSTANDING OF ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES IS LIMITED BY CURRENT TECHNIQUES TO PAIRS OF NEURONS AND A SINGLE ELECTRICAL SYNAPSE. HERE, WE WILL LEVERAGE MODERN OPTOGENETIC AND FOCAL PHOTOSTIMULATION TECHNIQUES TO MAP ELECTRICALLY COUPLED NETWORKS IN MOLECULARLY DEFINED POPULATIONS OF GABAERGIC NEURONS OF THE LIVE TRN. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT THE ELECTRICALLY COUPLED NETWORKS WITHIN THE TRN LINK NEURONS ACROSS MOLECULAR IDENTITY, SENSORY MODALITY AND HIGHER-ORDER AND PRIMARY RELAY CHANNELS, AND THEREBY REGULATE THALAMOCORTICAL TRANSMISSION. WE WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT ACTIVITY-DEPENDENT ELECTRICAL SYNAPTIC DEPRESSION, WHICH IS INDUCED BY BURSTING PATTERNS THAT ARE PROMINENT DURING SLOW-WAVE SLEEP, IS GLOBAL FOR ALL SYNAPTIC COUPLING TO A STRONGLY BURSTING NEURON, DUE TO ITS DEPENDENCE ON PAN-NEURONAL T CURRENTS. FINALLY, WE WILL MODEL AND EXPERIMENTALLY VALIDATE HOW PLASTIC ELECTRICALLY COUPLED NETWORKS FINELY CONTROL THE INHIBITION THAT TRN NEURONS DELIVER TO THALAMOCORTICAL RELAY CELLS, AND THEREBY GATE THALAMOCORTICAL COMMUNICATION. BECAUSE THESE SYNAPSES ARE BOTH WIDESPREAD AND UNDERAPPRECIATED FOR THEIR POWER THROUGHOUT THE MAMMALIAN BRAIN, IT IS CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTAND THE MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL TOPOGRAPHY AND THE DYNAMICS OF THEIR NETWORKS. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPOSAL LIES IN ITS POTENTIAL TO, FOR THE FIRST TIME, IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE ELECTRICALLY COUPLED NETWORKS IN VITRO, BOTH IN THE TRN AND EVENTUALLY, THROUGHOUT THE BRAIN. THIS RESEARCH WILL MAKE GREAT STRIDES IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTION AND PLASTICITY OF ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES, AND PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO HOW THE TRN CONTROLS THALAMOCORTICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING.