SEED Grants 1999
Protein Kinase Involved in Regulation of Plasmodesmata
Vitaly Citovsky
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, SBU
Geoffrey Hind
Department of Biology, BNL
Plasmodesmata (PD), one of the major routes of intercellular communication within plants, will be studied.Evidence suggests that a protein kinase (PK) associated with plant cell walls may be a functional component of PD. PK will be purified at Brookhaven for study at Stony Brook to further investigate the composition and regulation of PD channels.
Science Study Forum
Robert Crease
Department of Philosophy, SBU; Historian, BNL
Seed support for an interdisciplinary group of faculty in the social sciences and humanities who discuss society's reactions to perceived environmental threats, ethics in science, and related topics.
Research Initiative in Lithium Manganese Oxides: a Study of the Charge Ordering in Battery Materials
Clare Grey
Department of Chemistry, SBU
John Hill
Department of Physics, BNL
Lithium manganese oxides are of current interest because of their use in rechargeable lithium batteries. The project will study the charge ordering in these compounds with a goal of improving the quality of rechargeable batteries.
Optical Profiler for Testing of Aspheric Mirrors
Peisen Huang
Department of Mechanical Engineering, SBU
Peter Takacs
Instrumentation Division, BNL
The objectives of the project are to develop a nanoradian angle sensor for surface slope measurement and demonstrate the feasibility of an optical profiler with improved accuracy. The optical profiler may result in an improvement of two orders of magnitude in the accuracy of the testing of the aspheric mirrors.
Functional Analysis of Human Checkpoint Signaling in Yeast
Janet Leatherwood
Department of Molecular Microbiology, SBU
Carl Anderson
Department of Biology, BNL
This collaboration will use yeast to analyze mechanisms by which human cells respond to DNA damage. Of particular interest is the signaling to the tumor suppressor protein p53, which is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers. An analysis of these pathways using genetic and molecular models available in yeast will be performed.
Influences of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Herbivory in Terrestrial Ecosystems
Manuel Lerdau
Department of Ecology and Evolution, SBU
Carmen Benkovitz
Department of Environmental Chemistry, BNL
George Hendrey
Department of Applied Sciences, BNL
This project will study the effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on plant ecology in terrestrial ecosystems, focusing particularly on the impacts on plants the their insect herbivores. This general topic is of great importance in understanding basic ecological processes and the effects of large-scale changes on ecosystems.
Metal-Carbon Multiple Bonds as Building Blocks for Molecular Electronic Devices
Andreas Mayr
Department of Chemistry, SBU
Bruce Brunschwig
Department of Chemistry, BNL
This project proposed a non-traditional application of metal-carbon multiple bonds as functional and structural components in molecular electronic devices. Specifically the group proposes to develop low-valent alkylidyne metal complexes as versatile building blocks for the development of molecular devices.
Acquisition of a Real-Time Satellite Receiving System for Regional Environmental Research and Education
Duane Waliser
Marine Sciences Research Center, SBU
Joyce Tichler
Department of Applied Science, BNL
This project involves the acquisition of a satellite receiving system to be located at Stony Brook and provide feeds to Brookhaven National Laboratory. The system will be an excellent classroom resource for the teaching of meteorology and education outreach programs. As well, this shared resource will tie together environmental research, monitoring and on-going education efforts at Stony Brook, Brookhaven and the Eastern Regional offices of the National Weather Service.