Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Nevada Receives NASA EPSCoR Research Award for $100,000

Nevada Receives NASA EPSCoR Research Award for $100,000

To deliver a payload to the International Space Station (ISS)

Las Vegas, Nevada – The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) has been awarded $100,000 over a period of three years for the project “A compact, non-invasive, and efficient vision screening system for long-term spaceflight missions.” This project is funded through The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), in collaboration with the International Space Station (ISS) Research Office.

Unique neuroocular changes affect a subset of astronauts who have completed prolonged spaceflight missions. Due to its unique pathophysiology, a new case definition was proposed, and the condition was renamed Spaceflight Associated Neuro‑ocular Syndrome (SANS). A significant barrier in determining the etiology of SANS while monitoring its risk of development and progression is the lack of technologies onboard long‑term spaceflight missions that are capable of measuring crew member’s vision in‑flight, objectively, quickly, and reliably.

 

A Diagram showing various aspects of a proposed vision screening system.

 

Limitations of terrestrial analogs and the unknown factors contributing to SANS, such as microgravity, elevated CO2 levels, or other spaceflight exposures, present a significant unmet need in collecting physiological and functional data related to astronaut vision during long‑term spaceflight.

Therefore, the main objective of the proposed work is to deliver a payload to the International Space Station (ISS), comprising technologies that are designed to measure various aspects of astronauts’ vision quickly and reliably.

“Our technology integrates a fully developed battery of user‑friendly vision tests into a compact screening device, e.g., a virtual reality head-mounted display (VRHMD)”, said Dr. Alireza Tavakkoli, Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the technical lead for the project. “In‑flight vision screening data will be an invaluable asset to help scientists better study SANS and develop and monitor the effects of countermeasures”.

“The Nevada NASA EPSCoR program is thrilled that Dr. Tavakkoli and his team will have an opportunity to test their technology on the International Space Station”, said Dr. Eric Wilcox, Nevada NASA Programs Project Director. “The EPSCoR program is invaluable to researchers in Nevada to get our innovations out of the lab and into space.”

The long‑term goal of this project is to establish a suitable protocol for integrating this vision screening platform into future spaceflight missions to be able to monitor crew member’s visual health in real‑time and with frequencies currently not possible.

“We are proud that Dr. Tavakkoli and his team have this opportunity to contribute to the health and well-being of our NASA astronauts,” University of Nevada, Reno Engineering Dean Erick Jones said. “One of our college’s main focus areas is unmanned vehicles and the new space frontier, and this work augments NASA’s efforts to explore the unknown in air and space, and to innovate for the benefit of humanity.”

“EPSCoR enables eligible states to advance in vital science and research areas,” Mridul Gautam, vice president for Research and Innovation at the University of Nevada, Reno and chair of the EPSCoR/IDeA Coalition Board, said. “With this NASA EPSCoR funding support and inspired leadership from our faculty, research in computer science and atmospheric sciences will continue to help the University produce a highly prepared workforce.”

About NSHE: The Nevada System of Higher Education, comprised of two doctoral-granting research universities, a state university, four comprehensive community colleges, and one environmental research institute, serves the educational and job training needs of Nevada. NSHE provides educational opportunities to more than 100,000 students and is governed by the Nevada Board of Regents. The System includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College, Desert Research Institute, the College of Southern Nevada, Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows Community College, and Western Nevada College. For more information regarding NSHE please visit: https://nshe.nevada.edu/

About the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR: The mission of the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR is to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary learning among NSHE institutions, and to enable alignment of efforts with the needs of the state to increase research and STEM competitiveness. The goal is to create new opportunities in the State of Nevada for workforce development and promote the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines for the state. For more information regarding Nevada EPSCoR please visit: https://epscorspo.nevada.edu/

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For inquires, please contact Mayara Cueto-Diaz, mcueto-diaz@nshe.nevada.edu. 

Congratulations Dr. Jenny Ouyang, Fulbright Scholar!

 

We would like to congratulate Dr. Jenny Ouyang, Associate Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Nevada, Reno for receiving a U.S. Fulbright Scholar fellowship for the 2023-2024 academic year. She was a previous NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4 recipient for her research on understanding how animals adapt to urban environments. Dr. Ouyang said “the EPSCoR grant allowed me to set up the field sites currently used in my research to understand how urbanization impacts behavior, physiology, and fitness in birds. We found notable differences between urban and rural individuals, such that I am very keen on seeing if these differences would be similar in the tropics, which is the research topic of my Fulbright.”

Her Fulbright fellowship is part of her yearlong sabbatical where she’ll focus on researching birds, mainly house wrens, in various locations, both rural and urban, across the globe to see if the same behavioral patterns emerge that she has observed in northern Nevada. Upon completion of her research, she’s hoping to find how we can change cities to benefit human and animal health. Ouyang will be examining the effects of pollutants, such as city light, noise and heavy metals to see how we can make cities more livable.

HDRFS Website Launch

We are excited to announce the website launch for the RII Track-1: Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) project.

On the HDRFS website, you can find information about our project and the different research components, as well as funding opportunities and resources as they become available. The new website will be updated regularly with timely updates about our programs, recent news, and upcoming events.

The overarching goal of the HDRFS project is to increase the capacity of Nevada for wildland fire research, education, and workforce development and to demonstrate this increased capacity through technology-enhanced fire science in the regionally important sagebrush ecosystem.

This project is funded through the National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR); whose mission is to enhance research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions (states, territories, commonwealth) by strengthening STEM capacity and capability through a diverse portfolio of investments from talent development to local infrastructure.

2023-2024 HDRFS Seed Grant Awards

Congratulations to all HDRFS Seed Grant Awardees!

We would like to congratulate the following NSHE faculty, who were selected to receive seed grant funding for their projects. These awards are funded through the NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1: Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) for one year at $30,000 to provide additional research, education and workforce development (E-WFD), and sustainability in areas relevant to the HDRFS project.

Jun Yong Kang, Associate Professor

Organic Chemistry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Project Title:
Development of Fire Retardants Harnessing the Synergistic Effects

Jaeyun Moon, Associate Professor

Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Project Title:
Invasive Grasses and Desert Biomass-Derived Biochar Composites for Active Carbon Capture

Emma E. Regentova, Professor

Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Project Title:
A Machine Learning Framework for Measuring Water Drop Penetration Time of Fire-Affected Soils

Yeongkwon Son, Associate Research Professor

Environmental Health, Desert Research Institute

Project Title:
Evaluating the Toxicity of Fresh and Aged Laboratory Fire Smoke Emissions Using an Atmospheric Aging Chamber

Robert Washington-Allen, Associate Professor

Agriculture, Veterinary and Rangeland Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno

Project Title:
Remote Sensing of Belowground Biomass in Pre-and Post-Fire Sagebrush Steppe

“This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OIA- 2148788.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.” 

Applications Now Open: Tuition-Covered Data Analytics Training

Tuition-Covered Data Analytics Training 

At present, there are 40,000 high-paying job openings for Data Analysts with the relevant qualifications and experience. If you’re interested in filling one of these positions and have a strong desire to learn more about data, our data analytics training program is a perfect fit for you!

This opportunity is unique because it provides skills that can be applied to a range of disciplines, including computer science, ecology and the environment, health sciences, economics, and the social sciences, and more!

This program provides tuition coverage for students interested in data analytics training and provides internship opportunities with NSHE faculty research mentors. Students of this program will complete the Data Analytics training hosted by Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) virtually in partnership with NCLab.

Applications for the training are now open, so apply today. The deadline to apply for this program is April 15, 2023. While completing this independent study program from June 1 to November 30, students will develop the technical and analytical skills necessary for professional data analyst.

Successful applicants will receive tuition coverage for this training. See below for a description of the application and competitive selection process.

Students who complete the training program will have the opportunity to apply for a funded research internship with HDRFS faculty mentors across all NSHE institutions. Interns who are selected will be supported with a $4,000 scholarship for a four-month, 20-hour per week commitment.

Students currently enrolled in any NSHE institution are eligible to apply. Interested applicants must be enrolled in their respective undergraduate programs through spring 2024.

There are two stages to the application process: Application and Screening. 

Application Phase. Submit a written application. Deadline: April 15, 2023

  • A one-page personal statement detailing the applicant’s interests & their future goals, 
  • Curriculum vitae (CV) or resume
  • Complete the application form 

Screening Phase. After submitting the application, students participate in the screening process which includes:

  • A 30-minute pre-interview
  • 3-5 hour mini-course to understand students’ baseline skill levels
  • A 45-minute post-interview

The training package consists of multiple short courses that focus on structured query language (SQL), workplace math, and computational literacy. The training concludes with a short, applied project. For each course within the training package, the student will receive a course completion certificate. The program is self-paced and asynchronous, provided online through an interactive platform.

Support is provided throughout the program, including built-in tools like hints that can clarify questions and provide more information, and direct one-on-one access to the Instructional Support team seven days per week with a response time of 24 hours or less.

Approximate number of hours to complete all of the short courses in the training package is 200 hours.

More information on course content will be made available soon.

FAQs

What are the benefits of the Data Analytics Training program?

  • Students who complete this competency-based course will have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed as data analysts.
  • Participants will have the practical experience that well over 95% of job openings require.
  • The coursework can be completed independently, alongside existing commitments that students may have. 
  • NSHE students can complete the training remotely, from wherever they are based across the state. Research internships may require in-person involvement, depending on the topic.

Who is the ideal candidate for this program?

Characteristics of an ideal candidate include someone who enjoys finding patterns and creating systems to organize information. Students should be interested in working with data and motivated to learn and apply new skills. 

How many hours a week should I expect to spend on the training?

Each course has its own hours expected to complete. In general, the total hours required to complete each course is 200 hours. On average, students should aim to commit 9 hours per week to complete this training program. Since this program is self-paced, students can complete this program faster than the normal hours.

Will I earn a certificate?

The students will receive course certificates for each class completed as part of the 200 hour training. 

What do I need to do to pass this course?

To successfully complete this course, learners must complete 100% of online coursework including quizzes, projects, and more in the stipulated time & order.

Where does the program take place?

This program is completely online. Students enrolled in any NSHE institution can complete this course. Research Internships may require in-person involvement. 

Are there any prerequisites for this program?

There are no prerequisites for this program but students should be able to show that they can learn new things and apply what they learn, through the assessment and screening process.

What other dates will this program be offered in the future?

This program will be offered for academic years 2023-2024, 2024-2025, 2025-2026, and 2026-2027.

What equipment or technical requirements are there for this program?

Students should have access to a private or public device larger than a phone with a stable internet connection and an up-to-date browser.

This program is organized by NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: RII Track-1: Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS).

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OIA- 2148788.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Nevada NASA Programs appoint new Project Director, Dr. Eric Wilcox

Nevada NASA Programs appoint new Project Director, Dr. Eric Wilcox

Las Vegas, NevadaNevada NASA EPSCoR and Space Grant Consortium announce the new Project Director, Dr. Eric Wilcox. Following an internal statewide NSHE search, the Research Affairs Council approved the appointment of Dr. Wilcox, who will take on the role of Project Director while continuing his work at DRI, where he is a Research Professor of Atmospheric Science.

As the Project Director, Dr. Wilcox will lead the multi-year NASA EPSCoR Research Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), Research Infrastructure Development (RID), Rapid Response Research (R3), potential other NASA EPSCoR Programs and NASA Space Grant projects. As per NASA requirements, the Project Director is the lead PI on NASA EPSCoR and Space Grant awards, providing financial, reporting, and evaluation oversight as well as administrative coordination as needed. In this role, Dr. Wilcox, will align system-wide NASA EPSCoR program activities with state and national priorities in STEM research and education.  These priorities will target research development, economic development and workforce development priorities for the state and NASA Directorates.

“Under the leadership of former project director, Dr. Lynn Fenstermaker, these programs have provided STEM education and NASA-related research opportunities for hundreds of students and dozens of faculty from across NSHE,” said Dr. Eric Wilcox. “I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to continuing this legacy. I have spent much of my career as a scientist working at NASA, or as part of the broader community of academic researchers involved with NASA, and I am excited to serve in a role where I can grow the number of students and researchers in Nevada engaged with the NASA community.”

Since 2010, Dr. Wilcox has managed DRI’s atmospheric modeling group, leading a broad research program with basic research focused on particulate pollutants, clouds, and climate change, as well as applied research, focused on weather forecasting for industrial safety, agriculture, and renewable energy applications. In this role, he mentors a team of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and technicians, and has been awarded more than $3.1M in sponsored project expenditures at DRI since 2010 with greater than $3.6M in external funding from NASA to Nevada as principal investigator or co-investigator through 2025.

He serves as a member representative to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research on behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education and served as DRI’s Faculty Senate Chair in 2020, leading efforts to determine the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty and staff. He is also a member of the graduate faculty in the Interdisciplinary Atmospheric Sciences Program at UNR and teaches courses in Atmospheric Modeling and Atmospheric Physics.

Dr. Wilcox earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and a Ph.D. in Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD. Prior to joining DRI in 2010, Dr. Wilcox was a physical scientist in the Climate and Radiation Laboratory at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and a postdoctoral fellow at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University. His research addresses the interactions among aerosols, clouds, and precipitation towards a goal of improved understanding of precipitation, cloud variability and radiative forcing of climate at regional scales. This work relies on satellite and in-situ observations, as well as simulations with numerical models of the atmosphere and climate.

About NSHE: The Nevada System of Higher Education, comprised of two doctoral-granting research universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges, and one environmental research institute, serves the educational and job training needs of Nevada. NSHE provides educational opportunities to more than 100,000 students and is governed by the Nevada Board of Regents. The System includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College, Desert Research Institute, the College of Southern Nevada, Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows Community College, and Western Nevada College. For more information regarding NSHE please visit: https://nshe.nevada.edu/

About the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR: The mission of the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR is to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary learning among NSHE institutions, and to enable alignment of efforts with the needs of the state to increase research and STEM competitiveness. The goal is to create new opportunities in the State of Nevada for workforce development and promote the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines for the state. For more information regarding Nevada EPSCoR please visit: https://epscorspo.nevada.edu/

About DRI: The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu/

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For inquires, please contact Mayara Cueto-Diaz, mcueto-diaz@nshe.nevada.edu. 

Vacancy: Research Administrator (Grant Management)

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) invites applications and nominations for the position of Research Administrator.  This is a grant-funded, renewable, full-time, non-tenured, administrative position and reports to the Director of System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR.  The position will be located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The NSHE is comprised of eight institutions: two universities, a state college, four community colleges and a research institute.  The public system of higher education in Nevada continues to experience growth with significant challenges and opportunities in serving over 105,000 students and 12,000 employees.

The Research Administrator for the Nevada System of Higher Education provides pre-award/post-award grant administration and programmatic oversight to projects that are awarded to NSHE from the National Science Foundation and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR).  The position provides support for the NSF EPSCoR Project Director, who has overall oversight for management of the NSF ESPCoR statewide program.  This position acts as the Project Administrator and is an integral part of the project leadership team.

STARTING SALARY:  Grade C ($65,000 to $70,000 commensurate with education, experience, and training) Benefits package includes health, dental, vision, life, and retirement benefits.

APPROXIMATE STARTING DATE: September 15, 2022

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  The successful candidate must have an earned Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.  A minimum of 4 years progressive experience directly applicable to the position is required.  Preference will be given to candidates who have experience in non-profit or higher education grants management.  Preference given to Certified Research Administrators (CRA).

View Vacancy Announcement

Photo by Dr. Scotty Strachan, University of Nevada, Reno

Nevada Receives National Science Foundation Research Award for $20 Million

Nevada Receives National Science Foundation Research Award for $20 Million

To increase capacity for wildland fire research, education, and workforce development

Las Vegas, Nevada –The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) has been awarded $20 million over a period of five years for the Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) project.  This project is funded through the National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR); whose mission is to enhance research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions (states, territories, commonwealth) by strengthening STEM capacity and capability.

The overarching goal of the RII Track-1: Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) project is to increase the capacity of Nevada for wildland fire research, education, and workforce development and to demonstrate this increased capacity through technology-enhanced fire science in the regionally important sagebrush ecosystem.

This system-wide partnership involves the three research institutions, the Desert Research Institute (DRI), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Further involvement includes faculty and students from NSHE undergraduate institutions.

“NSF continues to serve as an essential partner in supporting the critical work of the NSHE EPSCoR,” said NSHE Board of Regents Chair Cathy McAdoo. “As our region currently faces extreme fire and water challenges, we appreciate this investment in Fire Science research and workforce development; giving NSHE institutions (DRI, UNLV, UNR) more capacity to solve our most pressing environmental issues.”

This project will inform and improve land and fire management by providing scaling of fire effects and impacts from smaller to larger fires in four fire science areas: Ecology; Hydrology between fire events; Fire Processes; and Fire Emissions and their Atmospheric Aging during fire events. This will be achieved through strategic investments in expertise, facilities, Cyberinfrastructure Innovations, and Education and Workforce Development creating end-to-end pipelines for research and STEM advancements.

“This project will generate and harness large amounts of data from diverse sensor platforms to accurately model landscapes and wildland fires from plot to watershed scales,” said Frederick Harris, Nevada NSF EPSCoR Project Director. “We will study how fires impact the societal needs outlined in the Nevada Science and Technology Plan.”

In addition, NSHE researchers will study potential new areas of economic development for Nevada, emphasizing new opportunities for workforce development, diversity, hiring new faculty, and providing more scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields.

“This NSF award funds critical fire science research, which continues to be a priority for Nevada,” said DRI President Kumud Acharya. “DRI has expertise in wildland fire research, and we look forward to working with our fellow NSHE institutions on this important project.”

The award will enhance Nevada’s capabilities in wildland fire science, UAS, data acquisition, processing, and modeling, and rapid deployment, while strengthening Nevada’s network of external collaborators and stakeholders, who already include the major fire and land management agencies in the Great Basin and Western U.S.

“This marks an important investment for Nevada and the West,” said UNR President Brian Sandoval. “This National Science Foundation EPSCoR-supported project takes a comprehensive, collaborative approach. It will enhance the capacity of Nevada’s public research institutions to further tackle an issue of utmost importance, and will do so by further deploying technology and cyberinfrastructure, and further building on the expertise and capabilities of our researchers and faculty.”

“By joining forces, UNR, DRI, and UNLV are poised to reveal the power of cooperation in Nevada when it comes to addressing challenges important to the state and beyond its borders,” said UNLV President Keith Whitfield. “This research will advance our fundamental understanding of wildfires as it strengthens the capacity of our campuses to engage with each other and with Nevada’s students and citizens in addressing today’s complex challenges. This is but one example of how research works for Nevada.”

About NSHE: The Nevada System of Higher Education, comprised of two doctoral-granting research universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges, and one environmental research institute, serves the educational and job training needs of Nevada. NSHE provides educational opportunities to more than 100,000 students and is governed by the Nevada Board of Regents. The System includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College, Desert Research Institute, the College of Southern Nevada, Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows Community College, and Western Nevada College. For more information regarding NSHE please visit: https://nshe.nevada.edu/

About the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR: The mission of the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR is to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary learning among NSHE institutions, and to enable alignment of efforts with the needs of the state to increase research and STEM competitiveness. The goal is to create new opportunities in the State of Nevada for workforce development and promote the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines for the state. For more information regarding Nevada EPSCoR please visit: https://epscorspo.nevada.edu/

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For inquires, please contact Mayara Cueto-Diaz, mcueto-diaz@nshe.nevada.edu.