College of Sciences E-newsletter

September 2007

In this issue:

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UNLV Recognized By the National Science Foundation (NSF) for Science and Engineering Research Growth

The August 3, 2007 issue of Science lists UNLV (99%) as the fourth largest growing research university in the quantity of science and engineering publications since the early 1990s. This growth comes at a time when overall U.S. science and engineering publication rates have remained stagnant. Bibliographies of faculty publications for College of Sciences in the years 2007 (Jan – Jun), 2006, and 2005 are available at:

Faculty Bibliography, 2007 (Jan – Jun)
Faculty Bibliography, 2006 
Faculty Bibliography, 2005

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"College of Sciences: UNLV Gets National Attention: Engineering, Science Fields Rising to Top on Many Levels," by Lawrence Mower, Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 13, 2007

Yalemi Morales, a precocious sophomore at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has been working on ways to kill cancer cells this summer, thanks to a federal grant that allows her to partner with the Nevada Cancer Institute for her research. A poster showing the results of her work -- she hasn't found a solution just yet -- is a dizzying array of numbers, letters and symbols that one might expect out of a graduate or doctoral student. If Morales would have been at UNLV a decade ago, she probably would have had to go out of state for her research because UNLV offered only about a dozen of the summer-long undergraduate research spots instead of the 50 or so now.

Morales is part of a surging College of Sciences that has grown by leaps and bounds and is capturing national attention in the form of scientific articles and exclusive federal grants and awards. Between 1991 and 2001, UNLV was the fourth-fastest-growing university in the nation by measure of its output of articles in the sciences and engineering fields, according to a recent study by the National Science Foundation. Publication of peer-reviewed articles, considered a key measure of productivity by a university, grew 99 percent at UNLV during that period. As other universities grow stagnant or cut back on expensive scientific research, UNLV has been able to capitalize by luring top young professors and researchers.

The college's growth has been flying in the face of a worrying national trend, the National Science Foundation said. The United States has seen its growth in the number of scientific publications plateau over the past 10 years as Europe and Asia have seen an increase. "It's a difficult picture," UNLV College of Engineering Dean Eric Sandgren said of the report. "The fact that our (national) output has flattened out is not good. But for us, it's a very positive thing."

The College of Sciences has undergone a metamorphosis thanks to rapid growth and a new focus on research, faculty and professors said. Postdoctoral scholars, for example, the top tier of students who have completed their doctoral degree and conduct research under a professor's tutelage, were unheard of at UNLV 20 years ago, faculty said. Now, the university has enough top faculty to oversee dozens of "post-docs." In the area of publicized articles, the increase in quantity has brought with it a boost in quality. Faculty are being published in the most prestigious peer-reviewed publications, and gossip circulates whenever someone publishes in something lesser, said Carl Reiber, associate dean of academic affairs for the School of Life Sciences.

The transformation was the goal of former UNLV President Carol Harter, who took over in 1995 what she called a "regional teaching institution." "She was really the first person who came in and said, 'We're going to be a research university,' " College of Sciences Dean Ron Yasbin said. University officials are quick to point out that it is classified as a research university with high research activity from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Integral to becoming a research university has been hiring research-oriented faculty, made easier by the fact that UNLV has been one of the few universities in the country growing rapidly and offering well-paying jobs.

Science faculty such as Brian Hedlund, an assistant professor who was hired in 2003 and has received a prestigious NSF Early Career Development Award for his work discovering new organisms in Nevada's hot springs, have catapulted the university to a national level. Researchers are receiving highly competitive grants on a consistent basis, and 2007 has proven to be the best year in the College of Sciences' history. This year, it has collected more than $10 million from the NSF, National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Department of Energy. The trend toward a research university sets off chain reaction that benefits students: better faculty receive better funding, which creates better labs and access for students. UNLV isn't to the point where it can afford for faculty to not teach classes, said Michelle Elekonich, a UNLV assistant professor who has been involved projects such as the honeybee genome project. That means that undergraduates, unlike at more prestigious institutions, have better access to top faculty.

Growth at UNLV has slowed in recent years. And like universities throughout the country, UNLV is facing a crisis in which fewer young people, minorities in particular, are entering the science and engineering fields. "It's a serious problem," Yasbin said. "We're not doing enough." The university recently has established the Center for Mathematics and Science Education and has been making strides in developing new ways to teach students, he said. Science and engineering still suffers a image that the fields are nerdy, Sandgren said. The space race of the 1960s and the Cold War that followed boosted the prominence of engineering. He is hopeful the energy crisis will have a similar effect on the field.

FEDERAL GRANTS FOR UNLV COLLEGE OF SCIENCES

2007 has proven to be the UNLV College of Sciences' most successful year for receiving competitive federal grants. Some of the recipients of those grants include the following:

Researcher

Funding

Subject of research

Allen Gibbs

$950,000

Studying fruit flies for clues to genetic adaptations to arid environments

Brian Hedlund

$841,632

Studying unusual microorganisms that thrive in Nevada's Great Boiling Spring

Frank Van Bruekelen

$745,000

Studying protein metabolism in mammals during hibernation

Michelle Elekonich

$667,000

Researching how aging and behavior interact in honeybees

Stan Smith

$488,774

Studying the impact of increased carbon dioxide on the Mojave Desert

Source: UNLV College of Sciences

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Numerical Analysis of Path-dependent Options with Regime Switching and Calibration of Interest Rate Models," National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant ($115,409)

Hongtao Yang, assistant professor of mathematics, has received a three-year, $ 115,409 National science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop, analyze, and implement numerical methods for the valuation of interest rate models. Yang joins UNLV and the College of Sciences in September 2007, having received his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta.

Abstract: The main objectives of the proposed research are to develop, analyze, and implement new, fast, and accurate numerical methods for valuation of path-dependent options with regime switching and calibration of interest rate models. The fast growth in financial derivative markets provides natural needs and great challenges in computational mathematics. According to the quarterly report of Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, commercial banks held a record $119.2 trillion in derivatives contracts in the second quarter of 2006. Financial products are utilized as instruments of risk reduction by organizations and individual investors who have sizable assets and are exposed to moves in the world markets. The proposed research will focus on two specific topics of computational finance (financial engineering): (1) pricing of American options with regime switching; (2) fitting the quadratic model of short interest rates to current market data.

This project will produce reliable tools for economists and practitioners in the financial industry to understand and evaluate the studied financial derivatives, and thus they can make better financial decisions about the risk management of their portfolios. Also, Ph.D. students will be involved in the project through working on some problems of the project for their dissertations and will also be trained in C++ programming by implementing the proposed numerical algorithms. These students will most likely work for a bank or a financial services firm and can make these U.S. financial institutions more competitive in world markets.

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Collaborative Research: "Baryons and Dark Matter in Galaxies," National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant ($ 86,959)

Associate professor George Rhee, Physics and Astronomy, has received three-year, $ 86, 959 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for an observational and theoretical study of the dynamics and structures of galaxies

Abstract: This is a collaborative project between Dr. Anatoly Klypin of New Mexico State University and Dr. George Rhee of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. It will be an extensive observational and theoretical study of the dynamics and structure of galaxies, and includes confronting these with cosmological models. Detailed analysis of the central few kiloparsecs of galaxies is the only way to settle the small-scale disagreement between observations and theoretical predictions in the standard cosmological model. The project will study complex gas and star motions in the central regions of galaxies using full-scale cosmological simulations with a zoom-in technique for resolving a few individual galaxies, plus separate evolution of 'disk plus bulge plus dark matter halo' systems. The researchers will also work to improve the analytical treatment of different effects relevant for modeling these central regions. This includes non-circular motions, triaxiality and asymmetry, changes in eccentricity, asymmetric drift corrections, and a multi-phase gas medium. Finally, this research includes observations to measure the different effects which complicate the modeling of galaxies, such as the magnitude and structure of non-circular motions, the contribution of the stellar component, and the rotation and velocity dispersion of the old stellar component.

Results of the work will be made available to the media, who have in the past made use of this team's images, and will be disseminated through public lectures. The studies will train graduate students in the skills required to become independent researchers, and involve them in undergraduate teaching. The team will continue its tradition of organizing conferences which include both theorists and observers. This work helps to raise the profile of astronomy, and science in general, in Nevada.


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College of Sciences Faculty Featured at UNLV Energy Symposium

Read the full text: http://publicaffairs.unlv.edu/news-PublicAffairs.html?id=490

"UNLV'S Commitment to Renewable Energy Research on Display at Statewide Symposium: Inaugural Event Designed to Stimulate Ideas and Promote Collaboration Between Research and Industry"

Renewable energy research is taking center stage at UNLV August 15-16 as researchers and industry leaders from across the state gather at the Stan Fulton Building for the inaugural UNLV Energy Symposium. Sponsored by UNLV’s Office of Strategic Energy Programs (OSEP), the two-day event for the first time assembles all of Southern Nevada’s renewable energy projects, including research from UNLV, the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and a host of community and private organizations. Organizers hope to stimulate discussion related to the future of renewable and sustainable energy in Southern Nevada and forge collaborations between research and industry.

"Nevada offers some of the greatest access to renewable energy resources in the world," said OSEP director Oliver Hemmers. "UNLV researchers are tapping into this potential by developing new ways to address environmental and energy production issues facing the region and beyond." Collaborating within the university and with industry and academic partners nationwide, UNLV faculty are involved in large scale research related to solar and wind energy, sustainable architecture and alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biodiesel.

Among the research to be presented during the symposium:

Additional UNLV faculty and representatives from DRI, Nellis Air Force Base, Kummer Kaempfer, Bonner, Renshaw & Ferrario, and Harrah’s also plan to present. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. For more information or to register, log on to http://osep.unlv.edu/ESy2007.

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"UNLV's Place in the Sun: Research Thrives, Pursues Advances in Solar, Hydrogen, Wind Energy," by Christina Littlefield, Las Vegas Sun, August 15, 2007

This recent article includes updates on research projects by associate professor of chemistry Clemens Heske and associate research professor Oliver Hemmers.

Nearly two years ago former President Bill Clinton challenged an audience of Las Vegas business and civic leaders to take the fledgling alternative energy industry to the next level. No other region in the country, he said, is better positioned to capitalize on thermal, wind and solar energy. A statewide symposium being hosted today and Thursday at UNLV demonstrates how four colleges at the university are taking the challenge to heart, developing expertise in solar research, hydrogen fuel, wind power, biofuel and sustainable architecture.  More than 100 UNLV professors and graduate students are conducting 25 alternative energy research projects, most in partnership with the federal government, utilities and private companies.

The partners turn to UNLV because of the vast testing ground available in the desert Southwest, said Bob Boehm, director of the university's Center for Energy Research. Much of UNLV's research efforts are in the engineering and sciences colleges, with an emphasis on testing and improving available technology. "It's a natural fit," Boehm said. "Just like the hotel college has the Strip to work with, we have all this sunlight to work with." His research center continues to monitor the Zero Energy House, an ongoing partnership with Pinnacle Homes to assess various ways to make a home self-sufficient, meaning it generates more energy than it uses. UNLV is in the second year of monitoring the southwest Las Vegas home and its nearly identical neighbor, and so far, the house has lived up to its name. Boehm and School of Architecture Director Michael Kroelinger are working with area developers on how they might economically adapt some of the methods used in the Zero Energy House into future Nevada homes. "We hope to impact how things are built in Southern Nevada," Boehm said.

Kroelinger was awarded a $2.1 million grant to help area business and community leaders incorporate renewable and sustainable energy technology. Most of the money is going toward seed grants to help foster interdisciplinary research at UNLV into renewable energy, Kroelinger said. The university is working with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Nevada Power and the Interior Department on using solar power to help meet their energy needs. The Water Authority, as the largest energy user in the state because it pumps water, has become a major partner for the university in testing renewable energy technology. The Water Authority also is home to UNLV's hydrogen filling station, which uses solar-generated electricity to separate hydrogen from water - a greener method than the more cost-effective way of generating hydrogen , from natural gas. UNLV has several research projects on improving the process, Boehm said. The Water Authority is also using three hydrogen converted vehicles built by UNLV students, and is looking at building a field of 40 photovoltaic billboards to generate electricity.

UNLV is testing one of the billboards, designed by Amonix, on Flamingo Road near the campus, and there are three more the university is monitoring for Nevada Power. Boehm has also worked with Solargenix and Boulder City to develop the Solar One plant in Eldorado Valley and continues to work on development of a solar technology center there. Numerous other researchers, including chemistry professor Clemens Heske, nanotechnology professor B.J. Das, and engineering professor Darrell Pepper, are investigating ways to optimize solar and hydrogen fuel cell technology and make it more cost effective. Pepper is also evaluating water and wind power possibilities in Nevada. Chemistry professor Oliver Hemmers, director of UNLV's strategic energy programs office, is studying ways to more efficiently create biodiesel.

Much of the ongoing research, however, is testing products that use solar energy and researching how to apply that technology in unique ways. Research engineer Rick Hurt is testing a product that uses a rooftop mirror to track and collect sunlight throughout the day, beaming it through fiber optic cables to ceiling lights indoors. The hybrid lights beam out the natural sunlight, which is clearer and brighter than fluorescent lighting, without the heat put out by direct sunlight, Hurt said. When it gets dark or there is cloud cover, the hybrid lights automatically revert to fluorescent lighting. Electrical and computer engineering professor Rama Venkat is exploring how to use the same technology to light LED displays throughout the day. That would allow business or government entities to set up electronic billboards in rural areas, operating only on sunlight and a small solar generator, Venkat said. The technology could also be used in a hybrid form to light the displays on the Strip. He's also exploring how to lessen the cost of the multimillion-dollar Strip displays by using cheaper LED lights and white LED lights , which can replace the less energy efficient red, green and blue LEDS that together form white light.

The Center for Business and Economic Research has explored the economic and political issues that will ultimately determine what technology reaches the marketplace, and when. "All of this comes down to price and what impact will this have on the economy," center director and economics professor Keith Schwer said. Nevada is "richly endowed with renewable energy sources, but unfortunately right now those are not as cost effective," Schwer said. "But as the cost of other energy sources goes up and the technology improves, our day is coming." The university's energy research depends on grants and contracts, Boehm said. The only state funding is for salaries for professors, who teach full course loads in addition to their research. The variability of grant funding makes it hard to draw to the program doctoral students, who need a three-year commitment, but there are numerous one-year opportunities for master's students. Lack of campus space is probably the biggest obstacle for UNLV's budding energy researchers. But off campus, researchers have the Mojave Desert.

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"Novel Approach to Arid Soil Dating: Extraction and 40Ar/39Ar Geochronology of Pedogenic Sepiolite and Palygorskite, National Science Foundation (NSF), $29,936

Associate professor of geoscience Brenda Buck has received an NSF grant to support soils analysis work planned for Colin Robins, a Ph.D. student at UNLV.

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Dust Emissions on Nellis Dunes Area (BLM Grant) $382,153

Assistant professor of geoscience Brenda Buck will lead a collaboration of scientists from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) to conduct research needed to assess the effects of dust emissions from public lands on air quality in areas of Clark County, Nevada.  Buck and her colleagues will provide technical assistance to land management agencies under the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GBCESU), a cooperative and joint venture agreement with BLM.  Darrell Pepper and Xiuling Wang, UNLV School of Engineering; James King and Vic Etyemezian, the Desert Research Institute (DRI); and two postdoctoral appointees in the UNLV geoscience department,: Dr. Dirk Goossens and Dr. Brett McLaurin will collaborate on this project.

Improved scientific understanding of factors contributing to dust generation and transport from public lands in Clark County will improve the quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of BLM efforts to mitigate dust emissions and comply with local, state, and federal air quality regulations.  This project will enable UNLV to provide BLM with technical assistance and scientific research needed to improve the management of public lands; and will support UNLV efforts to develop additional capabilities in applied physical sciences to help the nation address natural resource issues. 

Las Vegas Valley and surrounding areas have been designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an air pollution non-attainment area for airborne dust and carbon monoxide.  Disturbances and activities on public lands managed by BLM within the non-attainment areas have been identified as a significant source of dust.  BLM has implemented a comprehensive Dust Management Plan to mitigate dust emissions from its public lands and comply with regulations mandated by the Clark County Department of Air Quality Management and provisions of the Clean Air Act.  BLM and UNLV are proposing a cooperative research effort to improve scientific understanding of dust generation and transport issues and assess the effectiveness of various measures utilized by BLM to mitigate dust emissions from public lands in Clark County. 

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New Hot Papers in Science: Assistant Professor Bing Zhang

http://www.esi-topics.com/nhp/nhp-july2007.html

In updating Essential Science Indicators from the the sixth bimonthly period of 2006 to the first bimonthly period of 2007, a total of 1,712 hot papers were identified, of which 1,214 (70.9%) were new. An article by Bing Zhang, UNLV assistant professor, physics and astronomy, is one of nine articles selected as a "Hot, New Paper," based upon the number of citations received.]

"Physical Processes Shaping Gamma-Ray Burst X-Ray Afterglow Light Curves: Theoretical implications from the Swift X-Ray Telescope Observations," Authors: Zhang, Bing and Fan, YZ; Dyks, J; Kobayashi, S; Meszaros, P; Burrows, DN; Nousek, JA; and Gehrels, N. Journal of Astrophysics, Volume: 642; Issue: 1; Page: 354-370; MAY 1 2006.

UNLV assistant professor of physics and astronomy, Bing Zhang answers a few questions about this month's new hot paper in the field of Space Science. (http://www.esi-topics.com/nhp/2007/july-07-BinZhang.html)

Why do you think your paper is highly cited?
The study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) was revolutionized by the launch and observations of NASA’s Swift satellite. Our paper was written about nine months after the launch. It summarized the novel observational data collected by the mission, and presented comprehensive theoretical interpretations of the various new lightcurve components discovered by Swift. This paper is timely, comprehensive, and useful for observers and theorists in the field. The content of the paper is generally accepted by the community as the standard afterglow model in the post-Swift era.

Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?
This is a theoretical paper which mainly describes a synthesis of knowledge. The early Swift X-ray afterglow observations were summarized to a canonical "synthetic" lightcurve, which includes five components. Not every burst has all five components, but this five-component picture can encompass the majority of the X-ray afterglow data.

Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?
GRBs are brief gamma-ray explosions in the universe, typically lasting from less than a second to hundreds of seconds. They are followed by lower frequency (X-ray, optical, radio, etc.) long-term afterglows, which hold the key to understanding the nature of these explosions. Before Swift, afterglows were typically observed starting from hours after the bursts themselves. The early afterglows (minutes after the bursts) have been a mystery. Swift unveiled this brand new time window for the first time, and a new phenomenon emerged during the first several months after the Swift launch. My colleagues and I performed this timely study by combining our previous theoretical understanding about GRBs and the latest observational data. We systematically demonstrated the five distinct components of X-ray afterglows and presented reasonable interpretations of this new phenomenology.

How did you become involved in this research, and were there any particular problems encountered along the way?
I started to work on GRBs in 2000, and published a series of theoretical papers before the launch of the Swift satellite, some of which addressed predictions for the Swift observations. As a team member of the Swift collaboration, I participated in many observational campaigns of the mission and have provided timely theoretical consultation for the team. The only problem we had encountered during the initial months of the mission was that everyone involved felt a great lack of time. Data of new bursts flooded in within a very short period of time, and we had to struggle with time needed to process the data and to perform theoretical modeling. It turned out that everything was sorted out after much hard work. In particular, our paper has served as a good reference source for later Swift observations, since it set up a standard theoretical framework for people to work with.

Where do you see your research leading in the future?
Our paper presented a general theoretical framework. Later Swift observations reveal further details of data, and present new challenges to some ingredients of the standard framework. We are working on systematic analyses and will further develop theoretical models to interpret the new data.

Are there any social or political implications for your research?
The general public remains quite interested in the groundbreaking discoveries of the Swift mission, which have received extensive media coverage.

 

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University Forum Lecture, "The Climate History of the Earth: A View to the Future," Assistant Professor Matthew Lachniet, Department of Geoscience

On Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the Barrick Museum Auditorium, assistant professor Matthew Lachniet, Department of Geoscience, will offer a lecture entitled, "The Climate History of the Earth: A View to the Future."

Abstract: Human influence on relatively recent climate change is considered very likely. In fact, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are at levels unprecedented for the past several hundred thousand years, due to fossil fuel burning and land clearance. But what kinds of evidence are used to document the climate of the earth in the past? And what are the implications it offers for the future of the atmosphere here on earth? This presentation offers a view to the future of climate change based on the long-term evidence all around us.

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UNLV College of Sciences, Faculty Publications , 2007 Jan – Jun

A bibliography of publications by faculty and staff of the College of Sciences for the period Jan – Jun 2007 is available at:

http://sciences.unlv.edu/pdf/bibliography_2007_01.pdf

Graduate assistant publications are not included in this list. The citations include publications in academic journals, books, government reports, and abstracts from conference proceedings. There was no exclusion of minor or nonscholarly publications like errata, news features, letters to the editor, or introductions to books. However, these kinds of publications are not numerous on this list. Publications edited by faculty and staff of the College of Sciences are also included. All citations are from the following scholarly databases: Biological Abstracts, GeoRef, Inspec, MathSciNet, MEDLINE, SciFinder Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. All citations are in APA (5th edition) format, hence the appearance of only the first six authors in a citation. If you notice an error or omission on this list, or if you would like the list to be formatted differently for your use, please contact science librarian JD Kotula at jd.kotula@unlv.edu.

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College of Sciences Welcomes New Faculty Members

The UNLV College of Sciences is pleased to welcome seven new tenure-track faculty members to our campus for the Fall 2007 semester. Our new colleagues come to us from outstanding universities and will make a great contribution to our teaching and research programs.

Mathematics Department

Amei Amei, Ph.D., Washington University
Kaushik Ghoas, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Monika Neda, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Pengtao Sun, Ph.D., Institute of Mathematics (Academia Sinica, Beijing, China)
Anton H. Westveld, Ph.D., University of Washington
Hongtao Yang, Ph.D., University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada)

School of Life Sciences
David Vincent Lee, Ph.D., University of Utah, Biology

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Desert Survivors Television Program, Season Two: UNLV Television Show Depicts Southern Nevada's Desert Animals and Plants

"Desert Survivors" is a science education television show designed to promote scientific literacy in the local elementary schools of Southern Nevada. Each episode is shown on Cox Digital Cable, Channel 110, Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. These programs spotlight "survivors" native to the Mojave Desert and feature experts on that organism. During the show, the expert answers questions poised by local elementary school children.

Funding

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award presented to Frank van Breukelen Ph.D. for $745,000 to support a project, entitled "Protein Metabolism During Mammalian Hibernation." The proposed research will further elucidate our understanding of how hibernators depress basic biochemical pathways used to maintain cellular integrity and how these animals are able to withstand this phenomenon. A better understanding of hibernation may have profound implications for designing therapies for cardiac dysfunction, muscle disuse atrophy, and kidney failure. In addition to the outreach efforts of Desert Survivors, education at both undergraduate and graduate levels will be an integral part of this project.

The shows are designed and hosted by graduate students Candice Rausch and Jennifer Utz. Other vital collaborators include UNLV-TV, the Clark County School District, and all guests of the show. Upon completion of the series, there will be 12 episodes.

For more information visit the Desert Survivors site: http://sciences.unlv.edu/desertsurvivors/

Season Two:

Episode 5

"Owls in the desert and other microhabitats"

Guest: Markus Mika, UNLV School of Life Sciences, Ph.D. candidate

Content Summary: An introduction to the life history, sensory systems, lifecycle and maturation of young owls; a trip to the mountains to catch owls in the wild; and information on the food, digestion, and adaptations of desert owls.

Episode 6

"Be glad you're not a scorpion!"

Guests: Dr. John Lighton, UNLV School of Life Sciences, adjunct faculty member and "Mastermind" of Sable Systems (a company that designs and produces biological instrumentation) and Rob Fulton, Director of the Desert Studies Center in Zyzxx, California

Content Summary: a look at scorpion habitats and "scorpion hunting" at the Desert Studies Center in Zyzxx, California; a discussion of scorpion survival strategies including its slow metabolic rate, water conservation habits, and cannibalism, scorpion anatomy, and the insect’s evolutionary history.

Episode 7

"Plants: our greatest survivors?"

Guest: Dr. Stan Smith, UNLV School of Life Sciences professor

Content Summary: a review of the diversity of desert plants during a tour of the xeric garden, and a discussion of plant anatomy and photosynthesis, challenges and survival strategies, ecosystem interactions, endangered species, and conservation practices

Episode 8

"Bees: they're not just for honey!"

Guests: Dr. Stephen Roberts, UNLV School of Life Sciences associate professor and Dr. Michelle Elekonich, UNLV School of Life Sciences assistant professor

Content Summary: an introduction to honey bee "jobs" and beekeeping practices, the uniqueness of desert bees, the role of bees in the local ecosystem, and a visit to the flight arena inside the Robert's laboratory and a view of some fantastic flight maneuvers, the challenges facing the local bee populations and how we can help.

Season One:

Episode 1: Red-Spotted Toads Just what is a desert anyway? We answer this question and explore the life of one of our native amphibians, the red-spotted toad with Dr. Frank van Breukelen as our guide.

Episode 2: Hot Springs Microbes
Who knew Nevada was covered in hot springs? Dr. Brian Hedlund did, and he discusses microbial communities in these extreme habitats.

Episode 3: Zooplankton of Temporary Ponds
What happens when it rains in Nevada? Dr. Peter Starkweather tells us about the temporary ponds that form and the invertebrate life that fills them, seemingly from nowhere.

Episode 4: Desert Pupfish
Desert Survivors in court? James Deacon, Ph.D. and Nancy Hadlock help us explore the fascinating world of the desert pupfish and their appearance in the Supreme Court.

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"Public Kept in the Dark on Potential Conflicts in Higher Ed," By Jeff German and Steve Kanigher, Las Vegas Sun, August 7, 2007

Nevada System of Higher Education rules designed to inform UNLV officials about potential conflicts of interest among university employees earning outside income also allow officials to withhold that information from the public. UNLV General Counsel Richard Linstrom cited those rules in denying a Sun request for copies of outside income disclosure forms submitted in the past year by faculty members and other employees. The university system code classifies the two disclosure forms requested by the Sun as "confidential personnel records," Linstrom said. Despite Linstrom's opinion, university system Chancellor Jim Rogers said he favors making public the records and has ordered UNLV officials to make an effort to comply with the Sun's request. "I think the public has a right to know who our people are working for," Rogers said.

A majority of the 13-member Board of Regents polled by the Sun said they favored disclosure, with several saying the system's rules need to be changed to give the public access to the outside income forms. The regents plan to discuss a possible policy change at Thursday's meeting of the board's Research and Economic Development Committee. "This is what feeds into the taxpayers' distrust of government, when they are kept from getting information that common sense says they should be able to see," Regent Steve Sisolak said. "The taxpayers can't know if there's a conflict if they can't see these records."  That view is shared by former UNLV ethics professor Craig Walton, president of the nonprofit Nevada Center for Public Ethics, who said he sees no reason for the university to assert a privacy claim in this case. Although the vast majority of professors do legitimate work outside UNLV, there is potential for conflicts of interest, Walton said.

"Hypothetically, there could be a case where someone is skewing a syllabus because of a business interest," he said. "That would cheat the students." Allowing tenured professors to earn money in the private sector is common at UNLV, with permission to do so often being written into faculty members' contracts. Professors are allowed to perform outside work one day a week so long as it does not interfere with their university duties. Disclosure forms are submitted to a dean or department head for review and then placed in an employee's personnel file. The university does not maintain a centralized filing system for the records, which means the administration does not have a quick way of monitoring employees earning outside income. UNLV President David Ashley said he is not concerned that the university has no central bank of outside income records. "From the standpoint of where the point of control is, the information is in the right hands," he said. Ashley added that he has not seen any abuses of the system, one he thinks benefits the university and the community.

Two UNLV deans, Eric Sandgren of the College of Engineering and Ron Yasbin of the College of Sciences, said they generally rely on faculty members to point out any potential conflicts. Both deans said they did not know how many of their faculty members have submitted disclosure forms. Sandgren said he gets about a dozen forms a year, but Yasbin could not provide an estimate. Yasbin said some of his professors do peer review work for the federal government and are obligated to file disclosure forms only with the government. Regent Ron Knecht, a member of the Research and Economic Development Committee, circulated a memo within the university system last month after being interviewed by the Sun, saying he hoped his colleagues could develop more balanced guidelines for releasing such records. "Sometimes, the outside engagement and conflict of interest forms include confidential and sensitive information that, if disclosed, would damage faculty members' client relations and diminish outside engagement opportunities that are in the public interest," Knecht wrote. "On the other hand, the system has obligations to operate as openly as possible and to assure the public that it is getting its money's worth from faculty and that actual conflicts of interest are avoided."  Not all regents favor making public the disclosure forms. Regent Howard Rosenberg, an arts professor at UNR , said he is confident that university supervisors can properly determine whether a conflict exists with faculty members' outside employment. "To me, what this promotes is a fishing expedition, and I worry about that," Rosenberg said. "Why should a public employee be entitled to any more scrutiny than you?" Sisolak has the answer to that question. "These people are getting paid by the taxpayers, and the taxpayers have a right to know about any potential conflicts of interest," Sisolak said.

Two other regents on the five-member Research and Development Committee, James Dean Leavitt and Thalia Dondero, said they back making the records public. "We may have to retool this policy," Leavitt said. "This is a public institution. Nothing should be hidden from the public unless there's a compelling reason to do it."  Dondero added: "I don't have a problem with disclosure when you're working for the public on their money." Regents Mark Alden and Anthony Stavros also side with the public's right to know. And board Chairman Michael Wixom said: "I'm always anxious to make as much information available as possible."

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"Henderson Woman is First in Her Class: Chemistry Student Earns Doctorate From New UNLV Program," Anthem View, by Amanda Llewellyn, July 31, 2007

Henderson native Amanda Hudson is an odd mixture of realist and dreamer, and when she became the first to graduate from UNLV's newly instituted doctoral chemistry program in late June, she vowed to make her dreams for a better tomorrow a reality. The 28-year-old science enthusiast is most comfortable in a lab, studying molecular bonding -- the arrangement of matter and the effect that X-rays have upon molecules.

"There is so much that can be done with the right research," Hudson said. "Research that is being conducted right now will have a direct connection to better living even 10 years from now. I'm excited to be a part of that." Hudson has spent the past two years participating in research conducted by her mentor and UNLV Chemistry Department Chairman Dennis Lindle in Berkley, Calif., and while she plans to continue her research after graduation, she isn't positive where she will end up. "I have been studying physical chemistry with Dr. Lindle in a hands-on, research-based program," Hudson said. "I have been contributing to the work and plan to continue to do so. I have a number of job opportunities available to me, but haven't made any concrete decisions as of yet."

The program at UNLV is only three years old. There are four more candidates scheduled to defend their dissertations in front of the board later this summer, but Hudson is the program's first graduate. "The master's program here was originally geared toward environmental chemistry," Lindle said. "We gradually moved from that to a focus on physical chemistry in the department, although both of the emphases are available. Our doctoral program is a stringent one. You, of course, have the actual course work and research, then candidates are required to write a 150-page thesis, documenting their research and findings."

Students also are required to take a qualifying exam, answer questions posed by faculty pertaining to their field of specialization and conduct a minimum of four seminars in front of the chemistry department, detailing the findings of their work. "Amanda has been assisting me in my research," Lindle said. "We study molecules and break them down into a gas phase. The molecules are then subjected to X-rays, which excite and ionize the electrons and molecular structure. We want to see how X-rays interact with the molecules in gas form. This is all very intricate scientific detail that we're getting into now, but you get the idea." Lindle also worked with Hudson on her master's degree, and research that the pair began during that time was continued during Hudson's doctoral work. "She has been a great asset to my team," Lindle said. "In the scientific community, you have to be able to compete on a national level, and you do that by having your work published. Some of her findings have been very interesting, and we plan to submit them to some of the top scientific journals in the country. Amanda has been an excellent student, and I think we will see her really make a difference."

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Funding Opportunity for College of Sciences Faculty

Many faculty members have been successful in obtaining external funds to help in the building of the research infrastructure of the college. As a result the college now operates a growing number of re-charge centers that contain state of the art research equipment. In order to encourage use of this equipment by all faculty, especially those trying to obtain external funding, the college has created an internal funding mechanism. In addition, this new mechanism can be used to help defray travel costs for most of the faculty who have exhausted their travel budgets. Please refer to the application below for further information:

Application Form (PDF)

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Faculty Senate Election

The result of the special election to replace Senator Dennis Bazylinski, who has assumed duties of Interim Director of the School of Life Sciences is official. Professor Ernesto Abel-Santos, Department of Chemistry was elected to serve the reminder of this term. Our thanks to the candidates and all who voted.

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Physics and Astronomy Forum, September 4, 2007

On Tuesday, September 4th, the Physics and Astronomy Forum will host a presentation by Dr. Werner Becker from the Max-Planck Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik. The talk is titled, "Future Optical and X-ray Observatories for Neutron Star and Pulsar Studies."

Abstract: Optical and X-ray astronomy has made great progress in the past several years thanks to telescopes with larger effective areas and greatly improved spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions. The next generation instruments like XEUS, Constellation-X, Simbol-X, eROSITA, the James Webb Space Telescope and the ESOs Extremely Large optical telescope are supposed to bring again a major improvement in sensitivity. The purpose of my talk is to summarize the future plans for X-ray and optical telescopes with the emphasis of their application for neutron star astronomy.

The forum is scheduled for, September 4th at 9:00 - 10:00 a.m., in the Physics Conference Room (BPB Room 217). The public is invited.

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Upcoming Seminars

The College of Sciences has established a listserve to better publicize and promote scientific seminars offered throughout the academic year. For more information on upcoming seminars and to subscribe to the listserve, please visit: http://cmse.unlv.edu/seminar/.

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Submit Your News Stories

The College of Sciences E-Newsletter is published on or about the first of each month. Please submit news items via email by the fifteenth of each month, for consideration. You may send your submissions to: Bill Brown, Director of Development william.brown@unlv.edu.

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