College of Sciences E-Newsletter

October 2009

“A Broad-Band Study of Gamma-Ray Bursts and Related Phenomena,” $357,233 (NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADP), 2010-2013) 

Bing Zhang, associate professor, Physics and Astronomy Department, has received a four-year, $ 357,233 NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADP) grant.

Abstract: The study of Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has entered a full multi-wavelength era. A rich trove of data from NASA GRB missions and ground-based follow up observations has been collected, which brings new puzzles while solving them. Careful data mining with well-defined scientific objectives holds the key to unveil these mysteries. We propose to perform data analyses in the following four directions. 1.

Recent Fermi observation of GRB 080916C suggests that at least for this burst, the GRB outflow is Poynting-flux-dominated. If this is common among GRBs, it has profound implications in understanding the fundamental mechanism of GRBs. We plan to test this hypothesis by analyzing prompt gamma-ray/optical data, prompt GeV data, as well as prompt gamma-ray variability information. 2. Recent GRB multi-wavelength observations suggest that it is not straightforward to define the physical category of a GRB based on the duration information. We plan to further develop methods of physical classification schemes by invoking more quantitative multiple observational criteria, and use Monte Carlo simulations to address the profound question of whether all short GRBs are originated from compact star mergers. 3. A recent serendipitous discovery of XRO 080109 suggests that such X-ray transients are very common, may be associated with every Type Ib/c supernova. We plan to systematically search for XRO 080109-like events from Swift/XRT, Chandra and XMM-Newton archives, and use the results to constrain the event rate of these transients and address their physical origin. 4. A few high-redshift GRBs have been identified, which show interesting observational properties. We plan to systematically study high-z GRBs and their possible redshift evolution effect, and use GRBs to study high-z universe and cosmography. The whole program conforms to NASA's Strategic Plan, and will make use of public data of many space missions (most are NASA missions), including Swift, BeppoSAX, HETE-2,  CGRO, Fermi, Chandra, XMM-Newton, and probably JANUS and SVOM.

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National Science Foundation (NSF) Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biology and Mathematics (UBM) Grant, “UNLV Mathematical Biology Program,” ($240,000), 2009-2012

Associate professor Paul Schulte, School of Life Sciences, will serve as principal investigator, and professor  David Costa, Mathematics Department, will serve as co-principal investigator for a three-year, $240,000 NSF grant, “UNLV Mathematical Biology Program.”

Abstract: Researchers in the Departments of Biological and Mathematical Sciences are creating an interdisciplinary curricular and research experience in mathematical biology for undergraduates. Students with an initial introductory background in mathematics (including calculus) and biology are taking further coursework in biomathematics, including new courses with interdisciplinary modules. They also join a multidisciplinary group of faculty and students collaborating on a series of core research projects in population biology, water transport in plants, biomechanics and locomotion, or genetic responses to environmental cues, and give formal oral or poster presentations based on their findings at an annual one-day conference of graduate and undergraduate students. A seminar series entitled "Mathematics and Biology - An Interface for the 21st Century" is exposing both students and faculty to the work of prominent researchers in mathematical biology.

The intellectual merit of these activities lies in their helping to expose undergraduate students to a more unified perspective of biology and mathematics. Students start out as primarily biology or mathematics students, but the interaction with faculty and students from both fields and their collaborating on research subsequently forms a fertile environment to encourage the interest and ability of students to work at this interface of fields.

The broader impact of the project is its contribution to the development of scientific infrastructure for the future. In order for future scientists to conquer the challenges at the interface between mathematics and biology, the project aims to influence their development at an early stage - before, for example, they have become the traditional biologist who does not have the background to even consider applying mathematics to their research. In keeping with this goal, flexible program entry points allow for early participation of students with less background in mathematics or biology, and research projects are designed to be accessible and compelling to students relatively new to the research experience. This project represents a start at modifying the early development of students and directing a number of them into a growing realm where they have familiarity with both mathematics and biology and can begin to contribute to this important interface. This project is partially supported by funds from the Division of Mathematical Sciences in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

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 “Efficient numerical techniques of two-phase transport model in the cathode of hydrogen polymer electrolyte fuel cell,” ($90,000) 2009-2012

Assistant professor of mathematics Pengtao Sun's has secured a three-year, $ 90,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, “Efficient numerical techniques of two-phase transport model in the cathode of hydrogen polymer electrolyte fuel cell.” His recent research interests focus on anisotropic adaptive finite element methods for handling large-scale and multi-scale phenomena, e.g., for solving physical solutions having boundary layers or sharp interfaces in irregular domains in multi-dimensions that involve complex boundary conditions, arising from typical physical problems such as black hole system, fuel cell dynamics, thin film flow, Navier Stokes-Darcy fluid flow, and etc.

ABSTRACT: This project is to develop advanced numerical techniques in order to perform efficient, accurate and state of the art simulations for two-phase transport model in the cathode of hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The computational efficiency and accuracy for solving two-phase transport PEMFC model depends crucially on the partition of mesh for precisely capturing the anisotropic interface of single- and two-phase zones, the design of proper discretization schemes and efficient iterative methods for solving a highly unstable nonlinear system due to the discontinuous and degenerate diffusion coefficient. Sun proposes to develop anisotropic adaptive mesh techniques, and advanced algorithms in both discretization and iteration level in order to design a better discretized model which can be solved more efficiently and accurately by iterative methods on an optimal mesh. More precisely, for anisotropic adaptive mesh method, the PI proposes an a posteriori error estimator based on error equaldistribution by equalidistributing edge length of finite element in Hessian matrix-metric. For the discontinuous and degenerate diffusion coefficient, Sun proposes Kirchhoff transformation to skillfully reformulate the original PEMFC model to a linear Poisson's equation, and Newton's method to efficiently solve the resulting inverse Kirchhoff transformation. In particular, for the case of wet gas channel in PEMFC, in which Kirchhoff transformation brings the discontinuity back to the resulting Kirchhoff's variable on the interface of gas channel and gas diffusion layer, he also proposes Dirichlet-Neumann alternating iterative domain decomposition method to resolve this interfacial boundary problem. On the discretization level, Sun will design a combined finite element-upwind finite volume method to overcome the dominant convection in gas channel of PEMFC without losing the benefits of FEM. For nonlinear iteration schemes, he will employ either Picard's or Newton's method to linearize nonlinear PEMFC model, combining with specifically preconditioned Krylov-type solver. Sun hopes to develop more efficient and accurate numerical simulations for two-phase transport model in the cathode of hydrogen PEMFC by uniting modern numerical techniques of adaptivity and multilevel solvers with standard numerical methods.

Fuel cells have been called the key to abundant energy from secure and renewable sources, e.g., fuel cells promise to replace the internal combustion engine in transportation due to their higher energy efficiency and zero or ultralow emissions. Hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is presently considered as a potential type of fuel cells for such application.

Since PEMFC involves electrochemical reactions, current distribution, two-phase flow transport and heat transfer, a comprehensive mathematical modeling of multiphysics system and high performance computing combining with the advanced numerical techniques shall make a significant impact in the development of fuel cell technology. However, because of the complexity of the underlying mathematical model, current numerical techniques are far from being satisfactory due to poor performances on both efficiency and accuracy. Hence, advanced numerical techniques are urgently required to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of fuel cell simulation.

The proposed numerical techniques in this project will challenge a number of critical numerical difficulties, which are caused by large discontinuity, degeneracy, nonlinearity, dominant convection and anisotropy, by designing and analyzing the efficient numerical methods toward fast convergence and precise solutions. Sun will utilize the proposed efficient numerical methods to eventually develop an efficient and robust in-house code for PEM fuel cell simulations by achieving one to two orders of magnitude improvement on the existing commercial fuel cell packages in computational performance. Sun hopes that the proposed numerical techniques and numerical package for PEMFC will lead to a significant progress and likely breakthrough in the field of computational fuel cell technology, substantially impacting the commercialization of fuel cells and further helping in the transition to hydrogen economy.

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“New City Attorney Appointed: Boyd Law School Grad a 'Normal' Guy Who 'Loves His Work, by Amanda Llewellyn, Northern Aliante View Neighborhood Newspaper

SOURCE:  www.viewnews.com/2009/VIEW-Sep-08-Tue-2009/North

 

Newly appointed North Las Vegas city attorney Nicholas Vaskov sits in his office on Aug. 26. Vaskov was promoted after former city attorney Carie Torrence resigned.



Newly appointed North Las Vegas city attorney Nicholas Vaskov is a lot like that shy guy in your high school biology class senior year.

You know, the brainy one with all the answers who wore nothing but pressed slacks, tucked-in dress shirts and bifocals.

The guy who seemed to be so bright, straight-laced and normal that you could clearly picture the incessantly flashing neon sign above his head proclaiming "winner."

It's a comparison Vaskov said he weathers with pride.

"I'm pretty normal," he said. "That's the one word I think I could use to describe myself. I love my work. I love my family. Not too many outrageously interesting things about me."

Vaskov grew up in Missouri and New Mexico, the son of an engineer and an intensive care nurse.

After graduating from high school, he lived with a friend's family in South Africa for more than a year, an experience he describes as one of the greatest adventures of his life.

Vaskov moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s to attend UNLV, where he met his wife of nine years, Tiffany.

Vaskov graduated with a degree in biology in 1998 and went on to attend the Boyd School of Law, from which he graduated in 2002.

Vaskov said that it was never a childhood dream to attend law school, but when he graduated with a bachelor's degree, he wasn't really sure what he wanted to do.

"It was an exciting thing because the law school on campus had just opened, so I decided to apply on a whim," he said. "Then, I was accepted."

Vaskov said that he enjoyed law school, and after just a few weeks of classes, knew that he'd found his calling.

Vaskov eventually went to work for a private firm, where he specialized in land use and development litigation.

"I enjoyed private practice and spent three years there," he said. "But when I saw a city position had come open, I wanted to make the move."

Vaskov has worked for the city for nearly five years and was promoted last month from assistant city attorney to city attorney after Carie Torrence resigned to move to the East Coast.

"I am proud of the team that Nick and I have built," Torrence said during her last City Council meeting. "I know that I am leaving the city in more than capable hands."

Vaskov said that as city attorney, he is responsible for providing legal advice and comment on the risks associated with policy directives of city council members.

"I'm very excited," he said. "But I think that my responsibilities now will just be an extension of what I'm already doing."

Tiffany Vaskov said that despite her husband's decidedly mild-mannered façade, the father of three does possess some quirky personality traits.

"He's just cute," she said. "He ties his shoes funny. He's obsessed with organizing our garage. He actually mops the floor. We get comments from neighbors about just how clean our garage is."

Vaskov, who said that the best part of his life is his young family, said that in five years he hopes to still be doing what he is doing.

"I'd say that I am really happy with where I am in my life," he said. "And I hope that five years from now, nothing has changed."

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National Science Foundation Grant: “Collaborative Research: Using Single-Molecule Force and Fluorescence Microscopy to Elucidate the Molecular Mechanism of Bioinspired Magnetite Synthesis in Magnetotactic Bacteria,” ($146,261),

Dennis Bazylinski, director of the school of life sciences, will serve as principal investigator for an NSF grant, “Collaborative Research: Using Single-Molecule Force and Fluorescence Microscopy to Elucidate the Molecular Mechanism of Bioinspired Magnetite Synthesis in Magnetotactic Bacteria,” ($146,261).

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms are the oldest living inhabitants of planet Earth, spanning some 3.5 billion years, and their importance in shaping the Earth’s soils, oceans, and atmosphere has long been accepted. The biosynthesis of magnetite (Fe3O4) by magnetotactic bacteria is an interesting example that has generated a great deal of interest because of its importance in applications such as catalysis, electronics, nanotechnology, and biomedical sciences, its philosophical implications concerning the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and its potential to participate in the biogeochemical cycling of iron, nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon in natural environments. Furthermore, the biogeochemical cycling of iron by microorganisms (e.g., the accumulation and conversion of iron into Fe3O4 by magnetotactic bacteria) is of particular importance because iron is a ubiquitous and very reactive constituent of surface and subsurface environments and, as a result, impacts regional and global scale climatic and ecological phenomena. In addition, despite its ubiquity and because of it reactivity, iron is often a limiting factor for growth of organisms, for example, in some parts of the world’s oceans. From the point of view of mineralization, biological control over nucleation and directed growth of nanominerals is an elegant example of self-organization in complex molecular systems.

Despite the discovery of magnetotactic bacteria over 30 years ago, the mechanism for Fe3O4 biomineralization in these microorganisms remains unknown. The objective of this research is to use single-molecule techniques of atomic force (single-molecule antibody recognition force microscopy) and fluorescence microscopy/spectroscopy (time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer) to determine the molecular mechanism for the biomineralization of nanomagnetite crystals in magnetotactic bacteria. Investigators will identify the function(s) of the individual protein molecules involved in the biomineralization process and determine how they control crystal nucleation, growth and morphology, examine the organization of the protein molecules within a bacterial membrane and with respect to nascent Fe3O4 nanoparticles, identify the amino acid sequences within these molecules required for crystal nucleation and growth, and uncover functional protein complexes required for Fe3O4 biomineralization.

Understanding the molecular mechanism by which bacteria direct the synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles represents an important paradigm for bioinspired materials synthesis that would provide enormous insight into the strategies of controlled crystal synthesis used by other organisms, including multi-cellular organisms. By understanding the biomineralization process of Fe3O4 in magnetotactic bacteria, we might learn how to determine whether Fe3O4 grains in the environment are biogenic in origin, which, in turn, might provide evidence of reliability for the use of Fe3O4 crystals found in the environment to be used as biomarkers for past life on Earth. Furthermore, because technological progress often relies on a detailed understanding of the material properties of single crystals, composites, interfaces, and nanocrystals, and because the mineralization process in microorganisms is inherently controlled by nanoscale structures (e.g., proteins), this knowledge will become the basis for bio-controlled approaches to synthesize tailor-made inorganic nanostructures for applications across a diverse span of technologies. Finally, investigators believe that the novel imaging techniques developed as a result of this project will emerge as powerful tools that can be used for studies in other geobiological or biological systems.

The proposed research will support a new collaboration between the two PIs and two Ph.D. graduate students (one student from each laboratory) who will play an integral role in this research and be encouraged to present their findings at international and national conferences and local seminars at each university. One PI is an early-career faculty member who has helped pioneer efforts to develop imaging techniques to study geobiological processes on a molecular level and the second PI is a senior faculty member who is a world-renowned authority in magnetite biomineralization and has authored over 150 publications in this field. This proposal will also fund one female Ph.D. student. The results of this research will be integrated into the undergraduate and graduate courses currently taught and being developed. Furthermore, this proposal will support efforts to educate elementary, middle-, and high school age students about the burgeoning yet often overlooked fields of nanogeoscience and biogeochemistry through hands-on demonstrations and presentations. These efforts will be geared to encourage pre-college students to pursue careers in biogeochemistry and/or become responsible stewardesses of the environment.

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College of Sciences, Graduate Degrees, Summer 2009

The following graduate students received their degrees at the completion of the Summer 2009 academic session. Our hearty congratulations to our newest alumni – and also to their mentors.

Bin Cao, Chemistry, M.S.
Thesis: SUBSTITUENT EFFECT ON THE ELECTRONIC AND ASSEMBLING PROPERTIES OF ASYMMETRIC PHENAZINE DERIVATIVES
Mentor: Dr. Dong-Chan Lee

Jihoon  Shin, Chemistry, Ph.D.
Dissertation: CONTROLLED FUNCTIONALIZATION  OF CRYSTALLINE POLYOLEFINS
Mentor: Dr. Chulsung Bae

Apostolos P. Kosmidis, Geosciences, M.S.
Thesis:  SEQUENCE AND CHEMOSTRATIGRAPHIC STUDY ACROSS THE BASAL EUREKA QUARTZITE UNCONFORMITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN OF THE LATE ORDOVICIAN CARBON ISOTOPE EXCURSION
Mentor: Dr. Ganqing Jiang

Michael S. Howell, Geosciences, M.S.
Thesis: MINERALOGY AND MICROMORPHOLOGY OF AN ATACAMA DESERT SOIL, CHILE: A MODEL FOR  HYPERARID PEDOGENESIS                              
Mentor: Dr. Brenda Buck

Sumith Gunasekera, Mathematics, Ph.D.
Dissertation: STATISTICAL INFERENCES FOR THE FUNCTIONS OF PARAMETERS OF SEVERAL PARETO AND EXPONENTIAL POPULATIONS WITH THE APPLICATIONS IN DATA TRAFFIC
Mentor: Dr. Malwane Anada

Kiel S. Holliday, Radiochemistry Ph.D.
Dissertation: ZIRCONIA-MAGNESIA INERT MATRIX FUEL AND WASTE FORM : SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND CHEMICAL PERFORMANCE IN AN ADVANCEMENT                                
Mentor: Dr. Kenneth R. Czerwinski

Caitlin N. Murphy, School of Life Sciences, M.S.
Thesis: CHARACTERIZATION OF AEROBIC RESPIRATION IN GREAT BASIN HOT SPRINGS                     
Mentor: Dr. Brian Hedlund

Jason Vance, School of Life Sciences, Ph.D.
Dissertation: INSECT FLIGHT AERODYNAMICS AND BIOMECHANICS: EXPERIMENTAL AND NATURAL VARIATION IN THE FLIGHT CAPACITY OF BEES (HYMENOPTERA:APIDAE)               
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Roberts

John O. Goreham, Water Resources Management, M.S.
Thesis: BENDING OF WOODY RIPARIAN VEGETATION AS A FUNCTION OF HYDRAULIC FLOW CONDITIONS
Mentor: Dr. Zhongbo Yu

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Dennis Bazylinski, Magnetotactic Bacteria, and Mud

The following biographical account of Dennis A. Bazylinski, Professor and Director of the School of Life Sciences, appeared in the article “Biomineralization and assembly of the bacterial magnetosome chain,” by Dennis A. Bazylinski and Dirk Schüler. The article was published in Microbe 4:124-130 in March 2009. Microbe is the news magazine of the American Society for Microbiology.

Bazylinski: Early in his Career Found Magnetic Appeal in a Mud Drop

by Marlene Cimons

Dennis A. Bazylinski traces his keenest scientific interests to an early encounter with a drop of mud. In 1980, he met with microbiologist Richard P. Blakemore at the University of New Hampshire, who put a dollop of mud under a microscope and invited Bazylinski to scan it. Seeing how the bacteria in that sample behaved, “I was literally stunned, and made my decision to join his lab within 24 hours,” he says. “During my two postdocs, I did other things, but I knew I would return to studying magnetotactic bacteria—which I did and continue to do.”

Bazylinski, Director and Associate Professor at the University of Nevada School of Life Sciences in Las Vegas, continues to examine magnetosomes in bacteria at the genetic and molecular levels. “We are also interested in how magnetosomes evolved, how they function in the cell, and how they interact with other physiological features of the cell--particularly in marine species,” he says.

Bazylinski, 55, who is divorced and has two children in college, was born in Medford, Mass., near Boston. His late father was a laborer; his mother, 80, still works selling men’s wear. He is the oldest of four, and the only one of his immediate family interested in science. One sister works as a teacher’s aide, the other as an administrative assistant. His brother teaches high school history.

Bazylinski realized early that he would become a scientist. “Before I went to school I was always after insects, later it was reptiles and amphibians,” he says. “I was always out hunting something. Somehow I backtracked and got into bacteria.” He earned his B.S. and M.S., both in Biology, at Northeastern University in Boston in 1976 and 1980, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire in 1984.

The late Galen Jones, who chaired the Microbiology Department at the University of New Hampshire, matched him with Blakemore, and also helped Bazylinski obtain a postdoctoral position with Holger Jannasch at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “My experience in Holger’s lab, and getting to know and interact with all the great microbiologists at Woods Hole, changed everything for me,” he says. “Because of that experience I have been on the sub Alvin several times.”

While working at Woods Hole during the late 1980s, Bazylinski isolated two marine strains of magnetotactic bacteria, which he describes as a defining moment in his career. “It put me back in the game,” he says. “It was important at the time because there were very few pure cultures of magnetotactic bacteria around to work with.”

“There now are definitely a few more pure cultures, but in reality there could still be improvement on this,” he continues. “We still see so many different types in the environment but still can’t isolate them. We have been able ‘to genome’ one of the bugs I isolated, and have been able to sequence the magnetosome genes in the other. One of the important points of having unrelated species of magnetotactic bacteria isolated is that we can compare the magnetosome genes and the organization of those genes within their genomes.”

Bazylinski spent 11 years in the Department of Microbiology at Iowa State University, before moving to Las Vegas. “I needed a change,” he says. As Director of the School of Life Sciences, “I get to use a new skill set dealing much more with people than with bacteria,” he says. “It’s a very challenging job at the moment with budget cuts, but I get treated very well at the University Nevada Las Vegas, and I think people here appreciate my efforts in trying to make it a better place for research.”

While Bazylinski loves New England, “you need to go where the jobs are,” he says, adding that he appreciates Nevada for its natural resources. “One of my major hobbies is hiking, and that is wonderful here, as we are surrounded by mountains,” he says. He also is a runner and musician. “I play electric bass and currently own six of them. And they all get played. I haven’t found a band here yet, but I am looking.”

Marlene Cimons is a freelance writer in Bethesda, Maryland.

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“Astronomer Explores Darkest Depths of Universe , Rebel Yell, by Maria Roncal, September 10, 2009 

Professor talks about science of seeing the invisible

In the latest installment of the Barrick Lecture Series, professor George Rhee took matter into his own hands. Dark matter, that is.

The UNLV community filled the Barrick Museum Auditorium’s seats and aisles to listen to Rhee’s explanation of the theory of dark matter last night.

Rhee said the stars account for less than 1 percent of the universe. The remaining mass is composed of 3.6 percent hot gas, 22 percent dark matter and 74 percent dark energy.

What exactly is dark matter?

“Answering that is where we run into problems,” Rhee said.

Rhee explained that this invisible matter could consist of the lighter elements – like hydrogen, helium, lithium, boron and beryllium – stars, atoms and gas between clusters of galaxies.

“Dark matter is a ghostly element,” Rhee explained. “The only way dark matter interacts with the universe is through gravity.”

Astronomers observe and research dark matter through use of telescopes.

“[Astronomers] go out to observatories and we take pictures of the sky,” said Rhee while displaying in the background images of star-filled skies sprinkled with galaxies resembling fuzzy patches of light.
In addition to examining the universe with telescopes, Rhee said astronomers infer the existence of the invisible by how it affects those things that we can see.

“We see the dark matter through its effect on visible matter,” he said.

Rhee used the moon as an example.

“We know there are tides on earth that are caused by the moon. With our theories of gravity, we know that there’s a moon causing that, even if it was a cloudy day and we couldn’t see it,” he said.

Rhee explained that just because we can’t see dark matter doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

He described how its gravitational effects on the universe and the visible elements of galaxies and galaxy clusters do not have enough mass to sustain their high-speed orbits with just the mass that is visible.

Dark matter allows galaxies and galaxy clusters to maintain that speed.

“By measuring the orbiting speed of galaxies, we can calculate the mass and the force… We find that the galaxy clusters themselves do not have enough mass to refrain them from crumbling to smithereens,” Rhee said.

Rhee and his colleagues in the physics and astronomy departments continue researching how such a complex universe emerged.

“What biologists do for life and the theory of evolution, astronomers are trying to do for the universe, [figuring out] how stars and galaxies formed,” Rhee said.

While attendees largely enjoyed Rhee’s presentation, many were overwhelmed by the complexity of the theories he discussed.

“I liked the lecture from the standpoint that I thought it was definitely entertaining,” said nursing major Michelle Maurer. “However, I wish that he would have simplified or rather clarified some of the terminology used so that it would have been more easily understood by those that don’t necessarily fall into the astronomy major category.”

Meagan Wizened, a former student of Rhee, said, “Dr. Rhee always puts on a great lecture… In taking his class and researching it myself, I have a hard time disagreeing with the present views, but as in every branch of science, what we know changes and evolves, so even the picture we have now is an incomplete picture.”

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Urban Sustainability Initiative (USI) Fall Meeting

On September 25, 2009 the Urban Sustainability Initiative (USI) held its Fall Meeting. University faculty, students, and administrators discussed ongoing developments and future plans for teaching, research, and community service efforts relating to sustainability.

College of sciences participants included Geoscience Department faculty member Elizabeth “Libby” Hausrath, who served on a faculty panel, and Amanda Williams, a geoscience department Ph.d. candidate who reported on her dissertation topic, “Analysis of Biological Soil Crust Mapping in the Mojave Desert, USA.”

Abstract: Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are critical ecological components in arid regions around the world.  These crusts form living, desert skin that reduces soil erosion, influences soil fertility, manages soil moisture/temperature, and prevents desertification.  BSCs are fragile resources, easily destroyed by physical disturbances and potentially impacted by climate change. Despite their ecological importance, the environmental factors controlling BSC distribution in the Mojave Desert are poorly understood.  Furthermore, no predictive modeling technique exists for BSCs in Mojave landscapes.  Initial field data and mapping reveal geomorphology is a primary controlling factor in BSC distribution within the Mojave.  Because geomorphology largely determines soil characteristics that influence crust distribution, geomorphic maps could be incorporated into a BSC predictive model.   The science of BSCs is still in its infancy, with few conclusive answers regarding their biology.  This interdisciplinary approach to BSCs bridges gaps between biology, ecology, soil science, hydrology, statistics, chemistry, geomorphology, GIS, and remote sensing.  This research aids in understanding interrelationships between biological soil crusts, soils, geomorphology, and land stability. 

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Innovation: The Research Magazine of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2009

The 2009 issue of Innovation: The Research Magazine of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2009 includes a featured article on the Astrophysics Program in the College of Sciences entitled, “The Best and the Brightest,” by Gian Galassi. This article traces the history of astronomy education and research at UNLV, and includes information on current faculty members Steve Lepp, George Rhee, Diane Smith, Daniel Proga, Kentaro Nagamine, and Bing Zhang. Graduate and undergraduate students are also included in this essay. The cover features Bing Zhang and an image of a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB), courtesy of NASA.

A second feature highlights the Aquarium Internship Program at The Mirage, established in 1992. UNLV students are able to conduct internships at The Mirage Aquarium, and also at the Dolphin Habitat. College of Sciences faculty and staff now collaborate with aquarium specialists at The Mirage on a variety of research projects. In recent months interns have worked with Professor Carl Reiber to design and construct an aquarium research facility In Juanita G. White Hall. This facility houses zebrafish and other marine life useful on a number of cardiovascular research projects. The two-page image in this issue captures former intern Chelsea Hess submerged in The Mirage aquarium, located behind the resort’s guest registration desk.

A third article, “The Flow of Ideas,” summarizes the extensive and diverse research conducted by UNLV faculty on issues relating to the water in our region. Faculty are engaged in scientific, legal, health, policy and conservation issues on this all important natural resource. Professor Dale Devitt, School of Life Sciences, is included in this summary, which details his research on ways business and residential consumers can make more effective use of available water resources.

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In Memoriam: Christopher Leighton Dycus

Christopher "Chris" Leighton Dycus, 20, a student, of Las Vegas, passed away Sept. 16, 2009. He was born June 9, 1989, in Las Vegas, and was a lifetime resident. Chris was a high honors 2007 graduate of A-Tech High School. He received numerous academic awards during his 14 years of education. He was attending UNLV as a chemistry major, with a full scholarship as a cadet through the Air Force ROTC program. Chris was awarded the Nevada State Millennium Scholarship. He enjoyed bowling, running, jiu-jitsu and making his friends and family laugh. He always left them with a smile on their face. Chris was one of a kind. He was kind, compassionate, generous, fun-loving and God's greatest gift to his parents. Chris will be greatly missed by all. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Frank and Stephanie Czahor; paternal grandmother, Lillian Dycus; and numerous great-aunts and uncles. Chris is survived by his parents, Rosie and Bob Dycus of Las Vegas; grandfather, George L. Dycus of Ely; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins in Washington, Wisconsin, and Colorado. A funeral mass was held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, September 21st, at Nellis Air Force Base Chapel and interment took place on Tuesday, September 22nd, at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Boulder City.

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Astronomy Lectures

The UNLV Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Nevada Space Grant are pleased to offer two lectures this fall.

On Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., in the Bigelow Physics Building (BPB) Auditorium, Professor Roger Blandford, Stanford University, will present a talk, “ Black Holes: End of Time or a New Beginning.”

Abstract: Black holes are popularly associated with death and extermination. However, astrophysicists see them as creators not destroyers.  This talk will summarize the reasons why we think that black holes can exist, should exist and actually do exist. We will also describe some of their strange properties and their environmental impact on the universe at large.

Roger Blandford, astrophysicist and director of KIPAC, an Independent Laboratory of Stanford University, initiated by a generous grant from Fred Kavli & the Kavli Foundation, housed at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and on Stanford campus in the Varian Physics building and Physics Astrophysics building.  Funded in part by Stanford University and the United States Department of Energy.

Blandford is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve. He holds a joint appointment with the Stanford Physics Department. His research focuses on the astrophysics of black holes, neutron stars, white dwarves and other phenomena. Blandford is especially captivated by cosmology and the early history of the stars. “I’m most interested in using gravitational lenses as tools to understand the universe,” he explained.

Blandford’s distinguished career has taken him from his native England, where he earned his doctorate from Magdalene College in 1974 and was a research fellow at St. John’s College, to a professorship at Caltech starting in 1976. After 27 years there, he joined the faculty at SLAC and Stanford as the Pehong

On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:30 p.m., in the Barrick Museum Auditorium, Professor Mario Livio, Space Telescope Science Institute will present a talk, “Hubble’s Top Scientific Discoveries.”

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist and an author of works that popularize science and mathematics. He is currently an astronomer and head of public outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates the Hubble Space Telescope. He is perhaps best known for his book on the irrational number phi: The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number (2002). The book won the Peano Prize and the International Pythagoras Prize for popular books on mathematics. Born in Romania, Livio stayed with his grandparents when his mother and father were forced to flee the country for political reasons. Livio himself left Romania at age five with his grandparents, and the family settled in Israel. He served with the Israeli Defense Forces as a paramedic in the Six Day War (1967), the Yom Kippur War (1973) and the war in Lebanon (1982).

Livio earned a B.S. degree in physics and mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an M.S. degree in theoretical particle physics at the Weizmann Institute, and a Ph.D. in theoretical astrophysics at Tel-Aviv University. He was a professor of physics at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology from 1981 to 1991, before coming to the Space Telescope Science Institute.

For the past decade Livio has focused his research activities on supernova explosions and their use in determining the rate of expansion of the universe. He has also studied so-called dark energy, black holes, and the formation of planetary systems around young stars. He has authored or co-authored dozens of papers in refereed journals on these and other subjects in astrophysics.

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 Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) Blood Drive

Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), the Pre-Health Honor Society that coordinates such student activities as: the Physician Shadowing Program, Dentist Shadowing Program, Humanitarian Service Program, Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive. and Organ Donor Registration Drive held a successful blood donation drive on the UNLV Campus, September 15-16, 2009. This effort saw 119 doors sign in, including 41 new donors. Students collected some 97 complete blood donations from 83 individual donors. Nancy Dewey, Donor Recruitment Representative for United Blood Services noted that “This is so much more than we collect at any employee blood drive at any casino or more than most of our high schools. Thank you so much for all your hard work as always but especially now.”

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Department of Mathematical Sciences Statistics Seminar Series

“Modeling Dependent Gene Expression,” by Dr. Peter Müller, Department of Biostatistics, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.

Joint work with: Donatello Telesca UCLA, Giovanni Parmigiani Harvard; Yuan Ji M.D. Anderson)

Friday, September 25, 2009 SEB at 1:00 p.m.

Abstract: We consider statistical inference for high throughput genomic data. Most traditional statistical methods implicitly assume independent sampling conditional some hyperparameters. Recognizing the limitations of independent modeling we develop a model that includes simple dependence structure across genes proteins. The important features of the proposed model are the ease representing typical prior
information on the nature of dependencies, modelbased parsimonious representation of the signal as an ordinal outcome, and the use of a coherent probability model over both, structure and strength of the conjectured dependencies. As part of the inference we reduce the recorded data to a trinary response representing underexpression, average expression and overexpression. For proteins the trinary
response is further reduced to a binary indicator for activation. To achieve this, we use an extension of a model proposed in recent literature. Inference in the described model is implemented through a straightforward Markov chain Monte Carlo MCMC simulation, including posterior simulation over conditional dependence and independence. We use the proposed dependence probability model to derive inference about molecular pathways, including differential pathway activation across biologic conditions. Open to the public Graduate students are encouraged to attend.

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Chemistry Seminar

Intrinsic Protein Disorder and Cell Signaling, A. Keith Dunker, Indiana University School of Medicine

Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, 1:00pm, CHE 101

Abstract: As a cell divides with differentiation, diversified signaling networks necessarily develop within the two daughter cells. The common term that describes this process is gene regulation. The mechanisms by which gene regulation leads to signaling diversification remain unclear. Here we would like to propose a scenario that could possibly provide many of the mechanisms that underlie cell differentiation. First, we noticed that signaling proteins are abundant in regions that fail to form 3-D structure under physiological conditions but that rather remain as flexible ensembles. Intrinsically or structurally disordered is the term we use for such flexible regions of protein. Some signaling proteins are entirely disordered. Second, experiments indicate that such flexible, structurally disordered regions contain the sites for binding to protein or DNA or RNA partners. Third, these partner-binding sites often use their flexibility to adapt to multiple, differently shaped partners (one-to-many signaling). Alternatively, sites within different disordered sequences can use their flexibility to adapt to a common binding site (many-to-one signaling). By these mechanisms intrinsic disorder is very important in signaling networks. For example, transcription factors, RNA binding proteins, and hub proteins are all highly enriched in disordered protein. Fourth, these flexible binding sites often contain residues that undergo posttranslational modification; evidently because the flexibility facilitates enzyme binding. Such posttranslational modifications are commonly observed to alter the binding specificity of the flexible site. Fifth, disordered regions often contain multiple binding sites in tandem, and both single binding sites and multiple sites in tandem are subject to modification via alternative splicing. The lack of structure in these regions facilitates alternative splicing, and indeed allows the possibility of multiple splicing events. Furthermore, the lack of structural constraints in disordered regions also facilitates the occurrence of point mutations. We are currently analyzing crucial developmental pathways to determine whether the coordinated combination of the features indicated above may contribute to cell differentiation.

BioSketch

A. Keith Dunker received a broad education, with degrees in chemistry (UC Berkeley, 1965), physics (UW Madison, 1967), and biophysics (UW Madison, 1969), and with postdoctoral training in structural biology (1969-1973, Yale University).  After spending a career using biophysics and spectroscopy to study virus and phage structure and assembly as models for understanding connections between protein conformational changes and function, in the middle 1980s Dr. Dunker realized the coming importance of computational biology and bioinformatics and began to teach, to work and especially to collaborate “on the side” in these newly developing areas.  His biophysics work and his computational hobby merged in the mid 1990s with the realization that many proteins lacked 3D structure yet carried out function and could be studied as a group using bioinformatics approaches and methods.  His “second career,” which focuses on the bioinformatics of intrinsically disordered proteins, is leading to novel ideas regarding protein structure and function, and these will be the topics of his seminar. 

"Chlorine: Element from Hell or Gift of God? – Nature's Amazing Role in the Organohalogen Controversy," by Gordon W. Gribble, Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Friday, September 18, 2009, 1:00 p.m., CHE 101

Abstract: More than 4500 naturally occurring organohalogen compounds have now been identified. Mainly containing chlorine and/or bromine, these amazing chemicals are either produced by living organisms or are formed during natural abiogenic processes such as volcanoes, forest fires, and geothermal processes. The ocean is the greatest single source of natural organohalogens and myriad sponges, corals, seaweeds, tunicates, nudibranchs, bacteria, and other marine organisms produce such compounds. Terrestrial plants, fungi, lichen, bacteria, and insects are also significant producers of organohalogen compounds. All types of organic compounds are represented, including alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, pyrroles, indoles, fatty acids, terpenes, peptides, steroids, alkaloids, acetogenins, furans, and dioxins. The mammalian immune system uses myeloperoxidase to generate bleach to fight infection. This enzyme produces dioxins from chlorophenols and thus the human biosynthesis of dioxins is feasible. The first examples of natural bioaccumulative compounds, such as the polychlorinated bipyrrole “Q1”, have been discovered in seabirds, marine mammals, and in the milk of Eskimo women who consume whale blubber. Carbon-14 labeling studies can distinguish natural from anthropogenic organohalogens, and this technique proved the existence of natural polybrominated diphenyl ethers in 1921-archived whale oil. Clearly, nature employs halogen as a basic building block to construct essential molecules for survival of the particular organism. This presentation will discuss the origin, abundance, and function of these extraordinary natural products.

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Geosciences Seminar

On Wednesday, September 29, 2009m Scott Ball, a geologist for MWH Americas, Inc. offered a lecture  about his experiences on the SNWA tunnel project that is expected to help manage water transport to Lake Mead.  His talk, presented from an engineering geology perspective, “Engineering Geology and Geologic Documentation during Tunnel Construction:  A Case Study,” included information about anticipating, evaluating, and documenting geologic conditions during a tunneling project. 

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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 Planning and Communication (william.brown@unlv.edu).

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