The Delaware Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), a statewide effort based at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, has awarded more than $460,000 in seed grants to scientists at UD and Delaware State University.

The funding will support 11 studies over the next year on topics ranging from a plant that can decontaminate soil of a toxic metal to a computer model for predicting the effects of fluctuating low-oxygen conditions on juvenile fish in Delaware’s Inland Bays.

Established by the National Science Foundation and the state of Delaware in 2005, Delaware EPSCoR seeks to advance the state’s research and development capabilities in biotechnology and the biosciences through partnerships involving the state’s higher education institutions, industry and government.

“The purpose of the Delaware EPSCoR seed grants is to catalyze new interdisciplinary partnerships in basic research areas that help us understand the scientific basis of key environmental problems in Delaware,” Stephen Borleske, manager of the program, says. “As these projects develop, we hope to expand these partnerships.”

Seed grants have been awarded for the following projects (all researchers are from UD except where noted):

• Harsh Bais, assistant professor of plant and soil sciences, and Donald Sparks, S. Hallock du Pont Chair of Plant and Soil Sciences, will examine how Alyssum murale, or yellowtuft, a plant commonly used in rock gardens, can “hyper-accumulate” nickel in its leaves, flowers and stems, thus providing a natural means of decontaminating soil of the metal.
  
  
• Pei Chiu, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Doug Doren, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will test the chemical reactivity of nano-sized particles of black carbon, such as soot. A variety of pollutants can attach and react on these microscopic bits of carbon.
  
  
• Kathryn Coyne, assistant professor of marine and Earth studies, and Gulnihal Ozbay, assistant research professor of agriculture and natural resources at Delaware State University, will determine if flow cytrometry, a research technique that uses light to measure single cells and their characteristics, can be used to evaluate the physiological responses of microscopic algae to changes in nutrient sources, specifically nitrogen. This study will aid future research on the role of nutrient overloads in harmful algal blooms.
  
  
• Thomas Epps III, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Thomas Hanson, assistant professor of marine biology-biochemistry, will examine block copolymer network membranes as a means of creating novel nanomaterials for small molecule capture and enrichment. This research will advance the study of environmental proteomics and metabolomics, where sensing organism responses to environmental stresses requires new technologies.
  
  
• C. P. Huang, Donald C. Phillips Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Thomas Beebe Jr., professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Sparks will study the effects of ozone, ultraviolet light and ultrasound on carbon nanotubes, which are used in microelectronics. The scientists will investigate the tubes' ability to absorb toxic contaminants.
  
  
• Kristi Kiick, professor of materials science and engineering, and Beebe will use polypeptides, which are composed of the same building blocks as proteins, as a modular element in assembling environmentally sensitive nanostructures. These molecules will provide a basis for further understanding of biological and environmental phenomena.
  
  
• David Kirchman, Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Marine Studies, Barbara Campbell, research assistant professor of marine biology-biochemistry, and Sparks will develop techniques for assessing the community structure and function of microbes on metal oxides. Their goal is to predict the microbial transformations of arsenic, a very poisonous metallic element used in pesticides, insecticides and herbicides.
  
  
• George Luther III, Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Marine Studies, and Douglas Ridge, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will develop new analytical approaches relating to aqueous clusters of metal sulfides and their stability and reactivity in waterways. The goal is to help scientists and environmental managers make better predictions about metal pollution.
  
• Ismat Shah, professor of materials science and engineering, Patricia DeLeon, professor of human genetics, Adam Marsh, associate professor of marine biology-biochemistry, and Xinqaio Jia, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, will assess the interaction between marine organisms and engineered nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and silver. Delaware is a leading producer of titanium dioxide, a white pigment.
  
  
• Arthur Trembanis, assistant professor of geological sciences, Timothy Targett, professor of marine biology-biochemistry, and Dominic DiToro, Edward C. Davis Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will use an autonomous underwater vehicle to test an integrated water-quality and fish-behavior model.
  
  
• Eric Wommack, associate professor of plant and soil sciences and of marine biology-biochemistry, Craig Cary, professor of marine biology-biochemistry, and Sparks will explore the ecology of viruses within the extremely hostile hydrothermal environments of New Zealand. Viruses are numerically the most dominant life forms on Earth.
  

This is the second year that Delaware EPSCoR has awarded seed grants to researchers. For more information, visit [www.epscor.dbi.udel.edu/outreach].

—Tracey Bryant