INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS
FACULTY AWARDS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Research Initiation Awards. $149,999 (second year of funding obligated). (Olivia Wilkins, Chemistry) “Laboratory Investigations of Chemical Evolution in UV-Photolyzed Cosmic Ices around Young Stars” The connection between interstellar ices and planetary solids (e.g., asteroids, meteorites) is not yet well understood. Isotope ratios in astromaterials can be used to gauge how much processing a material has undergone, but to what degree isotope ratios in large organics are inherited from simple precursor ices has not yet been established experimentally. Such experiments are needed to distinguish isotope signatures due to physical processes (thermal and radiative processing throughout star formation) versus chemical processes (kinetic isotope effects). To address this gap in our understanding of chemical evolution in the universe, PI Wilkins is preparing to build a cosmic ice experiment that will study photolyzed ices (with infrared spectroscopy) at cold temperatures (10-150 K) and high vacuum. Organic residues remaining after the samples sublimate will be collected and studied with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Initial experiments will focus on developing the experimental apparatus and procedures using previous studies as benchmarks. Then, the experiment will proceed to address the chemical lineage of isotope ratios in cosmic ices and meteorite/asteroid analogues. Funding requested includes summer salary for Wilkins, summer research students, and academic-year research students.
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. $38,752 (amendment). (Maggie Douglas, Environmental Studies) “Mapping and mitigating pesticide hazard for pollinators in the Great Lakes Basin using native bees as the focal species. Phase 1. Pesticide Hazard Decision Support Tool. Modeling and data expertise.” Agricultural pesticides pose a risk to the wild and managed pollinators essential to food production and the function of natural ecosystems. We propose leveraging recently generated novel datasets describing pesticide use by active ingredient (kg, 1997–2017 and potentially more recent data if available) and aggregate insecticide load (kg and honey bee toxicity thresholds, 1997–2014 - and potentially other native bee toxicity data sources) for state-crop combinations in the states associated with the Great Lakes Basin to predict hazard faced by insect pollinators in the Region. These data allow mapping of pesticide indicators at fine spatial scales relevant to pollinator research and conservation. Coupled with information on pesticide fate and species occurrence, we can provide insights to pollinator conservation decision-making in the Great Lakes Basin: (1) where and how are pesticide hazards to pollinators distributed over the landscape, and (2) where and how can pesticide mitigation most effectively aid pollinator conservation? Addressing these questions will aid in planning for pollinator habitat restoration and enhancement (“low” chemical hazard areas), habitat protection (low chemical hazard environments in high-quality pollinator habitat) and pesticide mitigation (high-hazard environments otherwise suitable for pollinators). Funding was provided from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Threatened and Endangered Species Template.