Registration is now open for the 2020 MAPS Research Symposium

Kansas NSF EPSCoR will be hosting its Annual MAPS Research Symposium on Monday, March 2, 2020, at the KU Adams Alumni Center (1266 Oread Ave., Lawrence, KS).

There will be a welcome reception the evening before (Sunday, March 1) at the Oread Hotel (1200 Oread Ave., Lawrence, KS)

March 1-2, 2020 
MAPS Symposium 
Agenda and Presentations


Registration is closed

go to: https://forms.gle/s8F3BMmfnc9KpxhT9  

to register

There is no fee to attend but registration is required. 

***To register your poster and submit your abstract 
for the Poster Session

go to:  http://s.12ab.pw/l/cf8

There will be a welcome reception the evening before (Sunday, March 1) at the Oread Hotel.

Reservations for overnight participants
 may be made at the Oread Hotel 1200 Oread Ave, 
Lawrence, KS 66044

To make reservations call (785) 843-1200 and tell the reservation service you are with the 

Kansas NSF EPSCoR 2020 Symposium to get the discounted rate. 

Participants who choose to stay overnight are responsible for all of their travel and hotel costs.

To guarantee a room reservation, call on or before January 31, 2020.

Deadline to register is Friday, February 21, 2020

Program and other logistical details are TBA. Revisit this page for up-to-date information. Contact Doug Byers at dbyers@ku.edu or 785-864-3227 with questions.

Announcing the 2020-2021 Kansas NSF EPSCoR Track-4 Recipients

     The NSF EPSCoR Research Fellows Awards (RII Track-4) are designed for early career, non-tenured faculty with the purpose of enhancing the fellow's research capacity through site visits and collaborations with premier private, government or academic research centers across the nation. Through these partnerships, the NSF EPSCoR Research Fellows learn new techniques using specialized equipment and facilities. These fellowship experiences are expected to potentially transform the fellow’s research career path beyond the award period as well as enhance the research capacity of their institutions. Kansas NSF EPSCoR congratulates 2020-2021 Track-4 Fellows,  Dr.  Gisuk Hwang, an Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University, and Dr. Hongyu Wu, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Kansas State University.

Dr. Gisuk Hwang
Wichita State University

    Dr. Gisuk Hwang, titled his proposed project Tailored Flow Boiling Mechanisms Using 3D Printed Multifunctional Wick Structures. The following excerpt is taken from his NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4 Award Abstract #1929187 and explains his research: “Efficient and sustainable electrical power generation is critical to the U.S. energy supply/security and economy, and it is dominated by thermo-electric systems as the 83% of the electricity in 2018 has been generated from fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The efficiency of the electrical power production is bottle-necked by the performance of a steam generator, i.e., flow boiler, which is caused by local premature water dry out from excessive unwanted vapor blankets. To address this challenge, the proposed research will a multifunctional wick structure is proposed for effective liquid-vapor separation, to simultaneously advance current technical limits on heat transfer coefficient and maximum heat transfer rate per given surface area without creating a significant hydraulic pressure drop. A key success of the proposed research requires an advanced manufacturing approach for the proposed multifunctional wick structure with complex geometries. The PI will conduct the research working with a collaborator at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL) using a state-of-the-art metallic 3D printer with a high resolution at Nano-Engineering Research Core Facility (NERCF). Also, this fellowship will greatly strengthen the collaboration between the WSU and UNL. The obtained new knowledge will be implemented into the education plans, which will empower the future engineering workforce.”

Dr. Hongyu Wu
Kansas State University

    Dr. Hongyu Wu, Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering at Kansas State University titled his proposed project Robust Matrix Completion State Estimation in Low-Observability Distribution Systems under False Data Injection Attacks. The following excerpt, taken from his Award Abstract #1929147, provides a brief explanation of his research: "The operational landscape at electric distribution grids is undergoing a radical transformation. Notably, the impact of distributed renewable energy sources and the impetus to improve cybersecurity are challenging the status quo and calling for innovative techniques to enhance situational awareness in the distribution grid. With the support of an EPSCoR Research Fellowship, the PI and a Ph.D. student will receive training on new techniques, including a novel state estimation approach and a next-generation cyber-physical system simulation platform, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The PI and the student will closely collaborate with NREL researchers by focusing on how to acquire better state estimation in low-observability distribution grids under cyber data attacks. This fellowship will provide an excellent opportunity for a Ph.D. student and an underrepresented undergraduate to gain valuable experience and develop new skill sets. The PI will bring the new techniques back to the home institution, i.e., Kansas State University (KSU), and introduce them to other investigators in related fields. This fellowship will foster a strong partnership between KSU and NREL, and help the state of Kansas better meet its renewable energy goals."

KSU 2018 MAPS REU student returns in 2019 to continue her research, but first takes a side trip to Mongolia

 

Molly Fisher in Mongolia

     What a difference a year makes, or so Molly Fisher found when she decided to return to Kansas and continue her 2018 Kansas State University (KSU) Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) collaboration with her 2018 mentor Dr. Walter Dodds, University Distinguished Professor of Biology at KSU and Co-Pi for the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS). Last year, Molly worked with the drought-induced pools of Kings Creek, but this year Molly said that even though “the topic of study was a continuation of research from last year. The difference was that this year King's Creek had flow” and provided a "slightly more ‘normal year’ for comparison to our results from last year's drought samples.” Since last summer, Molly has worked remotely analyzing data from her 2018 research while completing her junior year at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.
     When asked about this past summer’s REU experience, Molly said, “My 2019 summer REU had two parts to it. The first part involved working as a lab technician in Mongolia and the second part allowed me to continue my own research in the United States." Her unique 2019 MAPS research experience actually started in January when Dr. Dodds invited her back to KSU to work in his lab. In the lab, Molly continued her own research from last summer and also served as a lab technician for Anne Schechner, a Ph.D. candidate from the Dodds Lab. Molly first explained her lab technician experience and then her 2019 Summer REU research as follows:

Molly collecting and testing samples in Mongolia

"Anne is part of the MACRO Macroecological Riverine Project. As part of this team of researchers, Anne focuses on the system metabolism of temperate steppe rivers. She has research sites, both in Mongolia and the United States. I was contracted as her lab technician alongside another student, Sammi Grieger, a graduate student at Washington State University in Vancouver. On June 3, 2019, graduate students, principal investigators, and lab technicians from Ball State University, Kansas State University, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and the University of Kansas traveled to Mongolia for the 2019 research expedition. Once in Mongolia, we met up with graduate students, lab technicians, and principal investigators from the National University of Mongolia. Anne, Sammi, and I were the metabolism crew and used probes to measure light, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and discharge. We also used an acoustic doppler velocimeter to measure barometric pressure and discharge. We spent over 20 days in the field camping the entire time. Overall, we collected data from 18 different sites in eastern Mongolia before returning to the United States on July 2, 2019. During the rest of July, I was at KSU completing my own research measuring stream N cycling using 15NH4+ in recirculating chambers to examine benthic N dynamics again looking specifically at remineralization, N uptake, and nitrification." Using her research samples collected during the 2018 summer, Molly created a poster “that James Guinnip, another Ph.D. candidate in the Dodds lab, generously presented in her absence at the 2019 Society for Freshwater Science annual meeting this past May.”

Molly's poster displaying her research

     As for her favorite part of the 2019 MAPS REU program, Molly said, “My favorite experience was by far Mongolia. I love fieldwork, the outdoors, and traveling. Having the opportunity to do all three was an opportunity I will be forever grateful to have had.” And as she reflected on her unique 2019 summer experience, she added, “Over the summer, I learned how fortunate I am to have a plethora of family, friends, and professors who are so supportive, encouraging, and proud of me. I wouldn’t be where I am at today without them. I also learned that Mongolian sugar wafers are quite delightful.”
     The Nashua, Iowa native returned to Simpson College this fall to complete her senior year and a degree in environmental science with a minor in history. Molly has also continued her campus involvement activities serving as the Senior Class President and a Carver Bridge Scholar as well as being an active member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, the Beta Beta Beta Honor Society, and the Sustainability Club. Over these next few months, Molly shared, “I will be applying to graduate schools (mainly in the marine biology realm) to further my education and continue to foster my love for science. I’m not exactly sure where I will end up, but I am thoroughly stoked to see what my future holds.”

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the KSU REU program is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The grant's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce and prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.