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Welcome to the archive of Kansas NSF EPSCoR (KNE) news and announcements blog. Stay up-to-date with all the happenings, discoveries, events and funding opportunities associated with KNE by visiting https://nsfepscor.ku.edu./

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Faculty Receive 2015 Education and Diversity Grants Building on Kansas NSF EPSCoR Climate and Energy Research or Atomic/Molecular/Optical Science

The 2015 Kansas NSF EPSCoR Education and Diversity Grants are designed to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of climate or energy research or atomic/molecular/optical science. This Fall, Kansas NSF EPSCoR awarded five Education and Diversity grants in the areas of Climate and Energy research or Atomic/Molecular/Optical Science. The projects that will receive Kansas NSF EPSCoR funding are:

Improving Climate Education through Field Observations and Data Analysis

Paul Adams
Anschutz Professor of Education and 
Professor of Physics
Fort Hays State University


The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have a significant focus on climate change education that will engage students in observations of the climate and analysis of climate change data for K-12 students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. While the vision advocated by the NGSS is a significant step to improving science education in the country, the knowledge and skills necessary to implement this vision lags behind. K-12 teachers often do not have sufficient background with climate-based observations and the skills to deal with climate datasets. The proposed teacher workshop is designed to address this issue through a four day workshop that will introduce teachers to climate observation protocols developed through GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) and databases and database analysis tools in MY NASA DATA (Mentoring and inquiry using NASA Data on Atmospheric and earth science for Teachers and Amateurs). Introduction to these tools with academic year follow-up will increase teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for teaching earth science, specifically climate change, in alignment with the NGSS and the Kansas NSF EPSCOR focus on climate (Track 1).

STEM Education Through Sustainable 
Energy Curriculum

Deepak Gupta
Assoc. Professor and 
Director of Engineering Technology
Wichita State University

The objective of this proposal is to expand and prepare a new generation of STEM workforce. This objective will be achieved through the development of sustainable energy systems based curriculum modules that can be seamlessly adopted by K-12 and community colleges as well as professional development of K-12 teachers and community college faculty members. To achieve this objective, Wichita State University (WSU) will partner with Wichita Area Technical College (WATC), Butler Community College, and regional high schools. The project deliverables include: (a) Modular sustainable energy systems curriculum (with the focus on solar energy) using the problem based learning (PBL) model; (b) Train the trainer program (professional development of K-12 teachers and 2-year college faculty); and (c) Mentorship program with college students as mentors for K-12 students. These deliverables focus on the following activities: (a) expand student career options with modular curriculum design that can be adopted at different grade levels, (b) partnership with K-12 and community college, (c) development of curriculum and educational materials including a focus on underrepresented population, (c) professional development program for educators, and (d) introducing K-12 students to STEM fields through mentoring and schools visits. This project will stimulate the interest of high schools students and facilitate the transition from high schools to STEM based 2-year and 4-year climate and energy research related programs. It will also use existing resources available from US Department of Energy, Brightergy and other resources.

“Fun in the Sun:  Using Solar Fuel Research to Educate, Challenge and Inspire Children”

Kevin Leonard
Assistant Professor in Chemical and 
Petroleum Engineering
The University Of Kansas

One of the grand challenges of our time is to directly convert solar energy to chemical energy (also known as solar fuels). If successful, this would have an enormous impact on how fuels and chemicals are made by lessening human dependence on fossil fuels and inhibiting greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Kevin Leonard uses custom-built devices, robotics and 3D printers to overcome this challenge. His research demonstrates how creativity and innovation are used to address real-world energy challenges. It offers an ideal launch pad for challenging and inspiring children. This project will foster a new partnership between KU and Project CREATE, a non-profit group focused on Cultivating Responsible, Enriched, Artistic, Tech-Savvy Enthusiasts. We will pilot innovative ways to use 3D printing with children in grades 4-7 for an energy-themed summer camp. The hands-on activities will emphasize science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts as well as creativity, problem-solving and teamwork. A special effort will be made to encourage female and minority youth to retain interest in STEM beyond middle school.

Advancement Via Individual Determination
(AVID) – Climate Initiative (ACI)

C. Matt Seimears
Chair and Associate Professor in 
Education/Early Childhood/Special Education
Emporia State University

The overarching goal of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) – Climate Initiative (ACI) is a systemic reform involving Emporia State University, USD 259 Wichita, Kansas and USD 490 EL Dorado, Kansas
K–12 public school partners (USD 259 is an urban district, USD 490 is a rural school district both with underrepresented populations of minority and first generation education students) and Butler Community College (BCC). ACI aims to develop an advantage for the high school AVID and rural students to expand their access to STEM climate career opportunities as students of underrepresented groups within the central part of the state of Kansas. ACI’s goal is to introduce and prepare all students that are part of this initiative for STEM climate career pathways, and provide climate experiences and expanding it district/school wide. Two ESU faculty, one BCC science faculty member and five high school AVID programs from USD 259 and rural students from USD 490 will be part of the initiative. ACI will also train each participant in the use of newly developed materials to create an extended assessment process of STEM climate career pathways. Four spring 2015 mini-camps and a summer 2015 camp will take place with the AVID Climate Initiative student groups to study the impact aerosols have on the climate and environment. Students will study aerosols in the air during their mini-camp and summer camp experiences at the BCC Andover, Kansas campus location. The second location will be held in various locations in the city of Wichita, Kansas. The overall goal of this project will be to develop and test a targeted partnership that will support the continued growth of AVID and rural students into STEM climate career pathways, as well as implement a model that can exist beyond the last funding date.

Energizing Underrepresented Student Populations to Enhance the STEM Workforce in Kansas


Betsy Yanik
Professor in Mathematics and 
Economics
Emporia State University

This proposal is a collaboration between Emporia State University (ESU) and Flint Hills Technical College (FHTC). The main components of the program will be a STEM Opportunities Day on each campus and a five day summer workshop offered jointly by FHTC and ESU. These programs will particularly focus on reaching out to the Hispanic population in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. The STEM Day on each campus will focus on the STEM programs offered by each institution. This daylong celebration of STEM opportunities will consist of four science hands on workshops which connect to the topic of energy. The summer workshop will allow for a more in-depth experience for students to work with STEM faculty and undergraduate students. The educational message to these young students is to value looking at situations using quantitative skills and scientific inquiry. This program will not only make Hispanic participants aware of the diversity of STEM careers, but also will better inform faculty and undergraduate students about the STEM opportunities at their “sister” institution. The pre-college participants will receive both STEM career information as well as some enrichment mathematical and scientific instruction. The summer program will extend the depth and variety of STEM activities in which Hispanics students will be engaged. The program is local in its scope but if successful may serve as a national model for better informing both faculty and students of the wide array of STEM careers facilitated by these schools; as well as develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the educational opportunities at technical schools and universities.










Monday, December 8, 2014

Research yields material made of single-atom layers that snap together like Legos

EPSCoR research discovery yields new synergistic materials

Exciting scientific breakthroughs are milestones that Kansas NSF EPSCoR strives for in its mission to tackle global challenges like climate change and solar-based renewable energy. EPSCoR supported physicists at the University of Kansas have achieved such a milestone by creating a new substance from two different atomic sheets that interlock much like Lego toy bricks. According to the researchers, the objective of this investigation was to design new synergistic materials by combining two single-atom thick sheets.  Prior to this discovery, building artificial materials with synergistic functionality was challenging because most materials had different atomic arrangements at the interface and could not connect.

Top Row:  Tungsten Disulfide
Bottom Row:  Graphene
Hsin-Ying Chiu, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at KU benefited from receiving a KNE First Award in 2013, spurring her research program that contributed to this discovery. Chiu and her team, experimented with an innovative and versatile “layer-by-layer,” bottom-up nanofabrication technique to connect an atomic sheet of graphene to an atomic sheet of tungsten disulfide to form a new synergistic material designed to improve solar cell proficiency. The new material utilized the best components of the individual atomic sheets and showed promise in the development of more efficient solar cells and flexible electronics.

Chiu worked with Hui Zhao, associate professor of physics and astronomy at KU using ultrafast laser spectroscopy in KU’s Ultrafast Laser Lab to analyze the movement of electrons between the two materials. Their research along with the use of the facility also contributes directly to another NSF EPSCoR funded project called Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Dynamics of Atoms, Molecules, and Nanostructures. It is a collaboration between Nebraska and Kansas studying how light interacts with matter that involves 30 researchers including Zhao.

The research groups led by Chiu and Zhao are further testing this Lego approach to fabricate more synergistic materials.  By combining atomic sheets that absorb light of different colors, they can potentially produce a large number of new synergistic substances that react to the solar spectrum and convert energy between electricity and radiation.

For more information please visit the full story at:  http://goo.gl/spfVXF

The KU story was also featured as research news on the NSF web page: http://goo.gl/jd75Wb

To access the published article go to:  http://goo.gl/d1vGkL

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation of USA (DMR-0954486, IIA-1430493), Kansas NSF EPSCoR First Award (EPS-0903806) and start-up funding by the University of Kansas. The National Basic Research Program 973 of China (2011CB932700, 2011CB932703), Chinese Natural Science Fund Project (61335006, 61378073), Beijing Natural Science Fund Project (4132031).

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

KU, K-State field stations key sites in 30-year NSF project

The University of Kansas and Kansas State University will soon be active participants in the National Ecological Observatory Network, or NEON, one of the most extensive long-term initiatives in the history of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF NEON project establishes sustainable efforts for gathering data related to the causes and consequences of climate change.

This has been a long-time goal of the Kansas NSF EPSCoR major initiative Forecasting Ecological Change in the Central Plains (2006 to 2010). This project led by Dr. Leonard Krishtalka (KU) and Walter Dodds (K-State). The objective was to mature the state’s niche strength in ecological forecasting into a competitive, centers-level capability.

More than 40 scientists and engineers and 70 students representing more than a dozen disciplines conducted research using the Kansas grasslands as the model ecosystem to assess the ecological and societal impacts of global change on coupled human-natural systems. One of the grand challenges of the 21st century as articulated by the National Research Council, the International Program on Climate Change, the National Science Foundation and other national agencies is evaluating and predicting the biological and ecological consequences of accelerating global changes in the environment and human society.

The NSF NEON Sites across the U.S.
Forecasting Ecological Change in the Central Plains was conceptualized and operated as a regional-scale model of the national NEON effort now being realized. In Kansas, it improved and incorporated sensing technologies, informatics, telecommunications, cyberinfrastructure, and large-scale modeling to enable acquisition and analysis of data, and forecasting of environmental phenomena.

As part of the future NEON initiative, two biological stations out of the 106 domains identified in the 30 year NSF funded endeavor are located in Kansas: The University of Kansas Field Station located at KU; and The Konza Prairie Biological Station located at K-State. Together, the Kansas sites are known as the Prairie Peninsula domain and form the only multi-state eco-climatic region designated in the project.

For more information on this story please visit: http://goo.gl/dcJ6Pu

For more information on NSF NEON please visit: http://www.neoninc.org/




Soliciting Proposals: RII Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) FY 2015 Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focus EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC) solicitation has been released as NSF 15-517. The deadline for proposals is 20 February 2015.

The solicitation is posted at: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505148.

In FY 2015, proposals aligned with themes consistent with NSF priorities, including such areas as cognitive science and neuroscience, clean energy, and food security, are encouraged.

Please continue to contact Kelvin Chu (kchu@nsf.gov, 703.292.7860) with questions.

Friday, November 14, 2014

KU to host Big 12 universities water workshop

Water use – and abuse – has emerged in recent years as a major challenge in Kansas, affecting all aspects of life in the state. It is a focus for multidisciplinary research at the University of Kansas and is the subject of a statewide policy initiative, the 50-Year Vision for the Future of Water in Kansas.

Water is also a concern beyond the borders of the state. A distinguished group of researchers from all Big 12 universities will meet Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Lawrence to share their findings and discuss opportunities for future intercampus collaborations concerning water.

For details about the event please visit http://news.ku.edu/ku-host-big-12-universities-water-workshop.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Konza Prairie research program receives $6.76 million NSF grant renewal


Long-term ecological research at Kansas State University's Konza Prairie Biological Station will continue for another six years with a $6.76 million grant renewal from the National Science Foundation.

Konza Prairie, an 8,600-acre native tallgrass prairie research station, is jointly owned by Kansas State University and The Nature Conservancy and managed by the university's Division of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The "Konza" is a delightfully unique asset in Kansas that has played a critical role in KNE research the last 12 years from ecological genomics and ecological forecasting to the current climate change studies taking place.

Kansas NSF EPSCoR congratulates the program's director John Blair, university distinguished professor of biology and K-State, and the co-principal investigators for their success in continuing this important research facility.

For more information on this story please visit http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/nov14/lterrenewal11614.html.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Climate and Energy Museum Exhibit Travels

Kansas NSF EPSCoR, with the help of Flint Hills Design (Newton), developed the first temporary museum exhibit for the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan. The Climate and Energy exhibit helped kick off the grand opening for the Discovery Center in 2012 and remained there until summer 2014. The unique exhibit was designed to easily travel to other spaces throughout the state when it's stay in Manhattan was complete.

It's next stop is the Kauffman Museum at Bethel College in Newton where it will occupy their temporary exhibit space. A plan is being developed to find several sites giving many audiences an opportunity to learn about the kinds of science being done in Kansas and its impact. Here are some pictures of the display in its new home.

Please stop into the Kauffman Museum if you are in the neighborhood and visit the exhibit before it travels onward. This blog will provide updates on future sites and its availability. If you are a facility interested in being a host, please contact nsfepscor@ku.edu.