Weekly Newsletter

April 13, 2021

Dear colleagues-

Spring means allergies and flowers, the Wabash River testing blitz, virtual ag week, and a time to offer our sincerest congratulations to the many affiliates who have earned tenure and promotions this year!

We have a few events and activities this week as we prepare for our media blitzes for both Earth Week as well as Purdue Day of Giving.

Research shout-outs this week go to Mohit Verma (ABE) for his new funds for his work on bovine respiratory disease, and to Dharmendra Saraswat (ABE) for his discussion of the importance of teaching students data science skills.

More on all of these items below.

Promotions Announced for Multiple C4E Affiliates

Congratulations to the following Center affiliates recently promoted for the upcoming 2021-22 academic year:

College of Agriculture

Lori Hoagland - professor of horticulture and landscape architecture
Jason Hoverman - professor of forestry and natural resources
Stephen Lindemann - associate professor of food science
Mohsen Mohammadi - associate professor of agronomy
Linda Pfeiffer - associate professor of agricultural sciences education and communication
Jacob Ricker-Gilbert - professor of agricultural economics
Ariana Torres - associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture
Mo Zhou - associate professor of forestry and natural resources

College of Engineering

Roshanak Nateghi - associate professor of industrial engineering
Andrew Whelton - professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering

College of Health and Human Sciences

Jennifer Freeman - professor of health sciences
Linda Nie - professor of health sciences

College of Liberal Arts

Taylor Davis - associate professor of philosophy
Andrew Flachs - associate professor of anthropology

Polytechnic Institute

Jose Garcia Bravo - associate professor of engineering technology
Brittany Newell - associate professor of engineering technology

College of Science

Marty Frisbee - associate professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences
Greg Michalski - professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences
Catherine Searle - associate professor of biological sciences
Lisa Welp - associate professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences

Named Professor

Congratulations to Satish Ukkusuri, who was ratified as the Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering. Read more about Satish's appointment here.

Upcoming SRA Events

Building Sustainable Communities (OMG) Open Monthly Gathering

Wednesday April 14 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM

The Building Sustainable Communities signature research area will host their second OMG (Open Monthly Gathering) of the semester this Wednesday, April 14 at noon. The OMG will feature Niall Peach, PhD candidate in Hispanic Literature, presenting and discussing a chapter from his dissertation “Propagating Nationhood/Rooting Citizenry: Barbarie, Gardens, and the Question of Civilization in Latin American Romantic Literature.”

All are welcome, join the event here.

Response Requested: Earth Day 2021

Earth Day is fast approaching and this year we want to highlight all the exciting places near and far where our affiliates are doing research.

We hope you'll please take a moment and complete this very brief questionnaire so that we can begin gathering locations and creating an interactive map on which to showcase them all.

Please submit your responses as soon as possible so that we can have the map ready in time for Earth Day on April 22.

Other Events of Interest

Urban Transformations Seminar Series

Wednesday April 14 | 12:00 PM

Center affiliates and Civil Engineering professors Suresh Rao and Satish Ukkusuri have organized a virtual lecture series on the effects of rapid urbanization titled "Urban Transformations and Regional Resilience”.

The ninth installment in the series will take place, featuring Susan Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina and director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute and the IRDR Center of Excellence on Vulnerability and Resilience Metrics. Her lecture is titled "Urban Risks & Resilience".

Register to attend.

Purdue Political Science Lecture - Dr. Ramiro Berardo

Tuesday April 27 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM EDT

Dr. Berardo will be discussing his latest paper, Uncovering the polycentric nature of water quality governance: Evidence from Ohio’s Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategic Plans. Join the event here.

Recent News

Purdue professor tackles bovine respiratory disease with over $1 million in grant support
Purdue University News | April 2021

Bovine respiratory disease is the most common and costly disease affecting beef cattle in the world. Center affiliate Mohit Verma (ABE) recently received multiple awards, totaling $1.4 million, from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) to support his groundbreaking work to produce a biosensor-based decision-making tool to manage the disease. Read the article here.

Teaching data science for smart agriculture
Medium - Purdue Engineering | April 2021

C4E affiliate Dharmendra Saraswat (ABE) writes about the importance of training students of agriscience in the new data science skills that will help revolutionize agriculture. Termed “ag informatics,” these capabilities include software coding, machine learning, data visualization, data wrangling (manipulation), and data interpretation. Read the full article here.

“Simple question” leads to multi-year research study about effects of alpine glacial meltwater on groundwater in mountainous regions
Purdue EAPS | April 2021

The importance of glacier meltwater as a source of mountain-block recharge remains poorly quantified, yet it may be essential to the integrity of alpine aquatic ecosystems by maintaining baseflow in streams and perennial flow in springs. A new study led by PhD student Jordyn Miller and C4E affiliate Marty Frisbee (EAPS) tests the hypothesis that meltwater from alpine glaciers is a critical source of recharge for mountain groundwater systems using traditional stable isotopic source-identification techniques combined with a novel application of microbial DNA. Read more about the project here.

Opportunity for Purdue-led Conference on Water Issues During Pandemic Building Closures

Center affiliates Andrew Whelton (CE, EEE) and Caitlin Proctor (ABE, EEE) are planning a summer event: Building Water SLAM – Stagnation, Legionella, and Metals, as a conclusion to their NSF EAGER project effort. The event will take place July 7-9 and will be free and open to the public. They are currently accepting abstracts with preference given to projects on water quality issues during building closures spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstracts should be 200-500 words, submitted at this link by May 1, 2021. Oral presentations will be short (15 minutes), and a virtual poster session might be offered. Student and postdoc presentations are encouraged, and student presentation awards are planned.

Please reach out to Caitlin Proctor with any questions.

Funding Opportunities

COVID-19 Funding Opportunities – This list is updated frequently.

Limited Submission: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Equity-Minded Pathways to STEM Graduate Education
The Sloan Foundation is seeking to diversify the STEM academic and non-academic workforce by significantly increasing the number of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students who enroll and succeed in terminal master’s and doctoral degree programs in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, Earth sciences, economics, engineering, marine science, mathematics, physics, and statistics. The intent is to create and strengthen diverse, inclusive, and equitable pathways to and through STEM graduate education with the recognition that student pathways are too often disrupted by systemic racism, discrimination, and bias through prevailing institutional and departmental policy and practice. Only one letter of inquiry (as the lead institutional partner) per institution is allowed. Internal deadline: Preproposal due in InfoReady by April 26; Sponsor deadlines: June 1 – LOI; September 1 – Full proposal by invite

Limited Submission: DOS-ECA FY 2021 TechGirls Program
Launched in 2012, the TechGirls program is an intensive, educational youth exchange program designed to empower and support young women (ages 15-17) to pursue higher education and careers in in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields through hands-on skills development. Echoing the goals of the Bureau’s TechWomen program, the TechGirls program supports development in the field of technology and helps young women to reach their full potential in the technology industry. Applicants may submit only one proposal under this competition.
Internal deadline: Preproposal due in InfoReady by April 19; Sponsor deadlines: June 4

Limited Submission: Pew Biomedical Scholars
Pew has invited Purdue to submit one candidate to their 2022 program. Eligible candidates must hold a full-time appointment (starting no earlier than June 14, 2017) as an assistant professor in medicine or biomedical sciences with the former area being liberally defined as “contributors in science relevant to human health”. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches. Previous awardees encompass a range of disciplines including: biology, genetics, neuroscience, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, immunology, pharmacology, and biophysics. Previously unsuccessful Pew candidates are eligible to reapply to the foundation but only two attempts are allowed. Internal deadline: Preproposal due in InfoReady by April 19. Sponsor deadlines: Candidate nomination due May 17; Application submission due September 1

Limited Submission: USAID Communities REsilient to DIsinformation Building Local Engagement (CREDIBLE) Addendum to Youth Power 2
The CREDIBLE addendum seeks to explore innovative approaches to the growing influence of disinformation and erosion of democratic norms in Latin America and the Caribbean. LAC/RSD/DRG seeks concept notes that will focus on rebuilding trust in local information ecosystems, building digital and media literacy, and strengthening local media - with and through youth and youth-serving organizations. LAC/RSD/DRG seeks approaches that have a learning focus, so that successful approaches can be scaled up, tested, and replicated in other contexts in the LAC region. Only one submission is allowed per institution. Internal deadline: Preproposal due in InfoReady by April 19; Sponsor deadlines: May 3 – Concept note; Full application by invite.

NSF Trans-Atlantic Platform Recovery, Renewal, and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World (T-AP RRR)
The Trans-Atlantic Platform Recovery, Renewal, and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World (T-AP RRR) supports research that addresses one or more of the following challenges: reducing inequalities and vulnerabilities; building a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable society; fostering democratic governance and participation; advancing responsible and inclusive digital innovation; and/or ensuring effective and accurate communication and media. Teams must include researchers based in at least three participating T-AP RRR countries and must include partners from both sides of the Atlantic, i.e., from Europe/Africa and the Americas. Research partners will receive funding from their own national funding agencies for projects of up to 36 months in duration. Deadline: July 12

NSF Grand Challenges in Integrative Geospace Sciences: Advancing National Space Weather Expertise and Research toward Societal Resilience (ANSWERS)
The ANSWERS solicitation has the goal to bring together collaborative teams of solar and geospace observers, theorists, modelers, experimenters, educators and computational experts to address some of the most challenging problems in solar and space physics and space weather. In combination with forward-looking educational endeavors, ANSWERS also aims to advance the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) expertise and build societal resilience against space weather hazards. Deadline: August 23

NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Supporting Use of Existing Data and Samples in Atmospheric Sciences Research and Education
With this DCL, the atmospheric science and education programs are highlighting interest in and encourage the submission of proposals that leverage existing data and physical samples in alignment with the goals of our programs. Categories of research in response to this DCL include: Analysis of existing field or laboratory data, or physical samples; Data curation and rescue; Data integration and synthesis; Development of new research avenues and methodologies for analyzing existing data and physical samples; and Development of educational curriculum that uses data sets obtained through field campaigns, laboratory experiments, physical samples, or other unique data sets. Deadline: On-going

NIH Emergency Award: Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium (U01)
The purpose of this FOA is to advance research on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 and associated mitigation efforts on individual, family, and community behavior and on how subsequent economic disruption affects health-related outcomes, with close attention to underserved and vulnerable populations. This FOA aims to form a research consortium to access, extract, integrate, share, and analyze existing data from various sources with broad population coverage including underserved and vulnerable populations. Deadline: June 9

DOE-NETL University-Based Energy Industry Research and Development of Scalable Cyber-Physical Solutions
This FOA seeks to improve the cyber and cyber-physical security posture of the electric sector through the integration of the DOE Cybersecurity Roadmap Vision statement of ensuring that resilient energy delivery systems are designed, installed, operated, and maintained to survive a cyber incident while sustaining critical functions. Deadlines: April 26 – Concept paper; June 14 – Full application

USDA-FS Agroforestry Outreach Proposals
The U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) requests proposals to substantially expand and accelerate the availability of science-based information to inform landowner decisions on the adoption and design of agroforestry systems. Proposals awarded under this announcement will create educational and outreach materials that support agroforestry. Applicants must match the Forest Service requested funds, 1:1. Deadline: May 28

DOC-NOAA Capacity Development for Weather, Water, and Climate Forecasting and Disaster Risk Reduction
The Climate Forecasting and Disaster Risk Reduction (CDDRR) program’s goal is to improve the performance of all operational meteorological hydrological, and disaster/emergency management services worldwide. Applications should include information that demonstrates an applicant’s knowledge of the current status of and meet the technical and programmatic development and implementation requirements, including the structured and intense training programs, of the Weather Ready Nations (WRNs) and Global Flash Flood Guidance (GFFG) programs and address the objectives as discussed in the Program Objectives Section. Deadline: June 7

NSF DEB Virtual Office Hour: Getting to Know DBI
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM on April 12th

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