Research Development & Early-Career Faculty: Catalysts of Change for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM

Problem Statement: Early-career science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty members are often challenged when identifying authentic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals, objectives, and tasks for their research grant proposals. Advancing DEI has not been one person’s job but rather the responsibility of a highly organized network within a system. Research development professionals have been and will continue to be critical resources for developing DEI plans and broadening participation. Their value is partly due to relationship-oriented processes that research professionals cultivate and shepherd as well as the inherently cross-disciplinary nature of the day-to-day work. Observation: In FY 19, 53% of the highest growth in R&D was in biological, biomedical, and health sciences followed closely by engineering. While many complexities are involved in advancing DEI within our universities, colleges, and workplaces, this article is focused on early-career STEM faculty and research development professionals’ roles to facilitate DEI linkages within research. Analyze: First, descriptions of the recent federal definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion are provided in research development; This is intended to anchor the discussion and propel the ideation for early-career faculty in federal funding solicitations. Next, a few examples of how early-career STEM faculty engaged in authentic DEI activities with a research development professional are provided. Reflect and Recommend: Finally, five potential DEI partners for collaboration and resources for early-career STEM faculty are provided to support brainstorming as faculty begin to develop their own DEI engagement for research. Context drives design, and research development resources are mechanisms for authentic engagement in DEI for faculty

IMECE2011-64472 MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELING OF CORRUGATED METAL FOAMS FOR SOFC APPLICATIONS

ABSTRACT Planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are made up of repeating sequences of thin layers of cermet electrodes, ceramic electrolytes, seals, and current-collectors. For electro-chemical reasons it is best to keep the electrolyte layers as thin as possible. However, for electrolyte-supported cells, the thin electrolytes are more susceptible to damage during production, assembly, and operation. The latest-generation electrolytesupported SOFCs feature metallic foam current-collectors which relay current between the energy-producing materials and the rest of the circuit. These foams are stamped into a corrugated shape which is intended to reduce the compressive loads which are transferred through the stack onto the brittle electrolyte, but the mechanical behavior of the foams remain to be fully understood. Characterization of the corrugated metal foams consists of comparison of load-vs.-displacement behavior between experimentally measured compression data and a singlecomponent finite element model which isolates the foam from the rest of the stack. Mechanical properties of the foam are found using an iterative approach, in which the material properties used as inputs to the model are changed until the load-displacement data best agrees with experiments. The model explores the influence of elastic and plastic properties in combination with and without friction. Thus obtained, the properties can then be used in a stack model to determine which parameters can best reduce the demands on the electrolyte without sacrificing electrochemical performance

Change of Exposure Time Mid-Test in High Temperature DIC Measurement

Performing digital image correlation (DIC) at extreme temperatures has been greatly challenging due to the radiation which saturates the camera sensor. At such high temperatures, the light intensity emitted from an object is occasionally so powerful that the acquired images are overwhelmingly saturated. This induces data loss, potentially ruining the test, thus requiring the user to restart the test. For this reason, selection of an appropriate camera sensitivity plays a crucial role prior to beginning the test. Exposure time is a factor contributing to camera sensitivity and it is the easiest setting to manipulate during the test since it introduces minimal errors when comparing to other factors, especially in quasi-static tests. This paper examines the influence of changing exposure time mid-test on DIC measurement uncertainty. The investigation was conducted by rigid body motion experiments at room temperature and 1600 °C, respectively. Thereby, some recommendations are given to help DIC users assess their images at room temperature to extrapolate the exposure at extreme temperatures along with accompanying solutions to salvage data at high temperature

A High Magnification UV Lens for High Temperature Optical Strain Measurements

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measures full-field strains by tracking displacements of a specimen using images taken before and after deformation. At high temperatures, materials emit light in the form of blackbody radiation, which can interfere with DIC images. To screen out that light, DIC has been recently adapted by using ultraviolet (UV) range cameras, lenses, and filters. Before now, UV-DIC had been demonstrated at the centimeter scale using commercially available UV lenses and filters. Commercial high-magnification lenses using visible light have also been used for DIC. However, there is currently no commercially available high-magnification lens that will allow images to be taken (a) in the UV range, (b) at a submillimeter scale, and (c) from a relatively long working distance separating a specimen inside a test chamber and a camera outside the chamber. In this work, a custom UV high-magnification lens is demonstrated to perform high-magnification, high-temperature DIC measurements. To demonstrate the capabilities of this lens, a series of thermo-mechanical tests was run on a stainless-steel ring specimen. Two UV cameras performed simultaneous measurements: one at lower magnification using a commercial UV lens, and one with the custom high-magnification UV lens. At room temperature, the custom lens produces sufficiently bright images to perform DIC, while at high temperature (demonstrated to 900 °C) the images retained sufficient contrast while avoiding oversaturation. The lens can detect submillimeter rigid motion and tensile strains from long working distances and high magnification. These tests show that the custom lens is suitable for use in high-magnification UV-DIC measurements

ER membrane–bending proteins are necessary for de novo nuclear pore formation

Nucleocytoplasmic transport occurs exclusively through nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) embedded in pores formed by inner and outer nuclear membrane fusion. The mechanism for de novo pore and NPC biogenesis remains unclear. Reticulons (RTNs) and Yop1/DP1 are conserved membrane protein families required to form and maintain the tubular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the postmitotic nuclear envelope. In this study, we report that members of the RTN and Yop1/DP1 families are required for nuclear pore formation. Analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae prp20-G282S and nup133Δ NPC assembly mutants revealed perturbations in Rtn1–green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Yop1-GFP ER distribution and colocalization to NPC clusters. Combined deletion of RTN1 and YOP1 resulted in NPC clustering, nuclear import defects, and synthetic lethality with the additional absence of Pom34, Pom152, and Nup84 subcomplex members. We tested for a direct role in NPC biogenesis using Xenopus laevis in vitro assays and found that anti-Rtn4a antibodies specifically inhibited de novo nuclear pore formation. We hypothesize that these ER membrane–bending proteins mediate early NPC assembly steps

Origin and Properties of Striatal Local Field Potential Responses to Cortical Stimulation: Temporal Regulation by Fast Inhibitory Connections

Evoked striatal field potentials are seldom used to study corticostriatal communication in vivo because little is known about their origin and significance. Here we show that striatal field responses evoked by stimulating the prelimbic cortex in mice are reduced by more than 90% after infusing the AMPA receptor antagonist CNQX close to the recording electrode. Moreover, the amplitude of local field responses and dPSPs recorded in striatal medium spiny neurons increase in parallel with increasing stimulating current intensity. Finally, the evoked striatal fields show several of the basic known properties of corticostriatal transmission, including paired pulse facilitation and topographical organization. As a case study, we characterized the effect of local GABAA receptor blockade on striatal field and multiunitary action potential responses to prelimbic cortex stimulation. Striatal activity was recorded through a 24 channel silicon probe at about 600 µm from a microdialysis probe. Intrastriatal administration of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline increased by 65±7% the duration of the evoked field responses. Moreover, the associated action potential responses were markedly enhanced during bicuculline infusion. Bicuculline enhancement took place at all the striatal sites that showed a response to cortical stimulation before drug infusion, but sites showing no field response before bicuculline remained unresponsive during GABAA receptor blockade. Thus, the data demonstrate that fast inhibitory connections exert a marked temporal regulation of input-output transformations within spatially delimited striatal networks responding to a cortical input. Overall, we propose that evoked striatal fields may be a useful tool to study corticostriatal synaptic connectivity in relation to behavior

The Yeast Nuclear Pore Complex and Transport Through It

Exchange of macromolecules between the nucleus and cytoplasm is a key regulatory event in the expression of a cell’s genome. This exchange requires a dedicated transport system: (1) nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), embedded in the nuclear envelope and composed of proteins termed nucleoporins (or “Nups”), and (2) nuclear transport factors that recognize the cargoes to be transported and ferry them across the NPCs. This transport is regulated at multiple levels, and the NPC itself also plays a key regulatory role in gene expression by influencing nuclear architecture and acting as a point of control for various nuclear processes. Here we summarize how the yeast Saccharomyces has been used extensively as a model system to understand the fundamental and highly conserved features of this transport system, revealing the structure and function of the NPC; the NPC’s role in the regulation of gene expression; and the interactions of transport factors with their cargoes, regulatory factors, and specific nucleoporins

Rab8, POSH, and TAK1 regulate synaptic growth in a Drosophila model of frontotemporal dementia

Mutations in genes essential for protein homeostasis have been identified in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Why mature neurons should be particularly sensitive to such perturbations is unclear. We identified mutations in Rab8 in a genetic screen for enhancement of an FTD phenotype associated with ESCRT-III dysfunction. Examination of Rab8 mutants or motor neurons expressing a mutant ESCRT-III subunit, CHMP2BIntron5, at the Drosophila melanogaster neuromuscular junction synapse revealed synaptic overgrowth and endosomal dysfunction. Expression of Rab8 rescued overgrowth phenotypes generated by CHMP2BIntron5. In Rab8 mutant synapses, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/activator protein-1 and TGF-β signaling were overactivated and acted synergistically to potentiate synaptic growth. We identify novel roles for endosomal JNK-scaffold POSH (Plenty-of-SH3s) and a JNK kinase kinase, TAK1, in regulating growth activation in Rab8 mutants. Our data uncover Rab8, POSH, and TAK1 as regulators of synaptic growth responses and point to recycling endosome as a key compartment for synaptic growth regulation during neurodegenerative processes

Post-eruptive flooding of Santorini caldera and implications for tsunami generation

Caldera-forming eruptions of island volcanoes generate tsunamis by the interaction of different eruptive phenomena with the sea. Such tsunamis are a major hazard, but forward models of their impacts are limited by poor understanding of source mechanisms. The caldera-forming eruption of Santorini in the Late Bronze Age is known to have been tsunamigenic, and caldera collapse has been proposed as a mechanism. Here, we present bathymetric and seismic evidence showing that the caldera was not open to the sea during the main phase of the eruption, but was flooded once the eruption had finished. Inflow of water and associated landsliding cut a deep, 2.0-2.5 km(3), submarine channel, thus filling the caldera in less than a couple of days. If, as at most such volcanoes, caldera collapse occurred syn-eruptively, then it cannot have generated tsunamis. Entry of pyroclastic flows into the sea, combined with slumping of submarine pyroclastic accumulations, were the main mechanisms of tsunami production