NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) in Gravitational Biology

The mission of our NSCORT is to investigate the effects of gravity and other environmental factors on biological function at the cellular and molecular level. The research efforts, training opportunities, and scientific exchange will promote the expansion of a scientific peer group well-educated in space-related biological issues. This will stimulate the interest of the larger scientific community and insure the continuing development of rigorous flight investigations in Gravitational Biology

Whole animal modeling: piecing together nematode locomotion

With a reconstructed and extensively characterized neural circuit, Caenorhabditis elegans is a fascinating model system for the study of neural circuits and behavior. Here, we review recent progress in the study of locomotion in this animal from a systems perspective. We discuss how complementary approaches, from network science, through dynamical systems to biomechanics are transforming the current understanding of this system into a unified whole animal description. This transformation has been achieved through the integration of mechanistic studies and decompositional approaches: on the one hand, mapping the components of the system and their functions and on the other hand, providing qualitative and quantitative methods to probe the physical basis of locomotion, motor behavior, neural dynamics, and structure–function relation in neural circuits

Transformed into omnipresence

honors thesisCollege of Fine ArtsArt/Art HistoryWendy WischerDuring my time at the University of Utah I have developed a body of work revolving around the dichotomy and coexistence of absence and presence. My fundamental inspiration spurs from the death of my Mother and a lost connection to religion. I understand absence and presence as reciprocal fluid states that define one another. I use memory, ritual, and nostalgia as mechanisms to investigate the ephemeral nature of absence and presence. Transformed into Omnipresence is a continuation of my conceptual explorations and a retrospective analysis of aesthetic decisions I made early in my artistic practice. This reflective look backwards is an attempt to better understand my creative development, and a means to further analyze the verisimilitude present within my portfolio. I approach this analysis based on the manipulation of iconography. My artistic process is not about attempting to create something new, but about rearranging and rearticulating the pre-existing in attempt to find different interpretations. I seek to ascertain an aesthetic and conceptual balance between existing and self-appointed symbolism and use a combination of freestanding sculpture and installation environments to visually quantify the balance I perceive between absence and presence. I use materials and techniques that are conceptually multi-faceted: ash, gold leaf, candles, expansive vertical lines, and negative space. Transformed into Omnipresence will exist as an exhibition and as a written documentation of the process of creating a highly personal series of work