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| Recipient | Brandeis University |
| City | Waltham, MA |
| Description | The goal of this proposal is to elucidate the behavior of active matter at length scales ranging from microscopic to macroscopic, using an interdisciplinary approach involving both physics and biology. The materials unifying all of the experiments are filamentous microtubules and kinesins, which are molecular motors that use ATP hydrolysis to propel themselves along the microtubule tracks and thus drive the assembly toward non-equilibrium active states. The project will specifically develop three model systems of active matter. First, a "bottom up" approach will be used to determine the minimal system, consisting of microtubules, active motors and passive cross-linkers, required to create a self-oscillating active bundle. Second, a complementary "top down" approach will be used to deconstruct a fully functional axoneme and determine the minimal set of structural components required for its active beating. This effort will involve a combination of genetic, ultra-structural and biophysical methods. Third, active nematic liquid crystals will be assembled and characterized both for microscopic dynamics and behavior at continuum length scales. (Amount Awarded: $1,000,000) Seth Fraden
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| Recipient | Columbia University |
| City | New York, NY |
| Description | The Columbia University Keck team proposes to develop a fundamentally new type of energy conversion process, one in which a single absorbed photon creates two or more electronic excitations in a suitable nanostructured material. The physics of this process will be carefully studied and optimized, through control of nanostructure design, by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in chemistry, physics, and engineering. This program will build and electrically characterize individual nanoscale photovoltaic devices based on semiconductor nanocrystals and carbon nanotubes. This project has the potential to dramatically improve both basic understanding of non-traditional energy conversion processes and the practical production of electricity and fuels from sunlight. (Amount Awarded: $750,000) Louis E Brus
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| Recipient | Stanford University |
| City | Stanford, CA |
| Description | This project seeks to advance early theoretical and experimental work on the quantum spin Hall system, a newly discovered type of material inside which the laws of electricity and magnetism are dramatically altered. Discovery of such new states of quantum matter could have profound implications on not only fundamental science but also computing technology. When electrons flow through metals or semiconductors, they dissipate energy as heat, causing devices to draw extra power and limiting computer processor speed. Such power dissipation is already the greatest roadblock to scaling semiconductor devices according to Moore's Law. It is possible to move electrons without dissipation, but known methods have proved impractical, involving extremely low temperatures or large magnetic fields. Recently, a new type of dissipationless transport based on electron spin, rather than charge, has been discovered: the so-called quantum spin Hall (QSH) state in HgTe quantum wells. So far this phenomenon has been limited to cryogenic temperatures. The Stanford team proposes to experimentally test their theoretical prediction that a new class of materials could display the QSH effect at room temperature. Such a breakthrough would deepen understanding of this new state of matter and open the door to new dissipationless computing devices that would manipulate electrons by both charge and spin. (Amount Awarded: $1,000,000) Shoucheng Zhang
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| Recipient | University of California |
| City | Berkeley, CA |
| Description | The next scientific frontier in time-resolved dynamics is the production and utilization of pulses of light in the attosecond time domain (l attosecond = 10-18 seconds). These pulses of light, which can now be generated in the soft X-ray regime of the electromagnetic spectrum, allow scientists to address dynamics on the timescale of electronic motion directly for the first time. The goal of this project is to apply isolated attosecond pulses for the first time to the science of solid-state materials, with particular future applications to solar photovoltaic and related semiconductor materials. The first steps in the formation of charge carriers in photovoltaic devices occur on exceptionally short natural timescales, governed by the rearrangements of electrons in orbitals and electronic bands in materials. By developing a laser laboratory dedicated to the measurement of such solid state electron dynamics, the project will (1) advance the field of short time processes through understanding electron dynamics on an unprecedented level, and (2) unearth mechanisms that will ultimately improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. While considerable sources of support are available for short-term exploration of devices and materials, such advances considered here may play a key long-term role in developing newly efficient energy production schemes in the decades to come. (Amount Awarded: $1,000,000) Stephen R. Leone
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| Recipient | University of Chicago |
| City | Chicago, IL |
| Description | One of the grand-challenge questions in the physical and biological sciences is how molecular interactions can enable processing of complex information. The answer requires transcending the advances of the genomics and proteomics revolutions to probe and analyze the function of networks of regulatory interactions in cells directly. While there are various means for detecting the presence of molecules, even in spatially and temporally resolved fashions, there is no reliable, standard way to elucidate the collective molecular dynamics that lead to function. We propose to develop the prototype of just such a robust and systematic method-a “chemical perturbation spectroscopy”-that we envision would become a widely used tool for revealing the underlying design and control structures of molecular networks. If successful, the research would be transformative, introducing a totally new approach for probing regulatory interactions systematically, elucidating design principles for cells, developing a theory for driven complex systems, and even enabling the control of cellular dynamics for a broad range of purposes. (Amount Awarded: $1,000,000) Aaron R Dinner
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Research - Science & Engineering
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| Recipient | California Institute of Technology |
| City | Pasadena, CA |
| Description | Based largely on recent observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), cosmologists believe that the entire observable Universe was spawned in a fraction of a second by the superluminal “inflation” of a sub-atomic volume. This paradigm presents a remarkable opportunity. Inflation produced a Cosmic Gravitational-wave Background (CGB) that may be detectable now via a faint signature imprinted in the polarization of the CMB. To do so could probe the very moment at which the Universe sprang into existence and explore energies far higher than will ever be achieved in terrestrial accelerators. This project will search for the signature of the CGB due to inflation using a set of novel, microwave polarimeters sited at the South Pole. A prototype experiment now in its third year of operation at the South Pole has proven the methodology. A full set of more capable polarimeters is proposed to be built. This technique will allow a search for the CGB with sensitivity exceeding that targeted by the Task Force on CMB Research for a future orbital mission, at least a decade earlier and at ~ 1% of the cost of an orbital mission. A detection of the signature of the CGB would be an historic achievement for both cosmology and high-energy physics.
(Amount Awarded:$2,300,000)
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| Recipient | Princeton University |
| City | Princeton, NJ |
| Description | This grant proposes to develop a novel microscope to probe and manipulate quantum dynamics in real time on the nanometer scale and use it to identify the physical processes that limit the implementation of materials in quantum computing applications. Scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs) have evolved into powerful tools that can image and manipulate single atoms and are now routinely used to unveil phenomena at the nanoscale. These instruments operate by mapping on the microscopic scale interaction between a sharp probe and the sample. However, the most advanced nanoscale microscopes developed to date cannot probe quantum dynamics in real time, as they operate at low frequencies and are insensitive to phenomena that occur on faster timescales. Development of a high-frequency STM will enable a new generation of experimentation in which quantum dynamics can be measured and manipulated on an unprecedented scale. This instrument will allow researchers to characterize directly processes that limit the use of materials for quantum computing applications and to correlate these limitations with the nanoscale properties of the materials. Beyond quantum computing, the
proposed microscope breaks new ground in the measurement of properties of matter and should create opportunities for discovery across a wide range of areas.
(Amount Awarded:$1,300,000)
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| Recipient | University of California, Davis |
| City | Davis, CA |
| Description | The routine observation of high-resolution atomic scale information of biological specimens has been a long-term goal for microscopy. Recent advances in microscopy for materials science, such as the high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and spherical aberration correction, have finally put the goal within grasp. Combining the knowledge of materials science and biology, the research group will develop a new electron detector tailored to maximize the efficiency of this new technology for determining atomic scale structural information of membrane proteins -an important class of proteins, which are the target of most pharmaceutical agents. The detector design will produce a number of signals, which will be analyzed and processed with custom written computer codes. The development of this detector along with the protocols for implementation may have the potential to revolutionize the way structural biology acquires its most fundamental data.
(Amount Awarded: $1,200,000)
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| Recipient | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| City | Santa Cruz, CA |
| Description | What if costly, high-end microscopes could be replaced with tiny chips that detect, analyze, and manipulate single biomolecules, in a spirit similar to the replacement of bulky vacuum tubes with planar transistors that created the integrated circuit? Single biomolecules and macromolecular complexes are nanoscale objects, and to build, manipulate and observe objects of this size requires specialized tools. A team at the University of California, Santa Cruz will obtain cutting-edge, versatile nanofabrication equipment and bring together an interdisciplinary group of leading experts and their students spanning the range from device engineering to molecular biology. They will define nanoscale features on integrated optofluidic chips in order to optimize them for single particle studies. These chips will then be the basis for comprehensive studies of properties and functions of some of the basic building blocks of life: ribonucleic acids (RNA) and their macromolecular complexes.
(Amount Awarded: $1,500,000)
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| Recipient | University of Hawaii at Manoa |
| City | Honolulu, HI |
| Description | The overall goal of this project is to comprehend the chemical evolution of the Solar System. This will be achieved through an understanding of the formation of carbon-, hydrogen-, oxygen-, and nitrogen-bearing (CHON) molecules in ices of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) by reproducing the space environment in a specially designed experimental setup. KBOs are small planetary bodies orbiting the sun beyond the planet Neptune, and are considered as the most primitive objects in the Solar System. A study of KBOs is important because they resemble natural “time capsules” at a frozen stage before life developed on Earth. The methodology is based on a comparison of the molecules formed in the experiments with the current composition of KBOs; such an approach provides the potential to reconstruct the composition of icy Solar System bodies at the time of their formation billions of years ago. The significance of this project is that it will elucidate the origin of biologically relevant molecules and help unravel the chemical evolution of the Solar System. Since KBOs are believed to be the main reservoir of short-period comets, which are considered as “delivery systems” of biologically important molecules to the early Earth, the project will also bring a better understanding of how life might have emerged on Earth.
(Amount Awarded:$1,200,000)
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| Recipient | University of Maine |
| City | Orono, ME |
| Description | Ice cores provide highly robust, sub-annually resolved, multi-millennial reconstructions of past chemical and physical climate essential to understanding climate change because instrumented climate records barely cover the last 100 years and significantly longer perspective is required to assess current and predict future climate. Researchers at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute have longstanding experience in ice core research and have contributed to major climate science realizations. The team has a vision for the future of climate research that includes: completion of a global array of ice cores before many of these records are destroyed by warming; development of interactive climate data search engines utilizing ice core records as a framework; and, through the proposed work, cutting edge innovations. These innovations require purchase of a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma spectrometer and associated development of an innovative cold stage sampling system to allow unprecedented increase in sample resolution, efficiency, and through flow for over 40 elements. Support is also sought to develop radically new, in situ ice core measuring capability utilizing novel thin film chemical sensors embedded in an ice core drill, and a "disposable" GPS system for remote sampling in extremely hazardous environments needed for ice core site reconnaissance and interpretation.
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Jean-Claude Diels, PhD
$1,100,000
The quest to visualize ever smaller structures has driven scientific progress. Spatial resolution and contrast, essential factors in imaging, are limited by the wavelength and the intensity noise, respectively. While shorter wavelengths (X-rays, electron beams) can improve resolution and fluorescent labeling can increase contrast, these benefits come at the expense of harmful radiation and invasive sample preparation. The project team proposes an optical instrument based on making differential measurements on the phase of two circulating ultrashort laser pulses in order to achieve unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. The underlying physical principles, established in prior research programs at UNM, are the conversion of phase (or distance) as small as a billionth (10-9) of a wavelength inside a laser to a measurable frequency and the discovery that the injection of even one trillionth (10-12) of one pulse into the other is sufficient to change measurably the frequency of the latter. Equipped with mechanical nano-positioners, the complete instrument, which will be called the Scanning Phase Intracavity Nanoscope (SPIN), will provide three-dimensional images of biological objects with a spatial resolution of 1nm. To be housed in the Cancer Research and Treatment Center Microscopy Facility, SPIN has the potential to serve the biomedical community by opening a new window to the intra-cellular nanoworld.
(Amount Awarded:$1,600,000)
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| Recipient | University of New Mexico |
| City | Albuquerque, NM |
| Description | The quest to visualize ever smaller structures has driven scientific progress. Spatial resolution and contrast, essential factors in imaging, are limited by the wavelength and the intensity noise, respectively. While shorter wavelengths (X-rays, electron beams) can improve resolution and fluorescent labeling can increase contrast, these benefits come at the expense of harmful radiation and invasive sample preparation. The project team proposes an optical instrument based on making differential measurements on the phase of two circulating ultrashort laser pulses in order to achieve unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. The underlying physical principles, established in prior research programs at UNM, are the conversion of phase (or distance) as small as a billionth (10-9) of a wavelength inside a laser to a measurable frequency and the discovery that the injection of even one trillionth (10-12) of one pulse into the other is sufficient to change measurably the frequency of the latter. Equipped with mechanical nano-positioners, the complete instrument, which will be called the Scanning Phase Intracavity Nanoscope (SPIN), will provide three-dimensional images of biological objects with a spatial resolution of 1nm. To be housed in the Cancer Research and Treatment Center Microscopy Facility, SPIN has the potential to serve the biomedical community by opening a new window to the intra-cellular nanoworld.
(Amount Awarded:$1,100,000)
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Research - Science & Engineering
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| Recipient | Carnegie Institution of Washington |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Description | To equip a laboratory for studying how abiotic processes in the deep Earth are related to the
emergence and development of life.
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| Recipient | Colorado State University |
| City | Fort Collins, CO |
| Description | To support the development of a laser single-atom-on demand source for quantum computers.
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| Recipient | Cornell University |
| City | Ithaca, NY |
| Description | To develop a novel x-ray detector for studying material dynamics on micro second time scales.
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| Recipient | Drexel University |
| City | Philadelphia, PA |
| Description | To use nanotechnology to develop an instrument for transferring fluid volumes in the atto-liter
range leading to development of sub-cellular tools that can be used for medical diagnosis and
treatment.
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| Recipient | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| City | Atlanta, GA |
| Description | To develop nanopatterned epitaxial graphene electronic
devices that work at room temperature.
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| Recipient | National Academy of Sciences |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Description | To support a study of America's energy future: technology opportunities, risks and tradeoffs.
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| Recipient | University of California, Davis |
| City | Davis, CA |
| Description | To support the development of a novel imaging detector for use in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.
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| Recipient | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| City | Santa Barbara, CA |
| Description | To develop new technology for using terahertz spectroscopy to study protein dynamics.
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| Recipient | University of Chicago |
| City | Chicago, IL |
| Description | To study the basic processes controlling catastrophic deformation in both physical and
biological systems ranging from fluid-like to solid-like behavior.
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| Recipient | University of Pittsburgh |
| City | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Description | To develop an ultra-fast method for scanning tunneling microscopy.
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Research - Science & Engineering
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| Recipient | Brown University |
| City | Providence, RI |
| Description | To design and build a high-speed X-ray imaging system for musculoskeletal biomechanics research.
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| Recipient | Iowa State University of Science and Technology |
| City | Ames, IA |
| Description | To develop high-throughput atomic mapping of materials chemistry.
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| Recipient | Marine Biological Laboratory |
| City | Woods Hole, MA |
| Description | To acquire a parallel DNA sequencing system to enable an initial census of marine microbes.
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| Recipient | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| City | Cambridge, MA |
| Description | To investigate interrelated theoretical problems at the core of quantum information theory.
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| Recipient | New York University |
| City | New York, NY |
| Description | To support research on self-replicating/self-assembling colloidal particles for applications in biology and the development of novel materials.
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| Recipient | Northeastern University |
| City | Boston, MA |
| Description | To support the construction of multifunctional nanoassembled devices for in vivo biomarker analysis and delivery of therapeutics.
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| Recipient | Rice University |
| City | Houston, TX |
| Description | To integrate principles of atomic physics with condensed matter physics for developing novel materials.
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| Recipient | Smithsonian Institution |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Description | To develop a comprehensive theory of galaxy assembly in a hierarchical universe.
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| Recipient | Tufts University |
| City | Medford, MA |
| Description | To support research for designing novel soft-bodied robots.
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| Recipient | University of California, Riverside |
| City | Riverside, CA |
| Description | To support research in atmospheric chemistry and purchase special instrumentation for an environmental chamber.
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Research - Science & Engineering
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| Recipient | Carnegie Institution of Washington |
| City | Washington, DC |
| Description | To develop remote sensing technology that will measure molecular composition in three-dimensional
space over time.
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| Recipient | Kent State University |
| City | Kent, OH |
| Description | For a suite of equipment to study biologically relevant liquid crystals.
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| Recipient | Southern California Earthquake Center |
| City | Los Angeles, CA |
| Description | To establish a collaboratory for the study of earthquake predictability
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| Recipient | University of California, Berkeley |
| City | Berkeley, CA |
| Description | To develop new technologies for studying
hydrological and geochemical dynamics in watersheds.
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| Recipient | University of Florida |
| City | Gainesville, FL |
| Description | To build a new instrument for increasing the speed and scope of planetary detection.
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| Recipient | University of South Carolina |
| City | Columbia, SC |
| Description | To establish a bionanoparticle laboratory for
materials development and biomedical research.
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| Recipient | University of Virginia |
| City | Charlottesville, VA |
| Description | To develop a prototype terahertz spectroscopy system for biological applications.
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| Recipient | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| City | Woods Hole, MA |
| Description | To build and deploy instruments for studying
earthquake predictability at the East Pacific Rise.
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Research - Science & Engineering
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| Recipient | Carnegie Mellon University |
| City | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Description | Towards developing automated methods for analyzing brain function using brain imaging and computer modeling.
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| Recipient | Missouri Botanical Garden |
| City | St. Louis, MO |
| Description | To create a web-based research encyclopedia of 18th and 19th century botanical systematic literature.
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| Recipient | North Carolina State University |
| City | Raleigh, NC |
| Description | To support the synthesis of new materials using RNA-mediated evolutionary chemistry.
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| Recipient | Stanford University |
| City | Stanford, CA |
| Description | To initiate research in the application of ultrafast x-rays to the chemical dynamics of
photo-induced electron transfer.
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| Recipient | University of Arkansas |
| City | Fayetteville, AR |
| Description | To study the stability of water on Mars using a large environmental chamber.
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| Recipient | University of California, Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles, CA |
| Description | To provide equipment and personnel for research
on human and artifical vision.
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| Recipient | University of Hawaii at Manoa |
| City | Honolulu, HI |
| Description | To support the acquisition of geochemical equipment for studying the origins of the solar system.
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| Recipient | University of Kansas |
| City | Lawrence, KS |
| Description | To establish a stable isotope laboratory for environmental and
paleoenvironmental research and training.
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| Recipient | University of Maryland, College Park |
| City | College Park, MD |
| Description | To equip a laboratory for combinatorial nanosynthesis and multiscale characterization.
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| Recipient | University of New Mexico |
| City | Albuquerque, NM |
| Description | To establish a nanofluidics laboratory focused on new approaches to protein separations.
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| Recipient | Washington State University |
| City | Pullman, WA |
| Description | To establish a laboratory for the development of novel bone implant materials.
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| Recipient | West Virginia University |
| City | Morgantown, WV |
| Description | To study the spatiotemporal dynamics of complex chemical systems.
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