Applied Mathematics Function to Map Evolutionary Processes

Anna Spagnuolo

This research is focused on fluid flow dynamics in porous material--more specifically in relation to nuclear waste contamination. It has recently been more focused on the development of mathematical models to predict disease progression, which includes HIV-1 dynamics, brain tumor progression, cholera colonization of the intestine, and early detection of specific antigens in the blood. While many of these projects are quite specific, the tools developed may be applied to mapping and predicting evolutionary processes in general. One of the projects that has spun out of the main effort focuses on the imaging, mapping, and progression prediction of brain cancer. The mathematical and statistical modeling is being integrated into a bioimplantable sensor for monitoring brain cancer. While this technology is still in a very early stage, it appears that there is at least a basic code that has been developed that is functional. Future work is focused on fine tuning the code and validating the brain cancer imaging and prediction function of the biosensors to allow for real time simulation.

chemistry of free radical Species Produced by the Irradiation of Biomolecules

Michael D. Sevilla

Of principal interest are the mechanisms for radiation damage to DNA. The principal biological effect of radiation on a cell is caused by the direct interaction of radiation with DNA or molecules immediately surrounding the DNA which transmit the radiation damage to the DNA. Professor Sevilla's lab has established that the initial effect of radiation is to produce ion radicals on the DNA bases and recently has found DNA radicals on the sugar phosphate backbone. These species directly lead to strand breaks and biologically relevant damage. Recent efforts have looked into the production of sugar radicals in DNA by high energy irradiation. These species are of critical importance to the subsequent biological damage and as a consequence quantitation of the numbers of sugar radicals and their identity gives important mechanistic information. Work in this lab has found that about 10% of all radicals produced are on the sugar phosphate backbone for gamma rays but as much as 30% of radicals are on the sugar phosphate backbone for ion beam irradiated DNA. This lead to the hypothesis that excited states of the DNA base cation radicals may lead to damage to the sugar portion of DNA. A series of recent papers from this lab has shown this is indeed the case. These efforts have identified the C1’, C3’ and C5’ sites on the sugar as those that are most prone to damage by this mechanism.

Cluster of Advanced Symmetric Multiprocessing Computers for High Performance Scientific Calculations

Mihai Horoi

cquisition of a Cluster of Advanced Symmetric Multiprocessing Computers for High Performance Scientific Calculations will help to meet the needs of active and productive CMU scientists in the computationally demanding fields of theoretical nuclear and condensed matter physics, and mesoscale numerical meteorology. Targeted applications in this project include problems of nuclear structure, nuclear reaction rates, and thermonuclear reaction rates in supernovae. Applications in condensed matter and materials physics include studying the physical and chemical properties of nanometer-scale atomic clusters, and the functional properties of defective materials, including semiconductor systems proposed for use in quantum computing. These studies will involve calculations of unusual complexity that require access to advanced, high performance resources. Integration of the proposed research with education and training efforts is a major goal of the project. A series of hands-on workshops in High Performance Computing will be develop and deliver to fill a void that exists in the current curriculum at Central Michigan University. The workshops will be open to students and faculty from across the college. This project will also provide many opportunities to engage students directly in research. Dissemination of the research results is another important component of the project.

Neutron Drip Line Using the Modular Neutron Array

Joseph Finck

Central Michigan University is a charter member of a collaboration of 10 institutions that worked together to construct a million dollar, high efficiency neutron detector for use at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) is a critical instrument in the study of nuclei far from stability. One of the unique aspects of the collaboration is that many of the members of the collaboration are from primarily undergraduate institutions and the involvement of undergraduate students is fundamental goal of the project. In the MoNA collaboration undergraduate students from Central Michigan University have play integral roles in the construction and operation of MoNA; they have built detector bars, wired electronics, written code, sat shifts, and done both on- and off-line data analysis. The MoNA collaboration has been remarkably successful at involving undergraduate students in front-line research. This project will permit the PI and his undergraduates from Central Michigan University to continue to participate in the experimental program. In addition, the project presents a model for not only sustaining the momentum of an active collaboration based on students and faculty from undergraduate departments, but also moves the collaboration to more actively involve undergraduates in all the experimental runs and in data analysis. If these measures are successful, they will provide a prototype for involving undergraduates in cutting-edge experimental physics at user facilities.

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