Research Highlights Archive - 2003 and Earlier
2003 Highlights
Documenting excellence
"Hidden India: The Kerala Spicelands," a 60-minute PBS documentary by radio-TV professor Jan Thompson, won silver awards for best adult education program and best cinematography at the 2003 Chicago International Film and Television Festival. It also won the overall grand prize and a first prize at the National Broadcasting Society's 2003 annual convention, as well as two Gold Aurora Awards, one for best cultural documentary and one for best original music. (The Aurora awards are a national competition for video and TV productions not seen on the Big Four TV networks.) Thompson produced and directed the documentary and wrote its score.
Nicotine and infant development
Studying the effect of prenatal tobacco exposure on the growth and neurobehavioral development of pre-term and full-term infants is the goal of a $1.78 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The five-year project, headed by Kim Espy, associate professor of psychiatry, will also look at genetic differences that may make infants more vulnerable to the effects of prenatal tobacco exposure.
Clean-coal advance
A $2 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy will allow SIUC's Coal Research Center to test improved filters for use in a clean-coal technology called high-temperature pressurized fluidized-bed combustion. SIUC is working on the three-year project with Siemens Westinghouse Corp., which developed the new filters. Testing will be done at SIUC's power plant.
Fueled by propane
A $487,000 grant from the Propane Education and Research Council will fund research on the development of a clean-burning, propane-powered irrigation engine. The two-year grant will allow SIUC agricultural researchers to compare the performance of a propane-driven engine and a traditional diesel-driven engine in operating a center-pivot irrigation system. The study will monitor and compare emissions data for the engines as well.
Soybean genome
The world's first entire "physical map" detailing the general lay of the soybean's genetic landscape has been published by researchers at SIUC and Texas A&M College Station. Details were announced as part of a multi-author review of legume genomics in the March 2003 issue of the journal Plant Physiology. The team was headed by plant biotechnologist David Lightfoot.
Supremes
Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia awarded political science professor Robert Clinton his latest honor: a $1,500 prize for the best article published by the Supreme Court Historical Society in 2002. Clinton, an expert on legal and constitutional history and philosophy, received his award in June 2003 at the Court's Great Hall.
Water in all the wrong places
Geologist Nicholas Pinter received a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for research on flooding and flood control on transboundary rivers in Europe. Pinter's work also is supported by a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), one of only 10 given to scholars worldwide.
Loud and clear
Neuropharmacologist Donald Caspary, who was named SIUC's Outstanding Scholar for 2003, received a $320,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health in FY 2003—his 21st consecutive year of NIH funding—to continue his research on how the brain's ability to process auditory signals changes with age. This knowledge, he hopes, will lead to the development of drugs that could treat age-related hearing loss.
The life of the span
SIUC's Materials Technology Center has received a $620,489 grant from the federal government through the Illinois Department of Transportation for remote monitoring of the condition of highway bridges. This project is part of ongoing, multidisciplinary research by the Colleges of Engineering and Science on intelligent transportation systems.
Well versed
Poet Allison Joseph was awarded a spate of prizes in early 2003: she won the 2003 Word Press Poetry Prize (which includes publication of her next manuscript), took first place in the 2002 Wallace W. Winchell Poetry Competition, and won 2002 poetry awards from Georgia State University Review and from Yawp Magazine (named after a phrase in a Walt Whitman poem). Joseph's fourth book of poetry, Imitation of Life, was published in 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University Press.
Frogs and tropical ecology
Investigating how declines in amphibian populations are affecting tropical ecosystems is the goal of a $400,000 National Science Foundation project being conducted by zoologists Matthew Whiles and Karen Lips.
No ordinary fish tale
A $600,000 Partnerships for Innovation grant from the National Science Foundation is funding SIUC efforts, with industry and state partners, to produce farm-raised fish with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids—better for consumers and better for the health of the fish.
Waste not
An innovative manure treatment system that can virtually eliminate odor while generating power and high-grade fertilizer for farm operations will soon be built and tested on an Illinois hog farm, thanks to state funding. The microbe-based system, developed by mechanical engineering professor James Blackburn, has worked well in pilot tests.
Also tackling pollution
Fisheries scientist Michael Lydy has received more than $300,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Federation and other agencies to assess the effect of pesticides and antibiotic agents on aquatic ecosystems, including bioaccumulation of toxic substances in fish. And wildlife scientists Richard Halbrook and Matthew Nicholson have received $207,018 from the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources to study the effects of oil or brine spills on the ecosystems of intermittent streams.
Biotech from both angles
With $450,000 from the United Soybean Board, a six-institution team of 15 scientists has kicked off an intensive effort to use biotechnology to breed soybeans resistant to Sudden Death Syndrome, a costly—and spreading—fungal disease. SIUC researchers also are investigating the safety of bioengineered crops and studying consumer attitudes toward GMO foods.
2002 Highlights
Help for rural caregivers
A five-year, $1.3-million grant from the National Institute of Nursing will fund the new SIU Rural Caregiver Telehealth Intervention Trial, designed to provide support services to rural residents caring for older family members at home. Psychology professors Kathy Chwalisz and Stephanie Dollinger will compare the effectiveness of structured telephone counseling sessions versus a call-in helpline for improving caregivers' physical health, mental health, and psychosocial functioning.
Culture and technology
SIUC's College of Education and Human Services has received a $750,000 grant from the Library of Congress through the Education and Research Consortium as part of the library's "Adventure of the American Mind" project. SIUC will work with public K-12 schools in Illinois to help teachers use the library's "American Memory" digitized resources in their courses while developing students' technology skills. The American Memory site holds more than 7 million digital items—photographs, sound recordings, documents, etc.—on U.S. history and culture.
Brainstorm
A $1.14 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is boosting ongoing research into a way to speed recovery from strokes or other head injuries through mild electrical stimulation of the brain's vagus nerve.
Exploring biodiversity
Plant biologist Karen Renzaglia and researchers at five other institutions have collectively been awarded $3 million from the National Science Foundation to put together a comprehensive picture of the evolution, structure, and diversification of early land plants as part of a new NSF initiative called "Assembling the Tree of Life." The NSF also is underwriting work at SIUC on neural networks, quantum computing, non-thermal plasmas for manufacturing, polar organic materials, carbon composites for braking systems, hydrogen adsorption on carbon nanotubes, machine lifespan testing, climate change, extremophile bacteria, projects in several areas of mathematics, and more.
Corrections model under the microscope
Chad Briggs, now a doctoral student in psychology, received the Distinguished Master's Thesis Award from the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools in 2002 for his pioneering research analyzing the effect of "Supermax" prisons on prison-system violence.
The power of words
SIUC's fiction writers gained national attention in 2002: Brady Udall for his novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Mike Magnuson for his novel Lummox, and Beth Lordan for her short story "Digging," included in Best American Short Stories of 2002.
Crunching the numbers
SIUC's Finance Department is ranked in the top 5.6% of all research universities worldwide for research productivity, based on publications in 16 core finance journals from 1990 through 2001.
Top alternative
"alt.news 26:46," an offbeat, magazine-style TV program produced by SIUC students, snared three regional Emmys in October 2002, including Outstanding Informational Program—a category in which it bested professional programs from seven states.
Economic empowerment of Third-World women
With support from the USAID, NSF, Research Institute for the Study of Man, and American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, sociology professor Kathryn Ward and five graduate students are doing critical field research on women's lives and livelihoods in Bangladesh.
Middle-school boost
With a three-year, $630,000 U.S. Department of Education grant, a team of SIUC faculty, community-college faculty, and middle-school teachers is developing a model curriculum for prospective middle-school teachers.
Biotech from both angles
With $450,000 from the United Soybean Board, a six-institution team of 15 scientists has kicked off an intensive effort to use biotechnology to breed soybeans resistant to Sudden Death Syndrome, a costly—and spreading—fungal disease. SIUC researchers also are investigating the safety of bioengineered crops and studying consumer attitudes toward GMO foods.
A hankering for old age?
With $297,615 from the National Institute on Aging, physiologists Andrzej Bartke and Varada Chandrashekar are studying the interplay of calorie restriction and longevity genes. A low-calorie diet further increases the life span of mice genetically predisposed to live long lives.
Anti-smoking research
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation continues to fund law professor Donald Garner's research into legal ways for communities to control public tobacco and alcohol advertising. David Gilbert holds a major grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to continue investigating nicotine's effects on the brain. And with $900,000 from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health, an SIUC team headed by the Public Policy Institute recently developed a pilot public service campaign, based on focus-group research, to dissuade young women from smoking.
Documenting Dewey
An educational documentary written and narrated by philosopher Larry Hickman won a Golden Eagle award from CINE, a Washington, D.C.-based group. Davidson Films Inc. produced the documentary, "John Dewey: His Life and Work." Hickman, director of SIUC's Center for Dewey Studies, also was named SIUC's Outstanding Scholar for 2002.
Business and the Holocaust
An in-depth look at how West German businesses remade their public image after World War II received the 2002 Best Book Prize in Business History, sponsored by the Hagley Museum and the Business History Conference. Jonathan Wiesen, assistant professor of history, published West German Industry and the Challenge of the Nazi Past, 1945-1955, in October 2001.
The American way
In 2002 SIUC marked its 10th year of offering the Fulbright American Studies Institute on the U.S. Political System, funded by the U.S. State Dept. Teachers from more than 60 countries have participated in the six-week summer program. Political science professor John Foster, who was named SIUC's Outstanding Teacher for 2002, has directed the institute for the last five years.
Helping society
Major federal service grants received by SIUC in FY 2002 included $913,000 from the U.S. Dept. of Education to improve bilingual education in Southern Illinois; $409,941 from the Health Resources and Services Administration to improve access to primary health care in Southern Illinois; and $400,000 from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development for community development in low-income neighborhoods in Carbondale. All three grants involve partnerships between SIUC and other public institutions or agencies.
The bee's knees
Zoology professor John McPherson was named president of the 6,500-member Entomological Society of America. He previously edited the organization's journal, American Entomologist.
2001 Highlights
Marketing the health appeal of soy
Assessing the role of health benefits in developing markets for soy-based foods is the aim of agribusiness economics professor Wanki Moon and marketing professor Siva Balasubramanian, with funding from the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research.
Microbes for cleanup
Microbiologist John Coates received grants totaling $421,599 in FY 2001 from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, U.S. Office of Naval Research, and Army Corps of Engineers to continue his work isolating bacteria useful in breaking down toxic substances in the environment. Two of the grants were in collaboration with fellow microbiologist Laurie Achenbach, who studies these organisms at the genetic level. On June 28, 2001, their discovery of two bacterial strains that can break down benzene in the absence of oxygen was reported in Nature, one of the world's top two scientific journals. Coates and Achenbach's work received the 2001 Cleanup Project of the Year award from the federal Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program.
A gangster's life
Broadcasting Service's David Kidd has received a $10,000 grant from the Illinois Humanities Council to research and produce a documentary on Charlie Birger, the ruthless but colorful bootlegger who ruled Williamson County in the 1920s.
Deconstructing coal
Geology professor John Crelling received the Geological Society of America's Gilbert H. Cady Award in November 2001 for his contributions to coal geology research. Crelling, who runs SIUC's Coal Characterization Program, is an expert on the composition and uses of coal.
Concrete progress
Civil engineering professors Sanjeev Kumar and Vijay Puri concluded pilot testing in 2001 of a new concrete mix for deep foundations made with recycled bottom ash from clean-coal-burning power plants. A grant from the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Community Services allowed them to demonstrate the technology at a hospital construction site in Marion, Ill.
Going with the flow
Mingqing Xiao, assistant professor of mathematics, received a 2001 Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship to study flow around aircraft and other vehicles, the drag coefficient of different airfoil shapes, and optimal flow-control mechanisms.
CAREER awards
Two SIUC chemists received prestigious five-year CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation in spring 2001. Dan Dyer, who works with polymer-based organic thin films for applications such as sensors, will receive $492,410. Shaowei Chen, who works with materials that have the potential for use in extremely small scale electronic devices or circuits, will receive $350,000. Both projects will involve students.
National Outstanding Scholar
Physiologist Andrzej Bartke has been awarded the National Scholar Award, given every three years by Phi Kappa Phi, one of the nation's most venerable honor societies. Bartke has made pioneering research contributions in the areas of male reproductive physiology, the relationship between longevity and growth hormone, and the behavioral and hormonal effects of chronic marijuana use. The award was announced in April 2001.
Green energy?
Materials chemist Bakul Dave has filed a patent application for his invention of a new bioactive material that, at least on a small scale, can convert carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into methanol, a clean-burning fuel. Work to scale up the material is ongoing.
Health insurance
A team led by Paul Sarvela, chair of the Health Care Professions Dept., and Michael Lawrence, associate director of the Public Policy Institute, is working to improve access to health insurance in Illinois. This research and advocacy project is studying the demographics and the needs of the uninsured population, developing strategies to reduce the number of uninsured residents, and convening a state policy summit in Springfield in July 2001. A $355,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services through the Illinois Dept. of Insurance is funding the project.
Tech progress
SIUC's Materials Technology Center received two Technology Challenge grants, totaling $294,996, from the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Community Affairs in spring 2001. One is to develop nano-scale devices such as drug delivery systems and molecular tweezers. The other is for advances in intelligent transportation systems, including "smart" sensors for remote monitoring of structures such as bridges and airplanes.
SIUC Outstanding Scholar
Microbiologist Michael Madigan received the SIUC Outstanding Scholar Award for 2001 for his work isolating and describing photosynthetic bacteria—research that could lead to identifying useful new proteins
for industrial and agricultural applications.
2000 Highlights
Brain trust
A new method of treating traumatic brain injury was patented in August 2000 by a team of SIUC researchers in psychology, physiology, and neurology and by a co-inventor with Cyberonics Inc. of Houston. Using an implant developed by Cyberonics for treatment of epilepsy, the new therapy modulates and controls the electrical activity of the vagus nerve, which is involved in memory and learning.
MacArthur Fellow
Creative writing professor Lucia M. Perillo received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in June 2000. These prestigious awards are for $500,000 in support over a five-year period. Perillo, one of 25 MacArthur Fellows named this year for "exceptional creativity, record of significant accomplish- ment, and potential for still greater achievement," has published three books of poetry.
Medal for metal
L. Brent Kington, a noted metalsmith and sculptor and professor emeritus of art at SIUC, received a Gold Medal from the American Craft Council in October 2000, the highest award bestowed on individual artists by this organization. Kington's work is in the collections of the National Museum of American Art and the American Craft Museum, among other places.
Amphibian diversity
Zoologist Karen Lips has received $269,865 from the National Science Foundation to continue her investigations of amphibian decline. Lips is part of a multi-institution team working to understand what is causing this phenomenon in various parts of the world. Her discovery of the disappearance of dozens of frog species in Central America attracted international attention.
Ecology and game management
The Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and the Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center are celebrating their 50-year anniversaries in 2000. These two research centers are among the most-respected of their type in the United States; they have pioneered in areas ranging from wildlife population studies and mined land reclamation to river-restoration projects and fisheries management. In addition, the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory received The Wildlife Society's Group Achievement Award in September 2000. This is the society's highest organizational award for achievement in research and education. Previous recipients of this award include The Nature Conservancy and the National Audubon Society.
Stellar students
Six graduate students have received prestigious awards to pursue their studies and research at SIUC. Paige Mettler, a master's student in plant biology, is being funded by an Environmental Protection Agency fellowship. Warren Dean Vestal, a master's student in geology, and Jeremy Scott, a master's student in physics, are being funded by NASA fellowships. Donna Bernert, a doctoral student in health education, has received a $34,000 dissertation fellowship from the Social Science Research Council. Saikat Talapatra, a doctoral student in engineering science, is funded by the Link Foundation/Energy Fellowship Program. And Keli Ross, a master's student in curriculum and instruction, is SIUC's first Holmes Scholar, chosen to participate in a national initiative that assists aspiring minority teachers.
Clean-coal research
Research into clean-coal technology will get a huge boost from a $25 million grant made by Commonwealth Edison in spring 2000, to be administered by SIUC's Coal Research Center. Recent coal-related projects at SIUC, supported by the U.S. Dept. of Energy and other agencies, include testing new methods for desulfurizing flue gas, "recycling" coal combustion byproducts into lightweight supports for underground mines, and field-testing concrete made with pulverized coal combustion bottom ash (with $637,208 in funding from the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Community Affairs).
Feast for the senses
In fall 2000, PBS stations across the country aired "Hidden Korea," by SIUC documentary maker Jan Thompson. The program is one in a series produced by Thompson called "Hidden-Journeys" that focuses on food and culture.
Rural development
With third-year funding of $310,000 from the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, SIUC's Rural Development Opportunities project seeks to boost rural economies by doing research on the ties between agriculture and rural communities, and by offering outreach activities to help farmers and other rural residents develop alternative income sources. Students in forestry, agribusiness economics, economics, and geography are participating in the project.
A closer look at genetically modified crops
With $173,024 from the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, researchers in the Department of Plant, Soil, and General Agriculture are evaluating genetically modified corn hybrids for safety, environmental impact, and equivalence to standard hybrids. And with a $70,302 C-FAR grant, another team is analyzing gene expression in GMO (genetically modified organism) products to address food safety concerns.
Fighting child abuse
SIUC's Project 12-Ways, which works in 11 Southern Illinois counties to reduce child abuse and neglect through comprehensive parenting and life-skills education, was funded for its 22nd year in FY 2001, receiving more than $640,000 from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services through the Illinois Dept. of Human Services. The program is part of SIUC's Rehabilitation Institute.
Photographic portraiture
Four works by photographer Fern Logan were displayed in spring 2000 at the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture. The exhibition, "Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present," featured more than 300 works by 120 leading African-American photographers.
Double duty for King Coal
With $555,743 in FY 2001 grants from the Illinois Clean Coal Institute and Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Community Affairs, mining engineer Y. Paul Chugh is working on innovative ways of recycling the byproducts of coal combustion (such as fly ash and scrubber sludge) to make support blocks for mines, poles for the utility industry, material for road subbases, and more. Some of the work is in collaboration with physicist Vivak Malhotra. The research has already spun off one business—Fly-Lite Inc. of McLeansboro, Ill.
Beanfield blitz
With $500,000 from the Illinois Soybean Program Operating Board, researchers in Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems are launching a comprehensive assault on soybean Sudden Death Syndrome, a devastating fungal disease that can wipe out farmers' profits. The research, building on years of SDS work here, includes plant breeding, screening, and gene studies for more-resistant soybean varieties.
Learning resource
John Washburn and Rebecca Woodhull, Dept. of Workforce Education and Development, have received more than $1.7 million in funding from the U.S. Dept. of Education and Illinois State Board of Education to operate the various components of the state's Office of Educational Services in Springfield.
1999 Highlights
Biotechnology advances
A new strain of corn genetically modified to use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently was patented in December 1999. The corn, developed in the laboratory of plant biotechnologist David Lightfoot, offers environmental benefits: leaching of excess fertilizer has led to nitrate contamination of water supplies in Midwestern states. With a $1.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Lightfoot heads an effort to map the soybean genome to improve soybean lines.
Textual editing
The Center for Dewey Studies, the definitive resource on American philosopher and educator John Dewey, has won two national awards from CHOICE, a journal published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, for a CD-ROM, "The Correspondence of John Dewey," and a two-volume anthology, The Essential John Dewey. The center receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and other sources for its editorial work.
Life in extreme environments
Two faculty members and a graduate student in microbiology collected samples from frozen lakes in the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica in November 1999 in a search for cold-adapted photosynthetic bacteria. The research will help scientists identify novel cold-adapted proteins, enzymes, and other compounds for potential industrial and agricultural uses. The three-year, $362,696 project is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Teacher education and technology skills
Curriculum and instruction professor Andrew Lumpe is overseeing SIUC's involvement in Blazing Learning Trails, a five-year, $6.7 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Education to improve teacher professional development and technology skills. Run by the Franklin-Williamson Regional Office of Education with a consortium of 18 partners, the program is reaching K-12 teachers in 43 schools, as well as involving teacher education students at SIUC.
Water resources research
A multidisciplinary team led by Christopher Lant (Geography) and Steve Kraft (Agribusiness Economics) received $718,976 from the USDA in July 1999 to develop a watershed management model that could be used by planning groups across the country. The team is using Southern Illinois' Cache River watershed as a test case for using geographic information systems to combine data on land use, water flow, and economic factors.
Early childhood education
A grant of $2,780,172 from the Illinois State Board of Education through Murphysboro School District funded the College of Education's At-Risk Early Childhood Center Program for a 12th year. This pre-kindergarten program works with hundreds of three- to five-year-olds in four southern Illinois counties who are at risk of academic failure due to developmental delays, poverty, and other factors. Faculty and graduate students associated with the program collect data and conduct longitudinal research on children's achievement and skills and related topics.
Smoking research
Psychologist David Gilbert received $312,357 in FY 00 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to continue studying the effects on the central nervous system of nicotine patch treatment, both alone and in combination with behavioral therapy, for people trying to quit smoking. Gilbert's Smoking Research Laboratory was established at SIUC in 1985.
Contemporary philosophy
The Library of Living Philosophers published its 27th volume, The Philosophy of Donald Davidson, in fall 1999. The LLP has been world-renowned in its field almost since its inception in 1938. Each volume prints commentaries on a prominent contemporary philosopher, along with the philosopher's response to those commentaries and an autobiographical essay.
National Book Award nominee
Kent Haruf's third novel, Plainsong, was nominated for the National Book Award in October 1999. Haruf's work received critical acclaim in publications ranging from Newsweek to The New York Times.
Public policy and the Internet
Second-year law student Lisa Nijm's research paper on protection of children's online privacy rights won the 1999 writing competition for law students sponsored by the National Association of Counsel for Children. Nijm was invited to speak on the topic in summer 2000 at an international conference at Oxford University.
Materials science
The National Science Foundation has extended its support of SIUC's Center for Advanced Friction Studies for another four years, through March 2004, providing researchers with an additional $1.2 million in funding. The center, established in 1996, works to improve the performance of aircraft and automotive braking systems.
Women's health
The Army Research Office awarded physiologist Laura Murphy $295,701 to study the potential of American ginseng for prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Murphy also has a $129,194 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the effect of marijuana on stress hormones and reproductive hormones, including effects during pregnancy.
