PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 26, No. 3, Aug. 3, 2006

Critical research initiatives receive recognition, funding

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Six projects have been selected to receive seed funding through the Critical Research Initiatives program, an annual competition sponsored by the Vice Chancellor for Research. The CRI program, now in its 11th year, was established to stimulate continued innovation and outstanding scholarship on campus. The competition provides full or partial funding of up to $50,000 for one year for planning proposals and funding of up to $100,000 for three years for full proposals. New to this year’s competition, the UI joined with Carle Foundation Hospital to provide matching funds of up to $75,000 per year for two years for major translational research initiatives in biomedical research that foster collaboration between the UI and the hospital.

An interdisciplinary review committee appointed by Charles Zukoski, vice chancellor for research, and consisting of faculty members chosen for their vision, scholarly excellence and knowledge of the breadth and depth of scholarship on campus recommends which proposals submitted in the competition are most deserving of CRI support. This year, these proposals were selected for funding:

• “Center for Air Transportation Systems Research,” Michael Bragg, professor of aerospace engineering, principal investigator. Co-principal investigators: Kieran Donaghy, professor of urban and regional planning and director of the European Union Center; P.R. Kumar, professor of electrical and computer engineering and research professor in the Coordinated Science Laboratory; Natasha Neogi, professor in the Institute of Aviation and research assistant professor, Coordinated Science Laboratory; Esa Rantanen, professor of psychology.
  Research aimed at developing a revolutionary, highly efficient, adaptable and scalable air transportation system based on a distributed information-rich infrastructure to maintain capacity of the current voice-communication-based system and minimize flight delays.
• “Discovery, Design and Development of Phosphonic Acid Antibiotics,” Wilfred van der Donk, professor of chemistry and in the Institute for Genomic Biology. Co-principal investigator: William Metcalf, professor in the Institute for Genomic Biology. Investigation aimed at the discovery of bioactive natural products containing carbon-phosphorus bonds (phosphonates), studies to find new genes for their biosynthesis, obtaining the corresponding enzymes, determining the structure of newly discovered phosphonates and providing analogs of natural phosphonates.
• “The Role of Small RNAs in Shaping Diversity and Evolution of Crop Plants,” Lila Vodkin, professor of crop molecular biology, principal investigator. Co-principal investigators: Gustavo Caetano-Anollés, professor of bioinformatics, National Soybean Research Center; Matthew Hudson, professor of genomics, National Soybean Research Center; and Stephen Moose, professor of maize functional genomics/genetics, Edward R. Madigan Laboratory. Research aimed at determining the extent to which non-coding, small RNAs provide unique regulatory functions that shape diversity and evolution in crop plants such as maize and soybeans.
• “Astrochemistry With CARMA: Understanding Complex Interstellar Chemistry Using Molecular Ions,” Benjamin McCall, professor of chemistry and of astronomy, principal investigator. Co-principal investigators Leslie Looney, professor of astronomy, and Lewis Snyder, professor emeritus of astronomy. An interdisciplinary project involving members of the chemistry and astronomy departments aimed at detecting molecular ions in interstellar clouds to better understand the chemical processes that lead to the production of complex molecules, which may seed the formation of life on young planets.
• “Pattern Recognition and Mind Reading: An Emerging Field,” Diane Beck, professor of psychology, Beckman Institute, principal investigator. Co-principal investigator: Fei-Fei Li, professor of psychology. Using techniques from the computer vision, statistical pattern recognition and neuroimaging field, the investigation aims to overcome a limitation in traditional functional magnetic resonance imaging and better understand how humans perceive natural scenes.
• “Ninthletter.com: Creating Original Literary Content for Mobile Technologies,” Joseph Squier, professor of art and design and MFA curriculum coordinator, principal investigator. Co-principal investigators: Jodee Stanley, managing editor, Ninth Letter; Nan Goggin, professor of art and design and associate director of curriculum development; Jennifer Gunji-Ballsrud, professor of art and design; Stephen Davenport, professor of English and associate director of creative writing; Daniel Goscha, student. The project will bring to campus two writers and two artists of national stature to collaborate on original projects that will be carried out by the Ninth Letter literary arts journal and Web site team and made available for download through iTunes U. The team also will develop long-term strategies for sustainability and exploration of the opportunities for partnerships among technologists, authors, and artists to create literary art forms.

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