Committee awards $58,000 for research, creative work

By Kelee Riesbeck

The Ohio University Research Committee (OURC) awarded $58,166 this fall to 11 faculty and staff for their research and creative activities. The projects range from a study of the prevalence of diabetes in Ohio's distressed counties to an artistic look at how advances in medical technology have affected human ideas of self.

"The impressive breadth and depth of the application pool well represent the range and vitality of scholarly endeavor at Ohio University and is something we should all take pride in," said Scott Hooper, OURC chair and associate professor of neurobiology.

The OURC committee, which consists of 14 University faculty and administrators from a variety of disciplines, awards funding for early-stage research and creative projects, with priority given to new faculty and staff. Proposals are accepted twice during the academic year. During the fall 2002 cycle, the committee received 29 applications, for a total request of $209,188.

"Due to the University's present budget situation, we were unable to fund all the applications that deserved it, and the committee therefore had to make some very difficult decisions," Hooper said. "Nonetheless, we were able to fund more than one third of the applications."

Since 1995, OURC has awarded a total of $808,565 in funds from the vice president for research.

This year's recipients represent work ranging from the hard sciences to social sciences and from the humanities to the arts.

Martin Tuck, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received $6,000 to study a chemical modification of messenger RNA (mRNA) that may prompt healthy cells to turn cancerous. The scientist will use an experimental laboratory approach to inhibit modification of the mRNA to determine its role in tumor growth.

Jimmy Fike, Jr., assistant professor of art, received $6,425 to explore the way advances in medical technology, such as sex change operations, cochlear implants and prosthetic limbs, affect human ideas of self. The creative effort will result in a large, digital image composite of the human body that will be shown at galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad.

Kevin Mattson, associate professor of history, received $6,968 to examine the intellectual history of post-World War II American liberalism by reviewing materials written by liberal activists at several libraries and universities. The resulting book will contribute to the ongoing debate about the demise and potential future of the liberal tradition in America.

The deadline for the winter cycle of the OURC awards is Jan. 30.

Additional fall 2002 OURC recipients:

• Trevor Hale, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering; $6,788 for a project that aims to increase the efficiency of mobile robots used in automated warehouses.
  
  
• Klaus Himmeldirk, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; $7,480 to develop a new method of synthesizing the active agent in a plant that has been shown to treat diabetes and kidney diseases in folk medicine.
  
  
• Gregory Springer, assistant professor of geological sciences; $7,701 to study anabranching rivers, rivers in which the channel is divided into a number of branches that later rejoin, in South Africa.
  
  
• Peter Anderson, a classics instructor; $394 to purchase software to examine two Latin text databases to gain more information about Martial, a Roman epigram poet.
  
  
• Charles Buchanan, assistant professor of interdisciplinary arts; $7,098 to travel to Europe and examine illustrated manuscripts produced in Rome and Central Italy during the second half of the 11th century.
  
  
• Sunny Kim, biostatistician of psychology; $865 for software that will help evaluate the prevalence of diabetes in Ohio by each county, especially distressed counties.
  
  
• David Kurjiaka, assistant professor of biological sciences; $7,500 to examine how high blood pressure affects cell communication in blood vessels.
  
  
• Timothy Ryan, assistant professor of health sciences; $7,735 to develop a method of testing indoor air quality in buildings by using specific chemicals that will identify species of mold allergens.
  
  

Kelee Riesbeck is a freelance writer.