Ohio University awards $91,000 for faculty research projects, postdoctoral fellowship

By Robin Burfield
Contributing writer

The Ohio University Research Committee (OURC) awarded a total of $66,000 this spring to support 10 faculty research projects. The works range from a study of digital hearing aids to research on the cultural repercussions of ethnic cleansing in Poland. Other research grants given this spring include a $25,000 award from the Vice President of Research for a one-year postdoctoral position in environmental and plant biology.

The OURC, a committee of 12 University faculty members from various disciplines, awards grants to faculty and staff for early-stage research and creative projects, with priority given to faculty new to the University. Proposals are accepted twice during the academic year. The committee received 31 proposals in the winter 2002 cycle. For fall 2001, the OURC received 13 proposals, seven of which were funded.

"The OURC grants are one of the most important sources for research and creative activities available to faculty. The committee is always impressed with the high quality of the proposals, and this year's proposals were, again, exceptional," said Andre Gribou, chair of the OURC and an associate professor of dance.

In the past eight years, the OURC has funded 126 proposals with support from the Vice President for Research, whose office administers the awards program. The recipients of the winter awards are:

• Michael Rowe, a professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $7,336 to study how brain signals from the inner ear are used by the brain to maintain postural balance and stable vision by correcting for the movements of the head.

• Susan Evans, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences and a principal investigator with the Edison Biotechnology Institute, received $8,000 to research HDM2, a gene that inhibits the function of p53, the body's tumor suppressor, which can lead to the growth of cancerous cells. The project may aid in designing new treatments for cancer.

• Michael Burton, an assistant professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $8,000 to research the dynamics of White House political work by conducting interviews with current and former White House staff. Burton, who was a political aide to former Vice President Al Gore, is developing a book titled "The White House Experience."

• Mario Grijalva, an assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, received $8,000 to conduct an analysis of the genetic similarity between strains of Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite which causes Chagas' disease, a major health problem in South American countries. The results of the study will help clarify the role of small wild animals in the transmission of Chagas' disease to humans, which could aid prevention efforts.

• Ayaskanta Rout, an assistant professor of hearing, speech and language science in the College of Health and Human Services, received $4,987 to research the audio delays and difficulties experienced by users of digital hearing aids and whether these problems hinder speech understanding. This research will aid in the design of next-generation digital hearing aids.

• Sherrill Stroschein, an assistant professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $3,211 to examine the politics of ethnically mixed regions of Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine, where national identity has emerged as a political force in the years since these countries have adopted parliamentary democracies. Stroschein will travel to Eastern Europe to gather information, which she plans to eventually publish in a book.

• P. Gregory Van Patten, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $7,605 for the purchase of laboratory equipment to aid his research in nanotechnology, which is the science of building new materials on the tiny scale of molecules and atoms. Van Patten hopes to produce semiconductors that could be used as materials for next-generation optical, electronic and computing devices.

• Cheryl Van Hook, an assistant professor of human and consumer sciences in the College of Health and Human Services, received $4,997 to examine how diversity courses are currently taught to early childhood teachers in the United States. As classrooms become increasingly diverse, she says teachers need to be prepared to teach children from a variety of cultures.

• T. David Curp, an assistant professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $8,000 to research the long-term political and cultural repercussions of ethnic cleansing on post-war (1945-1960) Poland. Curp plans to travel to Poland this summer to start research.

• Matthew White, an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, received $6,664 to learn DNA sequencing techniques for use in research on genetic variations in fish populations. This research aims to shed light on the evolutionary history of fish populations and may aid conservation efforts.

In addition to the OURC awards, Kim Brown, an assistant professor of environmental and plant biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was named the recipient of the Ohio University Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award in April. Brown received $25,000 to fund a postdoctoral fellow in her lab who will assess what impact forest management practices such as thinning and burning have on the ecosystem. The fellow will conduct research at the University's land lab in southern Ohio, Dysart Woods, a 300-year-old forest.

The Vice President for Research offers $25,000 and benefits for each postdoctoral position granted each year. The Ohio University Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award aims to help develop the next generation of scholars while bolstering the research and scholarship conducted at the university. The program's ad hoc committee of four faculty members from various disciplines on campus received four proposals this year.

Faculty interested in applying for the 2002-2003 OURC awards must turn in proposals by Oct. 3, 2002, for the fall cycle and Jan. 30, 2003, for the winter cycle. The deadline for the University Post-Doctoral Fellowship award is Feb. 13, 2003.

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