By By Robert Platt
From heartbeats to zebra stripes, a generous science grant could help the University unock life’s secrets.
The University is receiving the second three-year grant of $270,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support studies concerning instabilities in excitable media.
The project will be led by Harold M. Hastings, professor and chairperson of the department of physics and astronomy and Sabrina G. Sobel, associate professor of chemistry.
Excitable media is best explained as chemical reactions, which, during the reaction process, experience aggravation in a series of waves before transformation.
In other words, chemicals do not simply transform from one state into another, they react to the stimuli fluctuating between steady aggravated states.
One mix causes an implosion of bright orange and blue rings, akin to a jar of rainbow-colored sand. This color pattern might hold the key to why animals such as zebras have stripes and some fish are brightly colored.
Sobel also pointed out that these waves function similarly to the cardiac electrical system, in which heartbeats are triggered by electrical activations. Therefore, these studies could benefit heart research as well.
“It is an environmentally- friendly alternative for heart research,” Sobel said. “We can study these chemical reactions instead of experimenting on actual organs.”
The project is one of few experimental teams that concentrate the study on the heart.
Hasting, founder of the project, had previously been involved in robust computer models to see how they could relate to the chemical experiments. After research, colleagues moved on to other projects while Hasting partnered with Sobel, for her chemical expertise.
The first grant issued to the University was for a two-year study, but it has been extended an extra year.
Sobel said it is a rare and prestigious recognition for an undergraduate system to receive funds from the NSF and its continued support was a good sign.
This is just one of several grants for the University.
The State Education Department has issued an award of $161,641 in support of the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP).
This project is being led by Michael Ayewoh, assistant dean and executive director for special programs in the School of Education and Allied Human Services.
Also, Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, Inc. has awarded $2,844 to the University for supporting the “Young Women’s Writing Project.”
The project was formed from a bond between Planned Parenthood and the University’s Reading/Writing Learning Clinic and is led by the Clinic’s director, Andrea Garcia.
Set in the Roosevelt school district – where there is a high risk of teen pregnancy – the program aims to improve vocabulary, comprehension and writing techniques, thus enhancing girls’ chances of success.