Research News

Pick up the most recent issue of Re:search magazine in the Office of Research Services and Sponsored Programs located in Hoggard 172.

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Geochemists study the reaction of sunlight on sediments in water

A new $582,468 grant from the National Science Foundation will allow UNCW geochemists to continue studying reactions that occur when sunlight hits free-floating sediment in bodies of water. Story...

 

Students collect ancient mollusk samples in southeastern North Carolina

Nine students from across the country studying geology, biology, archeology and environmental studies came together for an eight-week study in biodiversity conservation this summer. They were participating in UNCW's first National Science Foundation funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Story...

 

iPlant Collaborative explores pressing plant biology issues

UNCW Associate Professor Ann Stapleton is one of 10 project team leaders on the $50 million National Science Foundation funded project. Story...

 

Science Research Archives

2007: Researchers receive 3 year grant to study rainwater

Brooks Avery, Robert Kieber, Robert Whitehead and Joan Wiley received a $533,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Atmospheric Chemistry division to study chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), the predominant form of carbon in rain. Story...

 

2007: Geographer studies how climate impacts freshwater supply in Caribbean

Geography professor Doug Gamble recognizes that the availability of freshwater on Caribbean islands like San Salvador is of great concern. San Salvador does not contain rivers; islanders rely on rainwater, surface water and groundwater for their freshwater needs. Story...

 

2007: Emslie measures Ross Ice Shelf by studying penguins

The Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, roughtly the size of the Yukon Territory of Canada, towers over the Ross Sea with ice cliffs as high as 200 feet. For millions of years this ice sheet has retreated and advanced, proving that climate change is nothing new. Yet, until recently there has been no precise way to measure the shifting interface between shore, ice and open water or to document exactly when these changes occured. Marine ornithologist Steven D. Emslie, professor of biology and marine biology, has discovered a way to measure the advance and retreat of the Ross Ice Shelf. Story...

 

2006: Profiles of 12 Outstanding Women Scientists at UNCW

UNCW's women scientists represent the cutting edge of scientific research both nationally and internationally; their teaching is prioritized and integrated with research. Serving as role models and mentors, they particularly inspire and encourage women, traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. Story...

 

2006: Expedition to Tambora

Until geologist Lewis Abrams' expedition to the volcano Tambora on Sumbawa Island, Indonesia with world-renowned volconologists, in 2004, no one had actually made an organized effort to locate and evacuate the lost civilizations of Tambora and Pekat, despite the Tambora volcano's prominent place in the history of explosive volcanism and its devastating direct and indirect effects on humans. Story...

 

2006: The Art of Drug Design: an interview with Sridhar Varadarajan

"Many drugs we now treat cancer with are DNA-damaging compounds. When a DNA-damaging drug is introduced into the body, it attacks the DNA in all cells, healthy and cancerous alike. One of the objectives of my research is this: Instead of having a drug go to all cells ...I am trying to make molecules that will attack only the specific cancer cells, leaving all other cells alone," says Dr. Sridhar Varadarajan. Story...

 

2005: When Mollusks Fly

What can a lowly marine mollusk tell us about how our nervous system controls our legs during walking and how it controls the switch from walking to running? The pteropod mollusk, Clione limacina, never goes to the ocean bottom, but rather flies through the water by flapping a pair of wings. Clione not only shares neuromuscular features with higher animals, it can change swimming speed in a way that is similar to the way we change gait, from walking to jogging to running. Story...

 

2005: Membrane Penetrating Peptides as Antibiotics

The long-term goal of chemist Paulo Almeida's research is to design and improve membrane-penetrating amphipathic peptides that are antibiotic or cytolytic, or that can carry other toxic molecules as cargo into cells. Story ...

 

2005: Extraordinary Opportunities for Student Research in Earth Science

Chris Wood, honor's graduate '04, participated in a 32-day research cruise to investigate the Endeavor Deep, an active rift in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The Endeavor Deep, both deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon, has never been surveyed for hydrothermal activity. Story...

UNCW/Jamie Moncrief.