RSCA Grant Awardees 22/23: Proposal Abstracts
“Detection of Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis Infection Using Machine Learning Approach”; Mohammed Abo-Ismail (Animal Science), Fernando Campos-Chillon (Animal Science), Paul Anderson (Computer Science and Software Engineering), Franz Kurfess (Computer Science and Software Engineering), Michael M. La Frano (Food Science and Nutrition) and Siroj Pokharel (Animal Science).
Johne’s disease (JD) is one of cow diseases causing a loss of $1.5 billion/year in the U.S. agriculture economy. The JD is a contagious chronic intestinal inflammatory disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). Thus, there is a huge concern in the dairy industry because 68% of dairy herds have at least 1 to 100% positive cows for JD. Furthermore, management of JD is problematic because of many reasons; 1) the difficulty to detect the clinical signs at early age 2) the infection is slow and progressive, 3) there is no treatment, 4) only about 40% of infected cattle will be detected with even the most accurate techniques and 5) other technique for detection are not sensitive. In the proposed question, we will address these challenges by utilizing genome sequences, metabolomic and Artificial Intelligent methods to identify genes and genetic variants associated with JD. We will develop DNA testing tool and biomarkers for an early detection of MAP infection resistance. This project will support a multidisciplinary research program across CAFES and CENG as well as provide a vigorous training in machine learning, data analytics, genomics and metabolomics for 4 students. This project will provide preliminary results and secure future fund to expand and validate the results in other large scale dairy herds in California. The results for this project will help us to apply for NLGCA and the NIFA AI Institutes grants. We anticipate producing at least one scientific publication and two presentations at Plant Animal Genome Conference.
“Oral Histories of Kuwait's Lost Palestinian Community”; Farah Al-Nakib (History).
This project focuses on the forgotten history of the Palestinian diaspora of Kuwait. While once constituting the largest and most well-integrated foreign community living in Kuwait since the advent of oil in the 1940s, during the 1990-91 Iraqi occupation the Kuwaiti government falsely accused Palestinian residents of “collaborating” with the Iraqis, leading to the permanent deportation of more than 350,000 Palestinians from Kuwait. Though constituting a major event in the history of the Middle East, this issue has never been thoroughly researched or documented. I am initiating an oral history project through which I will interview members of Kuwait’s displaced Palestinian community to document and analyze their memories of Kuwait before the invasion, to record their experiences of the seven-month occupation, and to acknowledge the trauma of their sudden displacement and forced resettlement after 1991. Creating this oral history collection has two main overlapping objectives. The first is to reshape public understanding of the history of Kuwait’s lost Palestinian community by both documenting the history of their contributions to Kuwait’s modernization between 1948 and 1990 and dispelling the myth of their collaboration with the Iraqi occupiers. The second long-term objective is to use these oral history interviews to write a book manuscript on Palestinian nostalgia, exile, and diaspora.
“Testing Whether Decontextualizing Information Enhances Memory: Applications for Real-World Learning”; James Antony (Psychology and Child Development) and Kelly Bennion (Psychology and Child Development)
Everyday learning events occur within spatial, temporal, and situational contexts, which contribute to episodic memories – the who-what-when-where-why – of specific events. Each of these contextual factors can trigger holistic episodic memory recall of the events when cued later. However, just as contextual cues can trigger memories, they also limit the potential use of memories to only instances in which the context can be reinstated. In order for learning to be useful across the lifetime, memories must generalize beyond the learned context or become “decontextualized”. In Experiment 1, we will ask whether contextual variability in an individual’s spatial location improves memory for real-world, educational material. Specifically, we will ask both whether learning and practicing introductory neuroscience concepts in two different locations improves memory relative to a single location and whether these benefits correlate with the distance between the two learning locations – as verified using GPS. In Experiment 2, we will investigate whether learning before and after taking a break by leaving and returning to a room results in better long-term memory than if participants remain in the room. This result would be exceptional given that both the original and later learning sessions would be otherwise identical between groups, with the only difference being the interceding behavior. Ultimately, these investigations would strongly suggest that educators, who often recommend students study in the same context where they will later take tests, recommend instead that students mix it up.
“Energy-Efficient Computing for Extreme Autonomous Nano-drones"; Joseph Callenes-Sloan (Computer Engineering).
Miniaturizing autonomous robots is not only challenging from a mechanical perspective, but also from an electrical/computational perspective, due to extremely limited space, weight, and power. Moreover, the algorithms for autonomous navigation, such as deep neural networks (DNNs) are becoming increasingly complex. A radical rethinking of nano-drone system design is needed in order to enable game-changing applications for a wide range of real-life use cases. In this project, we propose to develop a flexible energy efficient platform based on novel approaches using time-based computational hardware and software. The key insight for this project is that time-based computing hardware, like conventional analog hardware, is highly energy efficient. Information is represented continuously, instead of using binary, and algorithms are executed continuously rather than in a step-by-step fashion. However, unlike analog hardware which is notoriously limited by noise, precision, and scalability, time-based hardware can be built from robust digital devices that are scaled using conventional Computer-aided design (CAD) tools. By significantly reducing the energy profile of a nano-drone’s computational system (based on our preliminary experiments energy efficiency is improved by 2-3 orders of magnitude using time-based hardware), new intelligence can be built into the system, more sophisticated DNNs can be deployed, enabling new high-impact applications. On the Central Coast, there is an abundance of potential applications, including novel marine-based nano-drones that can be applied for water quality sensing, fish cleanup from fisheries, sea level rise monitoring, the Pismo clam project, sustainable management of marine ecosystems, and many others.
“Light Pollution and the Evolution of the Avian Eye”; Clinton Francis (Biological Sciences).
We recently discovered that bird responses to light pollution are related to how well species can see in dim light. Surprisingly, species that see well in dim light have higher reproductive success when exposed to light pollution. This suggests that dim light vision may be the target of natural selection by human-altered lighting, but whether light pollution influences avian eye evolution is completely unstudied. My students and I will address this gap by taking advantage of museum specimens collected between 1880 and 2020. Focusing on several urban-adapted bird species with populations that have been increasingly exposed to brighter nights since the advent of reliable electricity, we will test the hypothesis that urban-dwelling birds have evolved better dim light vision over the last 140 years. We will visit five museums where we have verified the presence of specimens that meet our needs and measure several aspects of eye geometries that are reliable indicators of dim light vision in birds. We will use species-specific, spatially-explicit models that include other important predictor variables to determine whether dim light vision has increased over time. The project will provide unique research opportunities for students in museums, acquiring and using large spatial data and with advanced analytical approaches. The effort is expected to result in one peer-reviewed publication and provide key preliminary data for NSF grant applications. Project success is likely given our prior research demonstrating fitness advantages of good dim light vision to birds exposed to light and pilot data consistent with our hypothesis.
“Building an Anti-Racist Community of Practice Among Current and Future Elementary School Teachers in San Luis Obispo, California”; Amanda Frye (Liberal Studies) and Tina Cheuk (School of Education).
In response to statewide teacher shortages and the deep local need for educators who reflect the racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of students attending San Luis Obispo’s public schools, Cal Poly’s teacher education programs and the San Luis Coastal Unified School districts have made significant investments in recent years to help diversify and strengthen the teacher education and recruitment pipeline. Our goal is to leverage this important moment in our community’s commitment to racial understanding by implementing a collaborative project engaging current and future elementary school teachers in the process of becoming anti-racist educators and developing curriculum and activities that support a nurturing and inclusive environment for all learners. This project brings together Cal Poly’s Educators of Color Club, the faculty of Baywood Elementary School in SLCUSD – which is in the process of becoming a Spanish-English dual language immersion school - and R.A.C.E Matters SLO, a local nonprofit that that creates artistic, cultural, educational, and social experiences that amplify Black voices and matters of racial justice; groups which share a commitment to creating anti-racist, inclusive, and nurturing learning communities. Through structured conversations, immersive cultural learning opportunities, and the development and piloting of anti-racist curriculum and activities grounded in the lived experiences of local families and students of color, current and future teachers will have generative opportunities to come together as a community of practice, learn from and with one another, and develop actionable anti-racist resources for use in local classrooms.
“Tumor-on-a-Chip for Screening Cancer Therapies”; Christopher Heylman (Biomedical Engineering).
The goal of this project is to construct a human tumor-on-a-chip that mimics native tumors in the body. The purpose of these tumors-on-a-chip are to simulate the body’s response to novel anti-cancer drugs and other stimuli. To create these tissues, human cells are loaded into the chip on a scaffold made of proteins. With the right blend of nutrients, chemical cues, and mechanical stimuli, the cells are capable of constructing three-dimensional living human tumor tissue, complete with a system of blood vessels. This blood vessel network allows drugs to be introduced into the tissues intravenously through the circulation, as they are in the body, allowing for a more accurate drug response. Tumors on a chip will be a boon for the pharmaceutical industry, leading to more rapid and efficient drug development. The activities associated with this research will provide a number of Master’s theses and projects, as well as hands on, learn by doing research projects for undergraduates in BMED and BIO. This work also presents unique opportunities to collaborate with faculty from a variety of departments and colleges (BMED, ME, BIO, ASCI) and harness their specific expertise as it pertains to this highly interdisciplinary project. Additionally, the results of the proposed work will be disseminated at international conferences and in peer-reviewed literature within the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine field. Data generated by this project will serve as the preliminary findings used to apply for external funding opportunities that will maintain and expand the development of this tumor-on-a-chip platform.
“A Novel Approach to Measuring Ages of Individual Stars in Our Milky Way Galaxy”; Elizabeth Jeffery (Physics).
Many of the foundational ideas of modern astrophysics rely on our understanding of stars. From planetary systems to galaxy formation and evolution, our knowledge of stars is vital to effectively address many important questions. A measure of stellar ages is especially fundamental to understanding of stars: as physical systems, as planetary hosts, and as the building blocks of galaxies. However, measuring ages of individual stars is notoriously difficult, and in some cases impossible until now. By exploring a novel technique to measure ages of ordinary stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, we will address questions related to all of these areas of astronomy. The current proposal lays the foundation for a much larger project: ultimately, the PI and a team of international researchers intend to measure ages for every main sequence star observed by the Gaia satellite, amounting to several tens of millions of stars. Such a huge undertaking has the potential to revolutionize several fields within astronomy.
The first steps of this larger project are to conduct extensive simulations to thoroughly understand the application and limitations of this new technique. A major portion of that work will be done by undergraduate students mentored by the PI as part of the College’s Frost Summer Research Program. The proposed assigned time for the PI will allow for adequate analysis and publication of these results. Additionally, this will aid the PI in constructing a competitive proposal to the National Science Foundation as this project moves to its next stages.
“Creating a Gender-Inclusive Construction Site: Analyzing and Redesigning a Construction Industry Artifact”; Stacy Kolegraff (Construction Management) and Kylie Parrotta (Social Sciences).
Since women make up only 11 percent of the overall construction workforce (assuming a gender binary of men and women), much attention has been given to this underrepresented population. The diminishing labor source has been identified as one of the industry’s greatest concerns, and firms are looking at underrepresented populations including women and people of color to fill the gap. However, recruitment and retention have been long-term issues, and the number of women entering the industry remains stagnant. Lack of participation has been attributed to industry culture (Greed, 2000), company hierarchies and management structures (Dainty et al., 2000), machoism (Ness, 2012), male dominance, and unfair perceptions of women’s abilities (Azhar & Amos Griffing, 2014). Additionally, there are also structural, physical artifacts used across the industry that serve as constant reminders that women’s needs, body type, or participation were not considered. This appears in many ways, including safety gear that is too large, non-ergonomic tools, or inadequate sanitary facilities.
This study will analyze one specific artifact that is commonly used on a construction site and redesign it to develop a product that better serves diverse groups on project sites. The project will include identifying the artifact to be analyzed, getting feedback on people’s experiences with the object to determine technical deficiencies and common reactions or themes, inviting a group of industry supporters, collaborators and students to reinvent the object during an event, recording and reporting on the event using interviews, field note and observations, and developing the new design.
“Buddhism and the Making of Modern India”; Padma Dorje Maitland (Architecture).
This project builds on my ongoing research into the visual and material cultures of modern Buddhism in India. The manuscript I am currently working on, and which I plan to submit for publication in an academic press, aims to be one of the first comprehensive studies of modern Buddhist visual and materials cultures in the region. There have been several important studies of the archeological survey and planning around key Buddhist sites (Lopez 1995; Guha-Thakurta 2004; Geary 2017), however, none attend to the proliferation of modern Buddhist sites and practices throughout the region and their connection to major social, political, and religious reform movements during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Attending to the aesthetics and architectural practices that developed as a result of the intersection of Buddhism and various nationalist movements in South Asia, this project presents an innovative and interdisciplinary study that will be of interest to scholars of Religious Studies, South and Southeast Asian Studies, Art History, and Architectural History and Theory.
“Nuestra Ciencia: Impact of Bilingual Science Instruction on Science Identity Construction in Latinx Students”; Jasmine Nation (Liberal Studies) and Alejandra Yep (Biological Sciences).
Nuestra Ciencia (NC) is a university-school partnership where college students teach biology concepts in Spanish to bilingual elementary students. We designed the program to address microbiology misconceptions and elevate undergraduates as STEM role models for Latinx children. Interdisciplinary teams develop experiments and educational resources, and visit classrooms to lead activities in Spanish. For this grant, we propose to tackle three objectives simultaneously, to support identity development for elementary and college students and dissemination of our materials to the broader educational community. First, CP undergraduates will develop and teach a lesson in Spanish about vaccines. Second, we will examine elementary learners’ conceptual understanding and views on science and scientists. Finally, we will assess the impact on undergraduate students’ views on scientific research, scientific content in Spanish, and sense of belonging to higher education.
CP undergraduate students work collaboratively with the PIs and participate in every aspect including topic selection, experiment development and troubleshooting, lesson plan development, teaching, data collection and analysis, conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals. Student researchers in NC not only “learn by doing” but further “learn by being” as they become teachers and researchers. In the long term, NC will increase visibility of Latinx students at Cal Poly and could increase recruitment, retention, and student success for the Latinx community. It will also generate materials that benefit the profession of education such as our repository of K-6 bilingual activities, lesson plans and other resources for educators, and tools to improve science communication and public scientific understanding.
“Decision Support Tools for Postfire Assessment of Soil Burn Severity”; Stewart Wilson (Natural Resources Management and Environmental Science), G. Andrew Fricker (Social Sciences) and Jonathan Ventura (Computer Science and Software Engineering).
Catastrophic megafire has arrived in California, leading to massive areas of altered soil hydrologic function, and increased risk of catastrophic debris-flows and fire induced flooding. Fire alters soil function, leading to accelerated surface erosion, and enhanced risk for postfire debris-flows and flooding, along with risks to drinking water supplies and aquatic habitat. Due to these significant postfire hazards, the soil burn severity (SBS) is mapped by Cal Fire and the US Forest Service (USFS) for use in postfire risk assessment, and as a primary input into debris-flow hazard models, such as in Montecito debris-flow in 2018, which led to 23 deaths and a billion dollars in damages. Outside of hazards, SBS maps are also used to support decisions in salvage logging, reforestation and water quality. However, SBS mapping has not kept pace with the explosion of machine/deep learning mapping techniques. Current SBS mapping collects field observations of SBS, but these observations do not drive a model to predict SBS, and instead SBS maps are manually created. Field points could drive a predictive spatial model of SBS, with remotely sensed data as environmental predictor covariates, improving pixel scale predictions of SBS. Here a multidisciplinary team from soil science, computer science and geospatial science from three Cal Poly colleges, will investigate machine/deep learning to map SBS and assess postfire hazards. We propose a data driven spatial machine/deep learning model that utilizes SBS points collected by the USFS to predictively map SBS across the Creek megafire burn scar in the Sierra National Forest.
“Developing Transformative VR Learning Experiences about Climate Change in Higher Education”; Hocheol Yang (Graphic Communication), Aubrie Adams (Communication Studies) and Ye Shen (Experience Industry Management).
The main purpose of this project is to create a VR program specifically for teaching higher-level cognitive skills related to climate change education. In phase one, we will design and build the training program. In phase two, we will test (a) student motivation to learn and (b) higher-order cognitive skills in VR experiences. This project will also facilitate student involvement at all stages of development.
Technology companies are building and investing in an expanding metaverse: a digital environment that uses both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. With the rising need for online educational experiences and evolving VR technologies becoming more mainstream, it is likely to see the increased demand of having educationally effective instructional resources in VR.
Although much research has examined video game-based learning in non-immersive spaces, most of this research examines the development of lower-level cognitive abilities (i.e., remembering, understanding). Essentially, there is a deficit of knowledge on the topic of (a) learning in immersive 3D virtual environments and (b) how these environments may facilitate higher-level cognitive skills (i.e., analyzing, evaluating, creating).
In addition, an educational area that needs innovative teaching programs is climate change education. Although students encounter resources that teach information about this topic, more education is needed to transform their learning so they can better analyze and evaluate messages about climate change. Because the central coast is likely impacted by climate change in unique ways (e.g., rising sea levels, floods, wildfires, sedimentation), this topic will be especially applicable to Cal Poly students.
“It’s the Heart that Matters: The Effect of Benefactor Income on Perceived Motivation, Moral elevation, and Donation Behaviors”; Miranda Yin (Marketing).
Imagine browsing on Facebook when you see a post from a non-profit organization. This charity shares a story about one of their recent donors (Jeremy) and reveals that he is quite wealthy. Does Jeremy’s donation motivate you to donate? What if, instead, Jeremy is quite poor? Would his lower income affect your donation behavior differently? The current research explores these questions, examining how observing a low- versus high-income benefactor’s donation behavior influences observers’ own charitable deeds.
Charities often include portrayals of others’ helping behaviors in their promotional appeals (e.g., White and Simpson 2013) and consumers’ prosocial behaviors are often affected by others (White, Habib and Dahl 2020). In this research, we aim to examine the influence of portraying a benefactor’s donation behaviors on subsequent donations behaviors among the observers. Specially, we focus on examining a specific benefactor character—benefactor’s income background. We propose that observing donations from a low-income benefactor elicits greater generosity among observers than observing donations from a high-income benefactor. We further suggest that this effect is driven by perceived altruistic motivations, which enhances feelings of moral elevation (i.e., a warm, uplifting feeling people experience after observing others’ human kindness and goodness; Haidt 2000). Additionally, we suggest that the effect of benefactor income on donations is moderated by the perceived motivation of the benefactor such that the income effect is attenuated when the benefactor’s altruistic donation motive is present (vs. absent).
Note: I included a scenario in the abstract to better illustrate the phenomenon I examine in this research.
