Seven projects receive Argonne-University of Chicago ‘seed grants' for collaborative research

ARGONNE, Ill. (July 21, 2005) – The University of Chicago's Board of Governors for Argonne has selected seven proposals for Collaborative Research Seed Grants for 2005.

Awardees come from three divisions of the university, the medical school, and six Argonne divisions. Five proposals are multidisciplinary; that is, they involve researchers from different disciplines, such as chemistry and biosciences, or anthropology and energy technology. The grant program is designed to support the development or continuation of collaborative projects between University of Chicago faculty and Argonne scientists.

“There were 62 proposals, all very strong, so the Board of Governors had a very difficult time narrowing the list to the final seven,” said Thomas F. Rosenbaum, John T. Wilson distinguished service professor and vice president for research and for Argonne National Laboratory. “The awards and the proposals are a strong indication of the opportunities for mutually beneficial interactions between our two institutions.”

Awardees are:

• "Microfluidic Strategies for High-Throughput Crystallization of Membrane Proteins." Principal investigators are Rustem Ismagilov of the University of Chicago Chemistry Department and Philip Laible, Argonne Biosciences Division.

• "Fundamental Electronic Processes and Rational Design of Novel Organic Photovoltaic Materials for Future Generation Solar Cells.” Principal investigators are Luping Yu, University of Chicago Chemistry Department, and Lin Chen, Argonne Chemistry Division.

• "Joint Institute on High Energy Collider Physics." Principal investigators are Henry Frisch, University of Chicago Physics Department, and Carlos Wagner, Argonne High Energy Physics Division.

• "Use of the Advanced Photon Source to Identify Physiological and Functional Anomalies in Drosophila Models of Disease and Development." Principal investigators are Melina Hale, University of Chicago Department of Organismal Biology, and Anatomy and Wah-Keat Lee, Argonne Advanced Photon Source.

• "The Making of Ancient Eurasia: Objects Within and Between the Social Worlds of the Caucasus, the Steppe and China." Principal investigators are Adam T. Smith, University of Chicago Department of Anthropology, and William Ellingson, Argonne Energy Technology Division.

• "Radiophage: A New Generation of Radiotracer for Molecular Imaging.” Principal investigators are Chin-tu Chen, University of Chicago Department of Radiology, and Liaohai Chen, Argonne Biosciences Division.

• "Proposal to Develop a Novel Atom Counter for Applications in Cosmochemistry and Geochemistry." Principal investigators are Andrew M. Davis, University of Chicago Department of Geophysical Sciences, and Zheng-Tian Lu, Argonne Physics Division.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.