A snapshot of some of the research being done at UMD

Matt Andrews

Working with a two-year, $1.1 million grant from National Institutes of Health stimulus money to study the genetic control of heart function in hibernating mammals.

The goal is to find the genes responsible for maintaining healthy heart function in ground squirrels under conditions that would cause sudden cardiac arrest in humans -- including reduced oxygen intake and sluggish blood flow.

Information from this study can be used to develop new therapies for avoiding cardiovascular damage from heart attacks. Marshall Hampton of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics will help.

Liz Minor

Working with a $477,000 National Science Founda­tion grant to study Lake Super­ior's carbon cycle. The research involves radiocarbon dating Lake Superior's carbon pools, as you would an archaeological find. By doing so, she and co-workers will learn if the lake's productivity is fueled by plant matter from a long time ago or recently, and if that plant matter is from the land around the lake or the lake itself.

Her group spent 22 days last year out on the Blue Heron, UMD's research vessel, and is planning another cruise for this spring.

Working with a colleague at LLO, she is also part of a $100,000 grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund to study carbon cycling in Lake Mala­wi, an East African Rift lake.

Xun Yu

Working on three research projects, including one collaborative project to reduce noise in infant incubators in neonatal intensive care units, with a $436,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Another project involves the detection of driver drowsiness using heart-monitoring sensors attached to a steering wheel with a $112,000 grant from the North­land Advan­ces Trans­por­tation Systems Research Labora­tory. A third project uses a $125,000 National Science Founda­tion grant to improve traffic flow detection by building carbon nanotubes to place beneath pavement.