Everyone wanted the chance to be the research VIP.
The Vandal Idea Project, a university-wide grant program funded through the President”s Office, awarded five teams of interdisciplinary researchers funds for innovative projects.
Thirty-eight proposals were submitted to the program, said College of Science Dean Paul Joyce, who was interviewed prior to his death in a car accident Saturday. Joyce said he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest in the program, which is still in its infancy.
“There”s new, innovative curriculum that”s going to come out of at least some of these projects,” Joyce said.
Joyce said the selected projects are far-reaching and creative, and often would not receive funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation. Each of the selected projects received between $40,000 and $80,000, totaling $300,000. The funding will be released this summer and will continue for one year.
“It”s difficult to come up with money for these things internally, but I think the benefits will pay for themselves,” Joyce said.
The innovation and collaboration of the VIP projects could bring many benefits to the university, he said.
“(It) will ultimately lead to new ideas and new innovative approaches, so we”re going to be leaping beyond the traditional boundaries of academia and creating new knowledge, advancing groundbreaking ideas, and if we do that, it”s going to facilitate our research efforts,” Joyce said.
Evolving games
For a future interdisciplinary video game design studio staffed by UI students, the VIP grant is just a starting place, said UI biology professor Barrie Robison.
This summer, undergraduate students from varying majors, including computer science, biology, communication, art and design, will help create a video game with a space invaders theme. The game will respond to players” actions through the use of evolutionary principles, said Terry Soule, a computer science professor.
“We have an ambitious goal,” Soule said.
Robison said the goal is to have the game ready for sale and distribution through popular video game platforms by the end of the summer.
The game will use models of evolution to determine outcomes. If two players make the exact same moves, the outcomes could still be different because of the randomness of evolution, Soule said.
“We hope to be able to engage students more during the academic year,” Soule said.
Modeling spinal fluid
UI associate professor of biological engineering Bryn Martin”s VIP project, Hydrodynamic Simulator for Brain Therapeutic Development, will create a model of the movement and placement of cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
This research will help develop the possibility of delivering medicine through the cerebrospinal fluid instead of through the blood, filtering the fluid to remove toxins and cooling the fluid directly to slow down traumatic injuries, Martin said.
Martin said medication delivered through the blood often doesn”t reach the brain, trapped by the blood-brain barrier. However, medicine delivered through the cerebrospinal fluid is much more potent and reduces side effects because it can be administered in smaller doses, he said.
“It”s kind of opened up new possibilities for giving medicine,” he said.
He said he is working with other faculty, including Brian Cleveley of Virtual Technology and Design, to create a 3-D visualization environment to aid medical professionals.
Building a digital center
One VIP project aims to create an intersection between the library faculty”s knowledge of technology and the College of Letters, Arts and Social Science faculty”s knowledge of liberal arts, said Devin Becker, UI Library head of data and digital services.
He said ultimately, the project will result in a physical space called the Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning (CDIL).
Becker said the goal of the project is the same as many projects before it – to answer what it means to be human.
“We”re hoping to expand the tools and techniques to help accomplish it,” Becker said.
Initially, he said it would mostly be CLASS faculty working with library faculty in the soon-to-be CDIL facility, which will be located in the library.
“We”re covering a lot of disciplines in CLASS and a lot of departments in the library, too,” Becker said.
Reproducing science
When it comes to independent research, it can be hard to replicate someone else”s work, said College of Business faculty member Berna Devezer.
The VIP project Theory, Practice and Social Aspects of Reproducible Science will work to build a theory of why research can”t be easily reproduced, a problem Devezer said she has run into in her own work.
“I don”t want to add to the clutter,” she said.
Devezer said the project will build an interactive web app to allow users to input different factors and see how it influences results. She said computer science majors would have a role in creating the final product.
“It”s going to be such a good opportunity for them because it”s such a hot area,” Devezer said.
Visualizing science
Six pairs of scientists and artists will create an exhibition in the Prichard Art Gallery for the Visualizing Science VIP project.
Prichard Director Roger Rowley said he and Sally Machlis, head of art and design, would provide little direction to the pairs on what to create. Rowley said when it comes to art, he is never sure what to expect.
“There”s a certain amount of uncertainty,” he said. “In this case, there”s maybe one more level of uncertainty there.”
Rowley said art and design faculty will interpret the science faculty”s research.
“Doing art and science exhibitions is something we”ve been dedicated to,” Rowley said.
Katelyn Hilsenbeck can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Katelyn_mh