Seven faculty members have been awarded Greenberg Junior Faculty Grants for AY 2024-25:
Mohammadmehdi Danesh, Assistant Professor of Architecture, College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, will use the funds to conduct a comprehensive analysis of installing photovoltaic panels on the roofs of buildings across the University of Hartford campus. He aims to identify optimal locations and angles for panel placement, calculate the projected annual energy generation, and estimate the payback period for initial investment. This initiative will contribute to the University’s sustainability goals by reducing reliance on conventional electricity.
JLS Gangwisch, Assistant Professor of Foundations, Hartford Art School, will conduct a project entitled: MorphoGenetic, which aims to create a series of procedural animations displayed on a three-dimensional LED array, inspired by simulations of slime molds and using neural networks to evolve through time. Through this interdisciplinary and intermedia exploration, the project seeks to illuminate synergies between art, science, and technology, offering a novel perspective on the emergent behaviors found in biological organisms and artificial intelligence.
Solaleh Miar, Assistant Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, plans to conduct research examining the role of vibration in in vitro models and its impact on both physiological and pathological states in order to develop a novel Laryngotracheal on-chip system that captures the native cellular interactions of the upper airway’s inner lining. The Laryngotracheal on-chip could be used to study disorders like tracheal stenosis, with specific focus on the impact of vibrations in the formation of polyps and nodules.
Anastasiia Minenkova, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, College of Arts and Science, will further her research in numerical linear algebra by studying different facets of algorithms and structured matrices like H-unitary matrices, QR algorithm, and applications to quantum computing, graph theory and combinatorics. While involving students, she plans to present her findings at conferences, submit to peer-reviewed journals, and prepare for a National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal.
Sarah Provost, Assistant Professor of Music History, The Hartt School will collect and analyze data from background music at zoos across the country with the aim of understanding the design and impacts of zoo music-cultures, aiding zoos in better understanding the influence of music on their outreach, animal care, and conservation efforts. She hopes to show that zoos can use the geographic locating and emotive power that music provides, considering the ways that music can advance their own conservation efforts.
Lisa Rastede, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, College of Arts and Science, will design and synthesize a library of coumarin-based ligands with various electron-donating and electron-withdrawing functional groups at specific positions on the coumarin scaffold. She intends to evaluate the ligands as “smart” fluorescent dyes, assessing their ability to detect changes in polarity within their surrounding microenvironment. These ligands will be tested for their ability to specifically bind to different G-quadruplex structures.
Cindy Thomas-Charles, Assistant Professor of Biology, College of Arts and Science, will continue her research investigating bioactive compounds derived from plants that can alter the behavior of cancer cells. Bioactive compounds are natural molecules that possess biological significance and can affect living organisms. This is a largely unexplored area of biology, and this project provides exciting opportunities in cancer biology, cellar response, genetics, and plant biology.
The Greenberg Junior Faculty Grants are internal grant awards intended to promote high-quality scholarships by faculty members who are just beginning their careers. These grants are made possible by a generous gift from Arnold and Beverly Greenberg.