Category: Research

In Print

Graduate students Wafa MaziRashmi AdhiariShuai XiaMingxi Fang, research scientist Yibin Zhang, research assistant professor Momoko Tajiri, associate professors Rudy L. Luck, Ashutosh Tiwari, Marina Tanasova, and professor Haiying Liu published a paper titled “Fluorescent Probes with High pKa Values Based on Traditional, Near-infrared Rhodamine, and Hemicyanine Fluorophores for Sensitive Detection of Lysosomal pH Variations” in Methods on July 22, 2019.

New Funding

Marina TanasovaMarina Tanasova (Chemistry) is Principal Investigator on a project that has received a $446,849 research and development grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—National Institutes of Health. The project is titled ” Exploiting Cellular Discrimination Through GLUTs With Small-Molecule GLUT-Targeting Probes.” Smitha Rao (Biomed Engineering) is the Co-PI on this potential three-year project.

New Funding

Haiying Liu (Chem) is Principal Investigator on a project that has received a $459,000 award (Award Number 2R15GM114751-02) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. This new grant is based on a renewal proposal titled “Ratiometric Near-infrared Fluorescent Probes for Sensitive Detection of Lysosomal and Mitochondrial pH changes in Live Cells.” Ashutosh Tiwari (Chem) is Co-PI in this project.

Green Takes Part in Global Environmental Outlook

Sarah Green (Chem) has been in Nairobi, Kenya for the launch of the Sixth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6) at the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA).

The GEO report assesses the state and trends of the environment, as well as examining the policies meant to improve it. Green has served as co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the report since its early planning meetings in 2015.
The 744-page GEO report identifies the key drivers of environmental degradation around the world in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other international agreements. It calls for integrated social, economic, and environmental policy actions to address critical issues such as air pollution, biodiversity loss, ocean health, climate change, and land degradation. Human health and well-being are intertwined with the health of the planet through the food, water, and natural systems we depend on.
The report guides governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses in strategies to design successful policies. GEO also investigate pathways to environmentally sustainable development and synergies among the SDGs.
Since 2015 Green has attended meetings of authors and government representatives in Bangkok, Geneva, Cairo, Cancun, Guangzhou, Singapore and Nairobi. She hopes to communicate the findings of GEO to a wide audience.
Read more about Sarah Green’s contribution in the Michigan Tech News articular “Tech Chemist Reviews UN Report on the Environment

Swept Away: Stream Gauges Essential to Storm Resilience

stream with wooden overhangStream gauges in the Keweenaw help us understand ecosystems and prepare our communities for flooding—but their existence is in jeopardy.

One of the most basic characteristics used to describe a stream is how much water it carries—the flow, or more accurately, discharge—which is measured in units of volume per time (typically cubic feet or cubic meters per second). Understanding how river discharge changes with time tells us important information about the stream, including how quickly something that is added to the river will be diluted and moved downstream. A river’s discharge rate also tells us how prone the river is to disturbances and what conditions the organisms that live there experience.

Understanding the river flow is also key for human communities. It allows planning for how quickly we can expect lakes and reservoirs to fill and how much water can be withdrawn for irrigation or drinking.

River flow also helps communities prepare for potential natural disasters, such as understanding how likely a river is to overflow its banks to cause a flood, and how to build culverts and bridges to withstand a flood like the one that Houghton experienced in June.

Read the full story on Unscripted.