The lunar rocks gathered by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their historic moon walk in 1969 still inform research today.

Miki Nakajima, an assistant professor of Earth and environmental sciences who studies the formation and evolution of the Earth, the moon, and other planetary bodies, recently reflected on the anniversary of the moon landing and how the Apollo missions have impacted her work.

Q. How has the moon landing 50 years ago impacted research today?

The lunar rocks brought back by the Apollo missions completely changed our views of the moon. Before the missions, there were several hypotheses to explain the moon’s origin but none of them were very successful. After analyzing the lunar rocks gathered by the Apollo missions, scientists found that these rocks were strikingly similar to rocks that make up Earth. This led to the hypothesis that Earth and the moon both formed by a large impact, which could have homogenized the two bodies. This impact hypothesis has been widely accepted, but the details are highly debated. For example, what was the size of the impactor, and what was the impact velocity? What was the spin state of the Earth before the impact? There are other things to consider besides the isotopic similarity, including the Earth-moon angular momentum, the mass of the moon, the state of the Earth’s mantle after the impact. In my opinion, none of the models have explained all the constraints we have.

Q. What are some of your current projects to study Earth’s moon?

My lab is investigating the essential conditions needed to form the moon via an impact. This research will help support or eliminate some of the proposed impact hypotheses. Moreover, we are answering questions including whether the impact helped generate an early magnetic field and how much volatiles (chemical elements including carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur) have escaped from the Earth, both of which contributed to generating a habitable environment on Earth. I conduct numerical simulations to reproduce the state of the Earth and moon during and after the impact to explain constraints that originate from the Apollo rock samples, chemistry, geochemical observations, and other computer models.

Q. What is next for lunar research?

It still strikes me that we sent humans to the moon 50 years ago when our computational capability was much more limited than today. I am very excited that there are so many ongoing and future missions to go back to the moon again with the latest equipment, which will revolutionize our understanding of the history of the Earth, moon, and the solar system. My personal interest is in understanding how planets form and evolve and then making future predictions to really identify the history of planets. Also, by looking at the planets, the moons, and the solar and extrasolar systems, we can better understand the conditions needed to make a planet habitable.

(Four centers are at the heart of the Warner School’s work. Rooted in a commitment to equity and excellence, these centers are pioneering new approaches to urban education, learning in the digital age, professional training and program evaluation, and supporting all students at every stage of their education. Here is an example.)

“There’s a lot of pride at East,” says Michelle Garcia, social worker at East High School’s Lower School. “We have high expectations of our students and we provide a high level of support. Everyone at East—students, teachers, administrators, security officers, secretaries . . . we are all making it work.”

Each morning, students enter the building greeted by security officers with booming smiles. Posters with inspirational phrases like “Keep calm and carry on” and “Be positive” adorn lockers and hallways. Kids flock together chatting and laughing as they move from one class to the next, stopping to give a hug or a high five to a teacher along the way.

Since the Warner School of Education formed an Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) and first partnered with East High in 2014, the improvements to the school’s culture are palpable. The Center for Urban Education Success supports that partnership, one that serves—through research—as a model for urban schools nationwide.

At East, student outcomes are quantifiable, with much of it attributed to a restorative approach, which helps students learn by fostering a responsive and compassionate environment. For Garcia and Glerizbeth “Beth” Sanchez, a senior scholar in the Upper School, this approach is all about relationships—building them, validating them, and seeing another person’s perspective.

“If we show kids we ‘see’ them, we care, and we want to know what it’s like to be in their shoes, they learn better and they are happier—we all are,” says Garcia. “We can build and maintain a better society when we focus on building our relationships with each other.”

Sanchez tells a story about a recent experience with another student, a girl who thought Sanchez had a problem with her. That girl went to a teacher who said the two of them needed to talk. “The teacher got us together, the girl told me what was on her mind, we worked it all out, and the teacher didn’t even have to say anything,” Sanchez says. That’s the kind of safe space East High encourages, where students can engage in productive interactions. “It’s not always easy,” says Sanchez. “But, students are now doing it . . . they are living it.”

Garcia is clear to point out that consequences happen as they need to, when actions justify them. With the restorative approach, students may get suspended for physically fighting, but when they come back to school there’s work done to try to repair their relationship. “We don’t suspend and then magically think the problems will go away,” Garcia says. “We charge the kids and give them the support to make right what they did. It can’t be that they have to do arbitrary service either, it has to be meaningful and relevant to that relationship.”

Sanchez came to East High before the EPO, when the rumors about the school shutting down ran rampant. She was in the 8th grade at the time. “I remember my first Family Group,” she says. “It was right after lunch, and we were with a group of random kids and we had a teacher we didn’t know. We sat in a circle and when we were handed a talking stick, it was our turn to say something about our day.”

At first, Sanchez says, students were curious and unsure about whether it made any sense to sit down with relative strangers and talk about themselves, their weekends, and their challenges.

But then something happened. Students started to break out of their small groups. They began advocating for people they hadn’t known before. Garcia notes a time when an 8th grader saw a 6th grader getting picked on. The older student got very protective and said, “This is my younger brother,” referring to his Family Group. “Leave him alone.”

Students, and the entire school community, started to see that perhaps they could relate to someone they didn’t know. They were starting to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They were building community.

Read more here.

All Medical Center clinical research faculty and staff are encouraged to attend one or more sessions describing the new Embark technology that will streamline clinical trial management and allow research teams to reach their full potential.

These sessions will include demos of the Embark technology (OnCore and other tools), updates on the Embark project and opportunities to ask questions and share your perspectives with the Embark team.

Click the links below to add these sessions to your calendar and access Zoom information.

• Wednesday, July 31, 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Class of ’62 Auditorium
• Tuesday, August 6, 3:00 – 4:00 pm | Ryan Case Method Room
• Friday, August 9, 2:00 – 3:00 pm | Helen Wood Hall, Room 1W-502

To RSVP and request special accommodations, contact embark@urmc.rochester.edu.

PumpPrimer is AS&E’s intramural seed funding program designed to stimulate extramural funding for projects otherwise difficult to launch. PumpPrimer II (PPII) provides funds for innovative pilot research to help the applicant establish a novel research direction and secure extramural funding.

The Dean for Research will provide funding, typically up to $50,000, for up to one year.

Submit your proposal for PumpPrimer II funding via the application portal by Oct. 22, 2019.

The funding start date is Jan. 1, 2020. Cost-sharing with departmental resources is encouraged. Eligibility criterion is enumerated in the guidelines

Direct questions to your respective AS&E assistant dean:

• Arts and Sciences – Debra Haring, debra.haring@rochester.edu
• Engineering – Cindy Gary, cindy.gary@rochester.edu

A symposium on novel applications of technology to accelerate the development of new therapeutics for patients with rare neurological disorders will be hosted by the University of Rochester and sponsored by the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI) on Sept. 13.

Industry leaders in rare diseases, health technologies, and clinical trials will demonstrate how to:

• Leverage new tools and technologies to enhance patient partnership
• Reduce the burden of participation in clinical research
• Accelerate development of new therapeutics

For registration information and agenda go to the TRNDS website.

The Environmental Health Sciences Center (EHSC) has funds to support a limited number of pilot projects. Applicants may request up to $30,000 for one year and must hold a tenure-track faculty position.

Initial applications should include a one-page abstract describing the goals and objectives of the proposed project, the relevance to the mission of the EHSC, and the investigators involved.

Submit initial applications by Friday, August 16 to Pat Noonan-Sullivan. Questions? Contact Deborah Cory-Slechta or Pat Noonan-Sullivan.

Learn more.

Kelly Hanson, toxicology, “Contribution of Toll-like receptor 4 signaling to the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis: Origins of fibroblast apoptosis resistance.” 1 p.m. July 29, 2019. Lower Aud, 1-7619 (Medical Center). Advisor: Jacob Finkelstein.

Christopher Goodwin, biochemistry, “The intersection of Human Cytomegalovirus infection and innate immune signaling.” 1 p.m. July 29, 2019. Neuman Room (1-6823) Medical Center. Advisor: Joshua Munger.

Theresa Iannuzzi, chemistry, “Structure and Mechanism in Iron- and Cobalt-Catalyzed Directed C-H Functionalization.” 9 a.m. July 29, 2019. 1400 Wegmans Hall. Advisor: Michael Neidig.

Karisa Lee, clinical and social sciences in psychology, “ ‘Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Will Be Girls’: The Interpersonal Consequences and Functions of Essentialistic Thinking about Gender.” 10 a.m. July 31, 2019. Meliora Hall 366. Advisor: Harry Reis.

July 29: David T. Kearns Center Research Symposium. Oral presentations, lightning talks, and poster session featuring undergraduate research done this summer by McNair Scholars, Xerox Engineering Research Fellows, and visiting students participating in REU programs in computational methods, photonics, and advancing human health. 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Feldman Ballroom.

July 31: Demo session on the new Embark technology that will streamline clinical trial management and allow URMC research teams to reach their full potential. All URMC clinical research faculty and staff are encouraged to attend one or more sessions. Noon to 1 p.m., Class of ’62 Auditorium.  To RSVP and request special accommodations, contact embark@urmc.rochester.edu.

July 31: Deadline to apply to participate in the Steadman Family Postdoctoral Associate Prize in Interdisciplinary Research. Finalists will compete for a $1,000 top prize by demonstrating how well they can summarize their research in a five minute-presentation that can be understood by a non-scientific audience. Open to all School of Medicine and Dentistry and Arts, Sciences & Engineering postdoctoral appointees whose fields of study bridge at least two areas of the humanities, science, mathematics, engineering, and medicine. Questions and applications should be submitted by email to gretchen.briscoe@rochester.edu. Final presentations will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Sept. 20 in Goergen Hall Room 101 (Sloan Auditorium) during Meliora Weekend.  $750 and $500 will be awarded for second and third place, and $250 for the audience choice winner.

Aug. 6: Demo session on the new Embark technology that will streamline clinical trial management and allow URMC research teams to reach their full potential. All URMC clinical research faculty and staff are encouraged to attend one or more sessions. 3-4 p.m., Ryan Case Method Room.  To RSVP and request special accommodations, contact embark@urmc.rochester.edu.

Aug. 8-9: “Navigating Deaf and Hearing Collaborations in Science.” Second biennial Deaf-Engaged Academic Forum (DEAF-ROC Conference). Keynote speakers, short talks, breakout sessions, panel discussion and a poster session highlighting the research carried out by undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and staff attending the conference. Register for the conference (for free) and submit a poster abstract by July 1.

Aug. 9: Demo session on the new Embark technology that will streamline clinical trial management and allow URMC research teams to reach their full potential. All URMC clinical research faculty and staff are encouraged to attend one or more sessions. 2-3 p.m., Helen Wood Hall, Room 1W-502.  To RSVP and request special accommodations, contact embark@urmc.rochester.edu.

Aug. 16: Deadline to submit initial applications to the Environmental Health Sciences Center for pilot project funding of up to $30,000 for one year. Submit applications to Pat Noonan-Sullivan. Contact Deborah Cory-Slechta or Pat Noonan-Sullivan for questions. Learn more.

Aug. 30: Entry forms due for a new annual student competition promoting awareness of Tobacco Regulatory Science. Each team (either an individual or up to four students) develops and presents a proposed solution — a well-developed and researched thought experiment  — to address one or more identified Tobacco Regulatory Research Priorities. Winning team will travel to DC/MD to present their solution to the FDA and NIH. Read more here.

Sept. 11: Deadline for students, junior faculty, early career researchers, and entrepreneurs to apply for this year’s Falling Walls competition. Complete the online application here. By Friday, September 27 email a three-panel slide presentation. Then pitch your innovative idea — highlighting a breakthrough that creates a positive impact on science and society — in just three minutes on October 8 at Feldman Ballroom. The winner will represent the University at the International Falling Walls Finale in Berlin. Contact Adele Coelho for questions.

Sept. 13: Symposium on novel applications of technology to accelerate the development of new therapeutics for patients with rare neurological disorders. Hosted by the University and sponsored by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI). Featuring industry leaders in rare diseases, health technologies and clinical trials. Registration information and agenda available on the TRNDS website.

Oct. 22: Deadline to apply for AS&E PumpPrimer II seed funding, typically up to $50,000 for up to one year, for innovative research projects to help the applicant establish a novel research direction and secure extramural funding. Submit proposal via the application portal. All eligibility criterion is enumerated in the guidelines Direct questions to your respective AS&E assistant dean: Arts and Sciences – Debra Haring, debra.haring@rochester.edu; Engineering – Cindy Gary, cindy.gary@rochester.edu.