Earth biochemistry relies on DNA as the information-carrying polymer and water as the chemistry-facilitating solvent. Life on other planets, however, could leverage very different chemistry. This grant supports work by Sara Seager, Professor of Planetary Science, Physics, and Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that will explore an alternative to Earth biochemistry. The proposed research focuses on identifying a DNA-like molecule that is functional in concentrated sulfuric acid (CSA), the primary component of Venus’ atmosphere and a water-alternative solvent found on many planets in our galaxy.   There are several steps to establishing that a DNA-like molecule can function in CSA, and Professor Seager is tackling what is perhaps the core challenge: identifying components of a DNA-analog molecule that are structurally stable and appropriately reactive in CSA, focusing on the three primary molecular components of DNA: nucleic acid bases, so-called ‘linker’ molecules, and a ‘molecular backbone’ structure. Her project is divided into four tasks. In Task 1 Seager and her researcher team will determine the CSA reactivity of the nucleic acid bases found in DNA/RNA. While Seager has demonstrated that the core structures of these canonical bases are CSA-stable, it’s not yet known whether the bases can bond with one another in CSA; something required to form a DNA-like molecule.   Excess protons found in CSA (or in any acid) may interfere with the hydrogen bonding that holds two bases together in a DNA molecule, making base-pairing with these canonical bases impossible in CSA. Accordingly, in Task 2 the researcher team will test the CSA stability and reactivity of ‘alternative’ nucleic acid bases that do not rely on hydrogen bonding for base-pairing. In Task 3, the researchers will develop a list of linker and backbone molecule candidates that promise to be stable in CSA and in Task 4 these candidates will be subjected to CSA stability/reactivity testing.   Establishing that a replicating, information-bearing molecule can exist in CSA goes a long way to establishing CSA as a solvent that can host life. Such a finding would significantly impact exoplanet research, expand the number of planets regarded as habitable, and inform planned and proposed missions to Venus aimed at searching for signs of extraterrestrial life.

One of the primary challenges relating to the widespread electrification of transportation is the timing of electric vehicle (EV) charging. If all EV owners plug in their vehicles at the same time of day, electricity demand on the grid will rise suddenly and dramatically, forcing grid operators to quickly ramp up electricity production. Smart charging programs can help curb the detrimental side effects of a growing number of EVs simultaneously re-charging on the grid. These programs offer financial and other incentives to encourage consumers to shift their EV charging patterns to times of low electricity demand. Some of these smart charging programs incentivize consumers to allow companies to remotely control and manage their EV charging schedule through “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G) technology. This grant funds efforts to advance our understanding of the social, behavioral, and economic tradeoffs of different smart charging program features and assess how various program features might limit or facilitate a smart charging program’s viability, both nationally and in different regions and electricity grid systems. A research team led by John Helveston at The George Washington University and including Eric Hittinger (Rochester Institute of Technology), Alan Jenn (University of California, Davis), and Brian Tarroja (University of California, Irvine) will use a choice-based conjoint survey analysis to estimate how consumers value various smart charging program features. Program features that will be studied include how much consumers would need to be compensated for program participation, the time window a program would have control over vehicle charging, how much of the battery or percent of full charge the program has control over, and whether the program can determine when to charge the EV or when to discharge the vehicle back to the grid as part of a V2G program. The team will study these features both individually and in combination, gauging what mix of features would be most desirable for consumers. Results will be integrated into an energy systems model and used to investigate three case studies of smart charging programs in partnership with three utilities in different regions of the country to assess the real-world impacts of different program features on emissions reduction, peak electricity demand, and electric system costs. The team plans to produce at least two peer-reviewed journal articles, reports and policy briefs for practitioners, and will make survey data publicly available that facilitates integration with energy models for other researchers and utilities to use. Results are expected to help inform the design of future smart charging programs in different utility regions and for different consumer bases.

An Open Source Program Office (OSPO) is an organizational construct, originally developed in technology companies, with dedicated staff who coordinate and support open source activity. When adapted to a university, an OSPO can offer: 1) training and individualized support for faculty, students, and staff who want to grow local software efforts into healthy open source projects, 2) advice on how best to contribute to existing projects, 3) documentation of the value of open source work and 4) facilitation of relationships with other organizational units like technology transfer, research computing, or the library. This grant funds the establishment of an OSPO at the University of Texas at Austin, co-led by Jennifer Schopf, Angela Newell, Michael Shensky, and James Howison. UT Austin’s planned OPSO will be a collaboration between Campus IT, the UT Libraries, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), and the School of Information. It will structure its activities strategically around a “Participation Pathway” that envisions engaging faculty and students by moving from the basic use of open source software through contribution, sharing, accepting external contributions, and ultimately the development of an ecosystem of related projects. Grant funds will support a portion of the OSPO Director’s time, substantial engagement from two Library-based positions with expertise in open source research software, a pool of trainers to run short bootcamps and courses. We anticipate support for a broad set of faculty-driven open source projects, and the inclusion of additional open source material into several existing support systems on campus. Other funds will support the creation of resources focused on lowering barriers to share and reuse scientific software, including documenting best practices surrounding the containerization, distribution, and deployment of open source software.

An Open Source Program Office (OSPO) is an organizational construct, originally developed in technology companies, with dedicated staff who coordinate and support open source activity. When adapted to a university, an OSPO can offer: 1) training and individualized support for faculty, students, and staff who want to grow local software efforts into healthy open source projects, 2) advice on how best to contribute to existing projects, 3) documentation of the value of open source work and 4) facilitation of relationships with other organizational units like technology transfer, research computing, or the library. This grant supports the establishment of an OSPO at Syracuse University. The effort is a collaboration between Syracuse University’s Office of Research, SU Libraries, and Information Technology Services and will be led and championed by Duncan Brown, Syracuse’s Vice President for Research. Sloan Foundation grant funds will support the hiring of a new full-time director who will report directly to Brown. Other grant funds will support a post-doctoral fellow focused on open source software development, an annual summer workshop, support for 15 faculty-driven, open source development or research projects, and the launch of a website portal that will provide access to publications, patents, products, and software developed through collaboration with the OSPO. In addition, the project team will document lessons learned and publish a playbook containing these lessons to inform similar efforts at other university campuses.

An Open Source Program Office (OSPO) is an organizational construct, originally developed in technology companies, with dedicated staff who coordinate and support open source activity. When adapted to a university, an OSPO can offer: 1) training and individualized support for faculty, students, and staff who want to grow local software efforts into healthy open source projects, 2) advice on how best to contribute to existing projects, 3) documentation of the value of open source work and 4) facilitation of relationships with other organizational units like technology transfer, research computing, or the library. This grant funds the establishment of an OSPO at Stanford University. Stanford’s OSPO will be anchored in the Center for Open and Reproducible Science and led by cognitive neuroscientist Russell Poldrack. Grants funds will support a host of activities, including the recruitment of a full-time community manager, the establishment of an external advisory board and executive committee, the creation of a registry of open source projects being spearheaded by Stanford faculty, support for at least 20 faculty projects, and an ongoing series of lectures, hackathons and code sprints to engage the campus community. In addition, Poldrack and his team are actively engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in open source communities and plan to compile a guide of best practices for fostering inclusive, welcoming open source projects.

An Open Source Program Office (OSPO) is an organizational construct, originally developed in technology companies, with dedicated staff who coordinate and support open source activity. When adapted to a university, an OSPO can offer: 1) training and individualized support for faculty, students, and staff who want to grow local software efforts into healthy open source projects, 2) advice on how best to contribute to existing projects, 3) documentation of the value of open source work and 4) facilitation of relationships with other organizational units like technology transfer, research computing, or the library. This grant supports the establishment of an OSPO at George Washington University. The GW OSPO will sit organizationally within the university’s Libraries and Academic Innovation (LAI) unit and be co-led by Geneva Henry (the dean of LAI as well as the current Vice Provost for libraries and information technology) and Lorena Barba (Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering). Grant funds will support the hiring of a Program Director, consulting services to individual faculty and staff, an annual “Open Source Con” that would bring together developers and contributors from across campus, strategic planning activities around web content and services, and community-building and outreach activities to engage GW faculty and students, including workshops, software camps, information sessions, micro-learning courses, and undergraduate awards program recognizing outstanding open source software contributions by GW students.