Machine learning, the oceans, and the potential of the Brazilian coast to absorb atmospheric carbonse of frontal polymerization as a sustainable method in the fabrication of polymeric foams

The oceans have taken up about 30% of the anthropogenic carbon emissions to date, which has increased problems such as ocean acidification. Still, there are several ocean-based climate mitigation strategies that rely on storing even more carbon in the ocean. To better understand these strategies and the impact they could have in coastal environments, it’s important to increase the amount of data we have related to the marine carbon cycle. Some quantities, such as dissolved inorganic carbon (dissolved CO2), are hard to measure but can be estimated from other easier-to-measure quantities such as temperature and salinity. The algorithms developed for these purposes, however, are mostly trained on more heavily observed regions such as the US coast. For this project, students will help with an ongoing data synthesis being conducted for the Brazilian coast and test the performance of neural network algorithms in estimating ocean chemistry variables based on temperature and salinity. This work will help assess the potential of the Brazilian coast to serve as a sink of atmospheric carbon and help prepare solutions for ongoing environmental problems in the region.

Use of Frontal Polymerization as a Sustainable Method in the Fabrication of Polymeric Foams

Our research group works at the intersection of materials science and polymer chemistry. We aim to advance cutting-edge technologies for the sustainable fabrication of polymeric materials.

Motivated Learning in Adolescence

The research conducted in the Learning and Brain Development Lab asks how learning behaviors change with age – in children, adolescents, and adults – and can influence what is later remembered, decision making, and the pursuit of goals. Russell Women in Science Leadership scholars will learn fundamental research skills and theoretical background integrating the interdisciplinary fields of Computational Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, while they contribute to a large federally funded research project (PI: Davidow, NSF-CAREER: Neurocognitive development of adolescent learning #2443141). Adolescence is an important developmental period marked by increases in independence, changes in motivations, and new experiences. Learning from experience is critical for behaving adaptively, but little is known about the neurocognitive development of this learning. This project uses behavioral, computational, and neuroimaging (fMRI, sMRI) approaches to investigate age-related changes in learning and integration of different types of learning. In particular, the project focuses on striatal and medial-temporal lobe learning systems in the brain, and how these change across development. The project also uses structural brain imaging to make inferences about dopamine to better understand its role in learning over the course of development. The results of the proposed work have the potential to better understand critical changes in the adolescent brain, focusing not just on vulnerabilities but also on adaptive opportunities and strengths related to learning. The Learning and Brain Development Lab offers an inclusive environment in which to learn a broad set of generalizable skills that will benefit Russell Women in Science Scholars in a variety of professional settings in the future.

Ecological Genomics and Adaptation to Environmental Change

Our research integrates ecology, evolution, and genomics to inform the conservation and management of species. The successful candidate will conduct a research project on how organisms adapt to the environment, by analyzing and integrating existing lab data with various bioinformatic programs and either Python or the R programming language. Although the exact project will depend on the scholar’s interest, the project will align with an existing project in the lab on oysters, marine fish, evolutionary theory, or repeated adaptation. Results from this research will inform selective breeding, invasive species management, and conservation of species under climate change.

How the Brain Responds to Interference

It is well documented that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with challenges in inhibitory control and interference. Recent behavioral accounts using a novel forced-response paradigm during conflict tasks (e.g., Simon, Flanker) and computational modeling, reveal delayed goal-directed processing underlie these inhibitory control challenges. However, it remains to be seen what is occurring at the neural level. We plan to extend this work by integrating Electroencephalography (EEG) with forced-response conflict tasks to assess what underlies slower goal-directed processing in ADHD at the neural level. The overall, larger project goal is to: 1) assess how neural representations during conflict tasks differ between ADHD (off medication) and neurotypical adults across time, and how might these differences relate to slowed goal-directed response preparation in ADHD, and 2) assess how neural representations might differ within-group (ADHD-on medication versus ADHD-off medication) across time, and how might these differences relate to accelerated goal-directed response preparation when on medication. However, the first initial step is to collect data in neurotypical individuals to establish feasibility and refine the methodology. Specifically, the Russell Women in Science Leadership Scholar(s) will help coordinate and carry out this effort alongside the guidance of postdoctoral research associate Dr. Jahla Osborne and Professor Susanne Jaeggi. The Scholar(s) will have the opportunity to coordinate participant recruitment, run study visits (using EEG), as well as to carry out data cleaning and analyses. Through this experience, the Scholar(s) will become familiar with MATLAB, R, and PsychoPy, which are great technical skills that will be important for the Scholar(s)’ development as a researcher and dissemination of this work. With the results uncovered through this pilot study, the Scholar(s) will have the opportunity to present their findings through poster presentations (e.g. Northeastern’s RISE expo, or the Trends in Psychology Summit at Harvard University; a conference hosted by Harvard’s graduate student group “Women in Psychology”), and contribute to publications that will result from this project.

Numerical and Theoretical Derivation of Control Solutions to Parabolic Type Partial Differential Equations

We will study parabolic type partial differential equations, focusing on the case of heat type equations. The solution to this type of differential equations model the temperature change in a given space. The control problem of this type asks the following question: given a temperature profile, can we design a boundary control function so that the solutions follow the specific pattern? The mathematical theory involves Fourier analysis and Fourier series. We will study the theory and develop numerical solutions to such a problem.