BGSU funded research projects with economic development viability

Bowling Green State University promotes and facilitates faculty research and scholarly/creative activities, and cultivates opportunities for interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations.

Helping harness wind power

BGSU is overseeing a study to determine the type and placement of wind turbines at BGSU Firelands. A $1 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the Coastal Ohio Wind Project could make the western Lake Erie shore near Huron become a model for alternative energy sources.

Working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, the study will look at area wind speeds and the turbines’ potential impact on birds, bats and local air traffic. Home to threatened species such as the piping plover, the area is in the migratory path of several species of songbirds and is the nesting site of once-endangered bald eagles. Therefore, a pre-construction assessment for the height and location of the turbines on the 216-acre campus is underway. Area residents are also part of the study and the potential impact on tourism will be evaluated.

Shedding light on the future

The work of Drs. Felix Castellano and Pavel Anzenbacher at BGSU’s Center for Photochemical Sciences aims at developing next-generation photovoltaic materials much cheaper than today’s technology.

Their research is being done in conjunction with a Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization Center established at the University of Toledo. The consortium received $18.6 million in Wright Centers of Innovation funding from the state of Ohio to create the center. Research at the center encompasses every facet of modern photovoltaic technology. Castellano and Anzenbacher, who have established themselves as leaders in the field of molecular photonics, study “third-generation” photovoltaic materials. Photovoltaics deals with converting sunlight to electricity, and this research focuses on advanced materials for use in constructing and developing solar cell arrays.

Studying the building blocks of life

Dr. Neocles Leontis studies the building blocks of life: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid)—their structures, functions and interactions. Using physical, chemical, biological and theoretical methods, he has not only made significant discoveries himself, but his work has helped other researchers around the world classify and integrate the knowledge they are producing.

Leontis has developed an RNA base-pair classification system that has been adopted by the Nucleic Acid Database, the international repository for RNA 3-dimensional structures. Developed in collaboration with Dr. Eric Westhof, director of the Institut Universaire de France, the classification is one of the building blocks for creating an RNA ontology, or naming system.

Currently, he is leading the RNA Ontology Consortium. The five-year project is funded by a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant and is developing a common vocabulary and scientific concepts relating RNA structure and function to allow RNA scientists worldwide to communicate with one another and to integrate different kinds of information they obtain about RNA molecules. This will make it easier to turn molecular information into useful knowledge that can help scientists understand how different cells grow and develop as they do.

A pioneer in the field of how enzymes work

Dr. Peter Lu, an Ohio Board of Regents Eminent Scholar and a specialist in physical chemistry, focuses his research on single-molecule spectroscopy, studying the dynamics—or motions—of single molecules of proteins and enzymes as they conduct their biochemical functions. Lu finds an intimate relationship between their physical properties and their chemical functions. Proteins are very important in biochemistry because they perform many functions. In the past, observation and measurement of their activity has been static through the use of X-ray crystallography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Information was gained by taking averages of their movements over time. However, their dynamics fluctuate over time. Now Lu can observe one molecule at a time as it interacts with other proteins and enzymes. These enzymatic reactions are very important to metabolism but very complex, so cutting-edge technology is needed to be able to measure them in real time.

Bowling Green State University’s chemistry department houses the Ohio Laboratory for Kinetic Spectrometry, which maintains modern transient spectroscopy facilities. Using its sophisticated instruments and the single-molecule imaging microscopes at Lu’s labs, he is able to compare experimental results with theoretical results.

Tackling public health issues with satellite remote sensing

Dr. Robert Vincent’s continuing work in remote sensing technology is possible because of grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration totaling over $760,000. Vincent is leading a project that uses satellite data obtained through remote sensing to monitor cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Erie. These are especially harmful algal blooms because they can produce toxins that can sicken or even kill humans and other mammals, as well as fish.

The project uses maps derived from LANDSTAT satellite data to pinpoint the algal blooms that are expected to be very large owing to heavy runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus from farm fields into the lake’s tributaries. Vincent’s algorithm for converting LANDSTAT data to images that show where early blooms of cyanobacteria are occurring has been patented and will be important for monitoring drinking-water reservoirs—and not just in Ohio, since the deterioration of the Great Lakes affects the country as a whole. Vincent’s satellite remote sensing method is also used to map all the agricultural fields in Wood and Lucas counties to which Class B sewage sludge has been applied. Homes on and near those farms have been identified and a high-resolution database for epidemiological surveys has been created. In addition, bioaerosols from these fields are analyzed for human pathogens coming from sewage sludge.