UNL biochemist Hideaki Moriyama shows vials of his experiments similar to those aboard the space shuttle Columbia, which was destroyed Feb. 1. The picture on Moriyama's computer shows a rack of chambers containing the experiments to be placed on the shuttle. Photo by Dave Fitzgibbon.

UNL experiment lost with Columbia

By Kelly Bartling, University Communications

When the Space Shuttle Columbia failed to return to Earth last weekend, not only were seven lives lost, but nearly 100 scientific experiments were, too.

Included in them were three experiments under the eye of UNL biochemist Hideaki Moriyama.

Moriyama was in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 1, awaiting the return of his protein crystallization experiment. He was with his co-researchers listening to NASA flight information from Johnson Space Center when the broadcast feed went silent.

"Suddenly the communication was lost and it just went quiet," Moriyama said this week from his Hamilton Hall office. "We thought at first it was a normal part of the re-entry. It took us a while to realize that this wasn't normal, and then, we were quite concerned."

Moriyama watched then with the rest of the world as it became apparent that the shuttle was gone, and on it, the lives it carried. His first concern was with the astronauts, but his second was for his research, on which he has worked for at least the last four years.

Moriyama's main experiment, the Japan/U.S. Space Protein Crystal Growth Experiment, uses various techniques to determine the three-dimensional structures of biological molecules. The experiment aims to clarify the nature of protein crystallization in microgravity, the size and number of crystals, twin characteristics, fixed water molecules and other differences during crystal growth.

By comparing the signature of crystallization in outer space to that in Earth's gravity, Moriyama hoped to discover new therapeutic strategies in viral diseases like HIV/AIDS and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Huntington's. The ability to visualize the protein structures could help scientists design new drugs.

Moriyama said that microgravity on the space shuttle was key to the research because it is much easier to crystallize proteins in that environment.

"The surface kinetics are more flexible in space," he said. "That's why it's important to use microgravity."

The seven shuttle astronauts were responsible for activating and deactivating the experiment and checking ongoing crystallization, temperature and shape. Moriyama had received periodic updates from the Columbia during its 16-day mission. Once the small vials of protein specimens returned from space, Moriyama planned to oversee data analysis at the National Synchotron Light Source and use its sophisticated imaging techniques to observe the protein crystals. UNL's new supercomputer the Prairie Fire was also to be used for molecular mapping.

"We need detailed structures to determine how to prevent movement of the protein," Moriyama said. "This is fundamental work. By finding the protein success rate we hope to determine a new structure for a drug metabolism protein, or a super-stable protein." Moriyama also was in charge of a similar Space Shuttle experiment in 1997.

Moriyama said for now, his research is on hold, since it required microgravity, and the space program will likely be on hold while the cause of the accident is explored. He hopes for a chance to possibly repeat the experiment on board the International Space Station, but otherwise, he may be forced to modify the experiment.

Moriyama said he is disappointed at the loss of the shuttle crew and the project, especially after the excitement that had built during the mission. On Jan. 16, he was at Kennedy Space Center watching the Columbia launch. Sixteen days later, he was in mourning and defeat with the rest of the country.

The JUSPRO project was shared by The Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Alabama-Birmingham, and the Japan-U.S. Science, Technology and Space Applications Program. Moriyama is the U.S. representative and chair for microgravity utilization and biology among the NASA, U.S. and Japanese scientists involved in the experiment.

In addition, two other experiments on STS-107 were under Moriyama's eye: He was principal investigator on a similar experiment on photo-receptive membrane protein crystallization under microgravity, involving proteins from squid eyes; and he advised a student-led experiment on medaka fish.

Moriyama arrived at UNL in June 2002 as a faculty member in chemistry from positions at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan Synchotron Radiation Research Institute and Kobe University. His key activity at UNL will be to establish the Structural Biology Core Facility by this spring.

UNL is part of online scientist community

UNL and the other NU campuses recently joined Community of Science Inc., an online service for scientists and scholars that provides quick access to funding opportunities and potential collaborators nationwide.

COS, at <www.cos.com/>, is the leading Internet site for the global research and development community. COS brings together scientists and researchers at more than 1,300 universities, corporations and government agencies worldwide. It provides tools and services that enable these professionals to exchange information and find the people and technologies that are important to their work.

Through COS, UNL faculty have access to a number of information resources and Web databases. Examples include:

• COS Expertise <http://expertise.cos.com>, a database of more than 500,000 researchers in all disciplines around the world. It contains information pertaining to a research or academic career, including qualifications, publications, grants, previous positions and more. With COS Expertise, users can identify collaborators and peer reviewers and opportunities to promote their own work.
• COS Funding Opportunities <http://fundingopps.cos.com> will be a database of more than 23,000 available research grants. It emails the most relevant opportunities weekly; faculty will be notified when this service becomes active.
• COS Funding Alert will be a weekly e-mail notification system so that those signed up receive new funding information targeted to the user's interests and expertise. Users will be notified when Funding Alert becomes available.
• COS Funded Research <http://fundedresearch.cos.com&g t; database tracks research activities and projects sponsored by the NIH, NSF, USDA, SBA and MRC.
• COS Meetings and Conferences is a database of professional, scholarly and scientific associations and their meetings and conferences.

Each faculty member will receive an announcement about COS via e-mail. Faculty members can post their own research profiles in the COS Expertise database so that other scholars can contact them directly. A basic profile was created for each faculty member based on information provided by UNL. This information is unpublished but will go live on Feb. 24. Faculty members who wish to keep this data private should notify Tom Tabor in the Office of Sponsored Programs by Feb. 20.

Orientation sessions for COS members will be offered:

Feb. 18, 9-10 a.m., Nebraska Union.

Feb. 20, 9-10 a.m., Nebraska East Union.

Feb. 25, 1-2 p.m., Nebraska East Union.

Feb. 27, 1-2 p.m., Nebraska Union.

For information, call Tom Tabor at 472- 9377 or e-mail <ttabor2@unl.edu>.

Micromass Technologies engineer Paul Trent installs the new Quattro Micro triple quadrupole mass spectrometer at the UNL Water Sciences Laboratory. The equipment can analyze components in a variety of types of samples, including water and soil, and some to the parts-per-trillion level. Photo by Dan Snow, UNL Water Sciences Lab.

Equipment boosts lab's research ability

By Charlie Flowerday, Conservation and Survey, and Steve Ress, Water Center

New automated equipment that analyzes stable, or non-radioactive, isotopes and minute traces of organic contaminants and other compounds in water and other materials should help University of Nebraska faculty better conduct research and compete for research funds.

"This instrumentation is the most advanced available and will serve to both strengthen and expand our current capabilities. We can develop and apply methods for analyzing a wide variety of organic compounds," said Research Assistant Professor Dan Snow, who manages the lab.

The Water Sciences Lab's new equipment includes a sophisticated triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer and two new isotope-ratio mass spectrometers that will support projects for researchers across the state. The triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer is a state-of-the-art instrument for identifying and measuring organic compounds. Analysis of trace of organic compounds is key in monitoring and cleaning up water contamination. The isotope-ratio mass spectrometers are both equipped with automated preparation systems that allow for rapid and highly precise analysis of stable isotopes of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.

"The UNL Water Sciences Laboratory is one of a handful of facilities in North America to have equipment and staff specializing in both trace organic and stable isotope analysis," Snow said. Located on East Campus and part of the NU Water Center and the proposed School of Natural Resources, the lab provides analytical support for water- or pollution-related research.

"We have analyzed samples of groundwater, surface water, lake water, rain water and even, once in a while, from the ocean. We continue to develop new methods to meet the needs of university researchers," Snow said. Lab personnel can also analyze water or sediments on-site if needed.

While its name points to water-chemistry analysis, the lab can also identify the chemistry of contaminants or isotopes in soil, sediment or in some cases, manure, running between 2,000 and 10,000 samples a year. In all, the lab provides more than 21 types of analysis for fees ranging from $4 per sample to $160, Snow said. The fees help maintain equipment and support its staff. The lab receives samples from researchers in many NU departments, as well as state and federal agencies.

The facility is actually many labs in one. In the chromatography lab, the staff members have analyzed thousands of water samples from across the state for trace levels of pesticides and their degradation products. The lab can quantify atrazine, the most commonly applied pesticide in the Midwest, and other pesticides and degradation products to the parts-per-trillion level, allowing for highly reliable detection.

"We have probably the best procedure available for analyzing atrazine and atrazine degradation products," Snow said.

An ion trap mass spectrometer allows for detection of explosives residues, pesticides, antibiotics and compounds formed during their degradation. In one stable isotope lab, variations in the ratio of nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14 are measured to help determine sources of nitrates in groundwater. The new automated isotope ratio mass spectrometers will enable more rapid and accurate analysis of carbon-13, oxygen-18 and deuterium for geochemical, biological and hydrologic research.

"Analysis of stable isotope samples that used to take a day with manual methods can now be done in less than an hour with equivalent accuracy and precision," Snow said.

The facility also contains a sample preparation lab; a corrosion lab for handling strong acids and first-stage nitrogen isotope work; a lab for preparing sediment samples; and one for measuring parts per trillion concentrations of freons for age-dating groundwater.

The new water science lab equipment was funded with a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency with the help of U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter.

To use the lab Researchers wanting more information on how the Water Science Lab can help with research or grant funding should contact Dan Snow at 472-7539 or e-mail <dsnow1@unl.edu>.

UNL, UNO offer Ph.D in information technology

By Teresa Gleason, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Starting this fall, students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in information technology will be able to do so at the University of Nebraska.

UNL and UNO will offer a joint Doctor of Philosophy degree in information technology, a multidisciplinary program that integrates theory and practice in applied computing, information systems, Internet technologies and advances in telecommunications and the management of information technology. The program was approved Jan. 18 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

"The joint program will allow the two campuses to share expertise and avoid duplication of effort," said Derek Hodgson, vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNO. Currently, no similar instructional program exists in Nebraska or the surrounding states. Information technology programs on each campus have been listed as academic priorities, Hodgson said.

Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies at UNL, noted that the collaboration between the two campuses builds on the strengths of each.

"By combining the expertise and resources of several departments on two campuses, we have developed a rich intellectual environment in which doctoral students will advance both theory and practice in 21st century information technologies," Paul said. "This is exactly the kind of graduate program that will help to drive the state's economy in the years ahead."

The UNO program will emphasize breadth in information technology through a focus on information systems, Internet technologies and telecommunications, and applied computing. The UNL program will focus on a number of specific areas, including software engineering, information networking, enterprise systems and informatics.

The new program places NU in a leadership role in computing education, said Richard Sincovec, Henson professor and chairman of UNL's computer science and engineering department.

"There has been an incredible information technology revolution over the past 25 years but the real information technology revolution is yet to come," Sincovec said. "The Ph.D. in information technology is a strong statement that Nebraska intends to not only be a partner in this revolution but a leader."

"Computer systems now control and monitor every element of our nation's infrastructure: the electric power grid, the telecommunications grid, the financial grid, and so forth," he said. "Information technology is more essential to counter-terrorism than any other technology. The pervasive role that computers and information technology play in such systems, in most academic disciplines, and in our every day lives demonstrates the important role that a Ph.D in information technology has for Nebraska and our nation."

UNL and UNO officials anticipate an annual enrollment of about 40 students within the first five years. The program also will include the establishment of 23 graduate assistantships over a five-year period.

"This program opens new opportunities for Nebraskans to move to the leading edge in information technology, while also supporting Nebraska companies and more generally the state's economic development in high technology," said Richard Edwards, UNL's senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. "This is the kind of program that helps build a high-income, high-opportunity future for the state, but of course this program, like others, requires adequate funding to be successful."

Development of a doctoral program in information technology was one of the early charges given to the University of Nebraska Peter Kiewit Institute, which opened on UNO's south campus in 1999. The institute is home to the UNL College of Engineering and Technology and the UNO College of Information Science and Technology.

For more information about the joint program, call Sincovec at 472-2401 or Hodgson at 554-2262.

Kim Hachiya of University Communications contributed to this story.