[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Vicki SarajediniGalaxy Gazing:
 Astronomer Receives CAREER Award
When Halley's Comet made its most recent trip through the night sky in 1986, Assistant Professor of Astronomy Vicki Sarajedini, then just in high school, proudly set up her Sears, Roebuck & Co. telescope--paid for with money earned doing odd jobs around her parent's dairy farm in rural Ohio--and invited the entire neighborhood to come out and take a look at the highly anticipated celestial object. As a recent winner of a National Science Foundation CAREER grant, Sarajedini plans to use part of her $480,000 award to purchase a portable planetarium to share with the Gainesville community.

In her spare time, Sarajedini will present planetarium shows to local schools and civic groups, teaching children how to look at stars and constellations. Her own research focuses on galaxies billions of light years away, invisible to the naked eye and undetectable by most telescopes on Earth. Using images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Sarajedini is examining "active" galaxies, which have a super-massive black hole in their center millions of times larger than the sun.

"There are black holes in our own galaxy that are on the order of the mass of our sun, caused by the remnants of a dying star," she says. "But we are not sure how these super-massive black holes that wind up in the center of these galaxies form." During the next five years, Sarajedini will look at thousands of galaxies and determine whether or not their central luminosity has changed over time. "What we are wondering is how these galaxies fit into the whole galaxy evolution scenario," she says. "I want to know how this stage fits into every galaxy's life, and ultimately, our own galaxy."

Sarajedini came to UF in 2001, after completing post-doctoral fellowships at Wesleyan University and the University of California's Lick Observatory. She received her PhD in astronomy in 1997 from the University of Arizona and her MS in astronomy from Yale University in 1992, where she met husband and fellow UF astronomer Ata Sarajedini, who also received a CAREER award in 2001. The Sarajedini's are among seven UF astronomy professors who have won the award in the past six years.

"No other astronomy department in the US has achieved this, as far as I have heard," says Department Chair Stan Dermott. "Since only the top 10 percent of young tenure-track faculty in the United States get CAREER awards, we can safely say that we are hiring some of the best new faculty in the nation."

Other astronomy faculty to receive CAREER awards in recent years are: Elizabeth Lada, Richard Elston, Fred Hamann, Steve Eikenberry and Jonathan Williams.

--Buffy Lockette

Grants through the Division of Sponsored Research

piechart

Grant Awards for March and April 2004 by Department
(click for larger image)

March 2004 Total: $3,192,825
BURNS A F ANT UF FOUNDATION $8,995 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
OLIVER SMITH A R ANT DEPT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS $52,381 DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT IN FLORIDA: DATABASE DEVELOPMENT
WARREN M W ANT MULTIPLE SPONSORS $6,870 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
WARREN M W ANT MULTIPLE SPONSORS $5,370 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
DERMOTT S F AST NASA $115,179 ORIGINS AND DYNAMICS OF INTERPLANETARY DUST PARTICLES
DERMOTT S F AST UF FOUNDATION $2,047 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
EIKENBERRY S S AST ASSN OF UNIV FOR RES IN ASTRON $0 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF THE GEMINI NEAR INFRARED MULTI-OBJECT SPECTROGRAPH (FLAMINGOS 2)
BOWES G E BOT MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION $1,620 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
BOWES G E BOT UF FOUNDATION $13,668 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
BENNER S A CHE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA $46,747 EVOLUTIONARY BIOINFORMATICS: MANAGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS
DURAN R S CHE US DEPT OF ENERGY CHICAGO OPERATIONS OFFICE $110,640 SYNTHESIS, SURFACE ASSEMBLY, AND X-RAY INVESTIGATION OF AMPHIPHILIC STAR COPOLYMERS
DURAN R S; SCOTT M J CHE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $100,000 THE US/FRANCE REU SITE IN CHE
DURAN R S; SMITH B W CHE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $60,125 AN REU SITE IN CHE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
KATRITZKY A R CHE EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY $13,922 JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM
KATRITZKY A R CHE EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY $10,581 JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM (AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT #57821)
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $250 SOFTWARE RESEARCH SUPPORT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $1,773 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $272 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $837 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $353 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $4,959 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $1,861 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
MARTIN C R CHE BROWN UNIVERSITY $108,165 DIRECT NANOSCALE CONVERSION OF BIO-MOLECULAR SIGNALS INTO ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
MARTIN C R CHE UNIV OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES $67,461 3-D ARCHITECTURES FRO ELECTROCHEMICAL POWER SOURCES
REYNOLDS J R CHE EIC LABORATORIES INC $36,362 CONTROLLING ABSORPTIVE STATES IN PHOTOVOLTAIC POLYMERS
REYNOLDS J R CHE EIC LABORATORIES INC $84,110 DONOR AND ACCEPTOR SYSTEMS FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC
REYNOLDS J R CHE SRI INTERNATIONAL $32,103 SPRAYABLE ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMERS AND EC DEVICES
TAN W CHE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY $90,000 GENOMIC APPROACHES TO NEURONAL DIVERSITY AND PLASTICITY
VALA M T CHE NASA $229,310 LABORATORY STUDIES OF GAS-PHASE POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDRO- CARBON CATIONS AND FRAGMENTS
HARNSBERGER J D; WAYLAND R CSD NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH $95,334 PHONETIC AND PROSODIC EFFECTS INPERCEPTUAL ASSIMILATION
SAPIENZA C M CSD UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA $7,000 RESPIRATORY MUSCLE TRAINING IN PATIENTS W/ PARKINSON'S DISEASE
CLARK III I G ENG UF FOUNDATION $13,347 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
SMITH N J GEOG UF FOUNDATION $2,047 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
HODELL D A; PERFIT M R GEOL NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $187,216 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: ORIGIN, TIMING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MILLENNIAL-SCALE ICE-RAFTED DETRITUS (IRD) EVENTS
MUELLER P A GEOL UF FOUNDATION $10,601 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
BULLIVANT K GSL UF FOUNDATION $5,797 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP
TURNER E R HIS UF FOUNDATION $10,230 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
NELSON M LIN UF FOUNDATION $3,750 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
ALLADI K MAT UF FOUNDATION $8,428 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
TIEP P H MAT NATL SECURITY AGENCY $28,148 RESEARCH IN GROUP THEORY AND APPLICATIONS
AVERY P R PHY FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIV $33,022 AN INTER-REGIONAL CENTER FOR HIGH ENERGY PHY RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
AVERY P R PHY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $424,347 ITR/AP: AN INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL-DATA GRID LABORATORY FOR DATA INTENSIVE SCIENCE
AVERY P R PHY S E UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ASSN $4,691 DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE SURA-SCOOP MODELING GRID
HAGEN S J PHY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $158,318 CAREER: UNDERSTANDING PROTEIN FOLDING DYNAMICS IN THE ULTRA FAST LIMIT
HEBARD A F PHY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $154,045 MAGNETIC PHENOMENA IN ULTRA-THIN FILMS AND AT THIN-FILM INTERFACES
LEE Y PHY FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NAT HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LAB $79,332 EFFECT OF STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS ON DIRTY SUPERFLUID 3HE
STANTON C J PHY UF FOUNDATION $10,601 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
STEWART G R PHY US DEPT OF ENERGY $138,728 NOVEL STRONGLY CORRELATED (PRIMARILY F-) ELECTRON BEHAVIOR
BERG W K PSY AM PSYCHOLOGICAL FDTN $75,000 A LONGITUDINAL AND MICRO GENETIC STUDY OF PROBLEM SOLVING IN GIFTED CHILDREN
DIEHL M K; SEMEGON A M PSY NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIA - NATL INSTITUTE ON AGING $29,144 SELF-REPRESENTATIONS AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
DIEHL M K; SEMEGON A M PSY NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIA - NATL INSTITUTE ON AGING $804 SELF-REPRESENTATIONS AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY
HEESACKER M PSY UF FOUNDATION $13,668 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
SPECTOR A C PSY NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDCD - DEAFNESS AND COMM DISORD $388,092 FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF PERIPHERAL GUSTATORY SYSTEM
PERERA A D QTP US AIR FORCE $10,000 FROM CC/MBPT TO AB INITIO DFT: A CELEBRATION OF 30 YEARS OF RESEARCH IN THE BARLETT GROUP
TRICKEY S B QTP US ARMY $15,000 SUPPLEMENTAL REQUEST TO THE 2004 SANIBEL SYMPOSIUM
NICHOLS G C RLL UF FOUNDATION $2,047 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
RADELET M L SOC UF FOUNDATION $5,115 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
CASELLA G STA UF FOUNDATION $5,702 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP
EMMEL T C ZOO MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION $27,000 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
EVANS D H ZOO UF FOUNDATION $7,162 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
HOLT R D ZOO UNIV OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER $33,148 WITHIN-HOST POPULATION DYNAMICS OF RETROVIRUS VACCINE

April 2004 Total: $4,347,983
BERNARD H ANT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $4,750 REU SUPPLEMENT: MICHELE PERRY
FALSETTI A B ANT MULTIPLE SOURCES $545 FEES FOR SERVICES INCLUDING FORENSIC WORKSHOPS AND CASE ANALYSIS
WARREN M W ANT MULTIPLE SPONSORS $1,708 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
EIKENBERRY S S AST ASSN OF UNIV FOR RES IN ASTRON $1,342,817 DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF THE GEMINI NEAR INFRARED MULTI-OBJECT SPECTROGRAPH (FLAMINGOS 2)
GRAHAM A W AST SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INST $51,943 MEASUREMENTS OF CORE SIZES IN LUMINOUS EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES
SARAJEDINI A AST DARTMOUTH COLLEGE $19,902 THE FORMATION OF THE MILKY WAY AND ITS SATELLITE GALAXIES
SARAJEDINI V L AST SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INST $33,496 AGN IN THE GOODS FIELDS: A STUDY OF SHORT-TERM VARIABILITY, SPECTROSCOPY AND MORPHOLOGY
BOWES G E BOT MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION $1,999 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
HARMON A C BOT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $7,000 ARABIDOPSIS 2010: DEVELOPING PARADIGMS FOR FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PROTEIN KINASE AND PHOSPHOPOTEINS USING THE CDPK
MACK M C BOT MELLON FOUNDATION, ANDREW W $552 THE ROLE OF PLANT TRAITS IN ECOSYSTEM NUTRIENT CYCLING
MACK M C; WATKINS J E BOT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $11,970 DISSERTATION RESEARCH: COMPARATIVE FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY OF THE GAMETOPHYTES AND SAPROPHYTES OF TROPICAL FERNS
SCHUUR E A BOT MELLON FOUNDATION, ANDREW W $759 THE SENSITIVITY OF TROPICAL FOREST ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS TO PRECIPITATION
BENNER S A CHE NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIGMS - GENERAL MEDICAL SCI $105,050 NON-STANDARD BASE PAIRS AS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH TOOLS
KATRITZKY A R CHE EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY $14,479 JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM (AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO AGREEMENT #57821)
KATRITZKY A R CHE EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY $5,012 JOINT RESEARCH INTO CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF PETROLEUM
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $4,024 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $109 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $272 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE MULTIPLE COMPANIES $493 MILES COMPOUND CONTRACT
KATRITZKY A R CHE NIPPON SODA COMPANY LTD $176,667 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AGREEMENT FOR NISSO FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH AND NISSO INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
KATRITZKY A R CHE RENOVIS $133,897 SYNTHESIS OF COMPOUNDS AND REAGENTS
KLEIMAN V D CHE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $476,518 CAREER: ULTRAFAST STUDIES OF EXCITON TRANSPORT IN CONJUGATED POLYMERS
MARTIN C R; STEWART J D CHE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $55,249 NIRT: FOR BIOMEDICAL NANOTUBE TECHNOLOGY
REYNOLDS J R CHE SRI INTERNATIONAL $39,966 SPRAYABLE ELECTROCHROMIC POLYMERS AND EC DEVICES
REYNOLDS J R; TANNER D B CHE UNIV OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES $62,241 ELECTROCHROMIC ADAPTIVE INFRARED CAMOUFLAGE
RICHARDSON D E CHE UF FOUNDATION $19,154 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
SCHANZE K S CHE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $136,766 PHOTOPHY OF METAL-ORGANIC AND ORGANOMETALLIC PI- CONJUGATED OLIGOMERS (SUPPLEMENT)
SHRIVASTAV R CSD NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDCD - DEAFNESS AND COMM DISORD $226,734 MEASURING BREATHINESS WITH AN AUDITORY PROCESSING MODEL
GOLDMAN A C; SOUTHWORTH J GEOG NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $106,519 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CONSEQUENCES OF PARKS FOR LAND USE, LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION, AND BIODIVERSITY IN EAST AFRICA
SMITH N J GEOG MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION $310 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS
MARTIN J B GEOL DEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECT $6,698 HYDROGEOL OF O'LENO STATE PARK AND NITRATE LOADING FROM THE RIVER RISE: A FIRST MAGNITUDE SPRING
KAAN E LIN DUKE UNIVERSITY $34,600 COGNITIVE AND NEURAL MECHANISMS OF SYNTACTIC REANALYSIS
GOPALAKRISHNAN J MAT MEDTRONIC INC $13,127 FINITE ELEMENT COMPUTER MODELING AND ANALYSIS SERVICES
MARTCHEVA M MAT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $43,269 EFFECTS OF HOST AGE-STRUCTURE ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES
BUCHLER J R PHY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $105,764 STUDY OF THE PULSATIONS OF THE SEMI REGULAR VARIABLE STARS
HILL S O PHY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $116,917 CAREER: MAGNETIC RESONANCE - FROM MATERIALS RESEARCH TO SCIENCE EDUCATION
LEE Y PHY SLOAN FOUNDATION, ALFRED P $40,000 2004 ALFRED P. SLOAN RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
SULLIVAN N S PHY FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY NAT HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LAB $280,659 THE NATIONAL HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LABORATORY
TANNER D B PHY UNIV OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES $19,655 ELECTROCHROMIC ADAPTIVE INFRARED CAMOUFLAGE
BRANCH M N PSY NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIDA - NATL INST ON DRUG ABUSE $186,138 BEHAVIORAL DETERMINANTS OF COCAINE TOLERANCE
FISCHLER I S PSY US AIR FORCE AFOSR $196,893 ASSESSING AND IMPROVING TEAM DECISION MAKING
PERZ S G SOC NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $36,648 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SOCIO-SPATIAL PROCESSES OF ROAD EXTENSIONS AND FOREST FRAGMENTATION IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON
DANIELS M J STA NATL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NCI - NATL CANCER INSTITUTE $128,980 BAYESIAN METHODS FOR LONGITUDINAL CANCER DATA
YANG M C STA UNIV OF MIAMI $8,843 DATA ANALYSIS FOR THE DENVER AIRWAY CLEARANCE STUDY
BOLKER B M ZOO UNIV OF HAWAII MANOA $58,024 DEVELOPMENT OF A HIERARCHICAL MODEL TO ESTIMATE SEA TURTLE ROOKERY CONTRIBUTIONS TO MIXED STOCKS IN FORAGING HABITATS
EVANS D H ZOO MISCELLANEOUS DONORS UNRESTRICTED DONATION $560 MISCELLANEOUS DONORS EXPENSE ACCOUNT FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
EVANS D H ZOO NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION $15,000 PARACRINE CONTROL OF FISH GILL FUNCTION
JULIAN D; JOYNER J L ZOO US DEPT OF COMMERCE SEA GRANT PROGRAM $5,000 A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF TWO APPROACHES TO BIOMONITORING: FUNCTIONAL ASSAYS AND STRESS PROTEIN BIOMARKERS IN MERCENARIA
LILLYWHITE H B ZOO US DEPT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE $10,307 SEAHORSE KEY NESTING BIRD/SNAKE CORRELATION STUDY

This listing of grants is obtained from the Division of Sponsored Research in the Office of Research and Graduate Programs. While every effort to ensure accuracy has been made, mistakes sometimes happen. If you feel there is an error, please contact Greg Miller-House at gregmh@rgp.ufl.edu.

 

Photo:
Jane Dominguez

 [an error occurred while processing this directive]