Four Brown professors are among the recipients of this year's grants from the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council, the group announced Jan. 25.
The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council, or STAC, awarded grants to nine projects representing 24 researchers, including four Brown professors - Gregory Crawford, professor of engineering and dean of the engineering division; Laurie Heller, assistant professor of research and lecturer of cognitive and linguistic sciences; Michael Black, professor of computer science; and Wolfgang Peti, assistant professor of medical science, according to the council's Web site. The projects that won grants covered a broad range of scientific topics, from medicine to the environment.
STAC was created in a 2005 executive order by Gov. Donald Carcieri to advance collaborative research between academia and the public and private sectors. There were 49 proposals submitted this year, said Melissa Withers, director of communications and market development for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Each is evaluated on scientific merit, level of collaboration and potential to receive further funding. The proposals go through intensive scientific peer review processes to ensure their merit.
This type of collaborative research is strategic for Rhode Island because of its compact geography, Withers said. The state's "unique ecosystem" allows for the sharing of resources, equipment and personnel that isn't possible in larger areas, she said.
The program has proven its success, Withers said. A team of scientists researching testicular cancer at Brown and Rhode Island College received a grant from the council in 2007. They later received a follow-up grant of $1.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue their work.
Crawford and his team from Rhode Island Hospital are working on a device that can accurately and almost instantly diagnose anemia without a blood test by shining light on the inner lower eyelid. The reflection can be used to measure hemoglobin levels. Crawford said he thinks STAC recognized the project because it's applicable to many areas of medicine. It will help identify malnutrition in Third World countries and in poor areas of the United States, he said. Further, anemia signals the presence of other serious conditions, including AIDS, malaria and internal bleeding, Crawford said.
Heller will be working with Kipp Bradford, chief technology officer of hearing aid company Bionica Corp., to develop new hearing aid technologies with their STAC grant.
"Current hearing aids do not work acceptably well," Heller said. Bradford said that the team would like to remove background noise that users of hearing aids may experience. Heller said she sees potential for the project to "lay the groundwork for Rhode Island to be the place that supports the biggest hearing aid research."
Black is partnered with the Rhode Island State Police in working to extract "high-quality evidence from low-quality video relevant for crime investigations," according to the council's Web site.
Peti and his collaborator from the University of Rhode Island will bring a new isothermal titration calorimeter to Rhode Island. The machine will help researchers study proteins, according to the council's Web site.
