{"608066":{"#nid":"608066","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hom, Ito, and Moffat are 2018 Cullen-Peck Fellows","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Sciences has named Jennifer Hom, Takamitsu Ito, and Scott Moffat as the 2018 recipients of the Cullen-Peck Faculty Fellowship Awards in the College of Sciences. The awards recognize innovative research by faculty at the associate professor or advanced assistant professor level. The goal is to help recipients take their research programs in new directions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe fellowships are made possible by a generous gift to the College of Sciences from alumni Frank H. Cullen (B.S. in Mathematics with Honors 1973, M.S. in Operations Research 1975, Ph.D. Engineering 1984) and Libby Peck (B.S. in Applied Mathematics 1975, M.S. in Industrial Engineering 1976).\u0026nbsp;The alumni couple wish to recognize and support faculty development in the College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We continue to be grateful for the generosity of alumni who encourage our faculty to take intellectual risks in their research,\u0026rdquo; says College of Sciences Dean and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sutherlandchair.cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESutherland Chair\u003C\/a\u003E Paul M. Goldbart. \u0026ldquo;The Cullen-Peck fellowships help ensure that our research is pushing the frontiers of knowledge. Congratulations to the latest Cullen-Peck fellows.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKnot Theory\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~jhom6\/\u0022\u003EJennifer C. Hom\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E is an associate professor in the School of Mathematics. The award recognizes her outstanding research in knot theory, which has led to fundamental contributions to the study of knots and development of powerful tools in topology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKnots can be conceived as loops of strings with ends glued together. Their study is a beautiful subject, central to understanding low-dimensional space, as well as some modern trends in physics.\u0026nbsp; Hom\u0026rsquo;s work centers on knots in three-dimensional space. She has enriched the field by introducing deep new ideas.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nA much-studied question asks whether a knot can bound a disk in four-dimensional space in certain nice ways. Such knots were previously known. But Hom was able to find a huge new family of such knots, inspiring a flurry of activity in the use of Heegaard-Floer theory to study such objects.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe Heegard-Floer theory\u0026nbsp;is a much-studied technique that revolutionized low-dimensional topology. Yet, Hom found new subtle features, which she formalized as the epsilon invariant. The epsilon invariant is a number associated to each knot. By using the properties of these numbers, Hom proved that an infinite number of knots could bound certain disks in four-dimensional space and not others.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u200bHer work inspired leaders in the field, including the developers of Heegaard-Floer theory themselves, to pursue \u200bnew avenues of research\u200b. Among other things, this work gives a new proof that in a sense there is more than one way to do calculus in four dimensions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe epsilon invariant is now part of the Heegard-Floer theory; it is taught in graduate courses around the world; it is considered one of the top five spectacular advances in the past decade. A mark of top-notch mathematics is that it inspires other people and takes a life of its own. Hom\u0026rsquo;s epsilon invariant belongs to this category.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It\u0026#39;s a great honor to receive this award,\u0026rdquo; Hom says. \u0026ldquo;I look forward to using this fellowship to help develop new techniques for studying knots and low-dimensional spaces.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBiogeochemical Cycling and Ocean Deoxygenation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/ito-dr-taka\u0022\u003ETakamitsu \u0026ldquo;Taka\u0026rdquo; Ito\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E is an associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. The Cullen-Peck award recognizes his outstanding research in biogeochemical cycling and ocean deoxygenation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIto uses models to better understand the interactions of physical, chemical, and biological processes that regulate the cycling of chemical elements in the ocean. He develops theories of the partitioning of dissolved gases between the ocean and the atmosphere. He is renowned for recent work on the distribution of dissolved oxygen in the subsurface ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the 2017 paper \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/2017GL073613\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;The Upper Ocean Oxygen Trend: 1958-2015,\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/a\u003E Ito analyzed historical, global datasets of dissolved oxygen. He found that the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water \u0026ndash; an important measure of ocean health \u0026ndash; has been declining for more than 20 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis paper garnered media attention for \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/591290\u0022\u003Ethe implications of declining oxygen in the ocean\u003C\/a\u003E: It could affect the habitat of marine organisms worldwide. It could lead to more frequent \u0026ldquo;hypoxic events,\u0026rdquo; which kill or displace populations of fish, crabs, and other organisms.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFurthermore, the analysis showed that ocean oxygen is falling more rapidly than anticipated from the rise in water temperature due to climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIto has also been exploring the previously under-appreciated role of polluted aerosols in altering ocean biogeochemistry. In a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/ngeo2717\u0022\u003E2016 paper in \u003Cem\u003ENature Geoscience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, he and his collaborators showed that air pollution can deliver additional iron and reactive nitrogen to the ocean and affect oxygen levels.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe transport of highly insoluble iron to the ocean and its availability for biological productivity are not well understood. Ito\u0026rsquo;s modelling approach will help translate into new insights the oceanic iron data from the large observational program \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.geotraces.org\/\u0022\u003EGEOTRACES\u003C\/a\u003E. His research could reveal how iron cycling affects ocean productivity, carbon uptake, and oxygen concentrations over various time scales.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECognitive Neuroscience of Aging\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.moffatlab.gatech.edu\/lab-members\/scott-moffat\/\u0022\u003EScott Moffat\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E is an associate professor in the School of Psychology. His selection as Cullen-Peck fellow is based on his outstanding research in the cognitive neuroscience of aging.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith aging comes cognitive decline, which affect mental faculties including memory and the ability to navigate. Moffat has embarked on research addressing metabolism and aging. In particular, he studies the role of diabetes in cognitive aging.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPeripheral insulin crosses the blood\u0026ndash;brain barrier to modulate memory processes. Insulin resistance in the periphery goes with insulin resistance in the brain and memory impairment. The hope is to associate variations in peripheral insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity to cognitive and neural endpoints.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, type 2 diabetes is a public health crisis in the U.S. and many developed countries. The disease is a risk factor for other serious health conditions, such as brain and cognitive dysfunction, as well as Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s disease. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, Moffat is examining the association of glucose and insulin metabolism with cognitive and brain function.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research is still in its early days, but already Moffat and his colleagues are realizing remarkable results. For example, they\u0026rsquo;ve found that individuals with higher fasting glucose levels or insulin insensitivity \u0026ndash; even within the non-diabetes range \u0026ndash; have poorer performance in episodic and working memories. They also have thinner gray matter in key prefrontal cortical areas.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe implications for prediabetes are profound. Prediabetes is prevalent among adults; the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention reports that majority of all adults older than 65 have prediabetes. Discovering the impact of prediabetes on cognition and cognitive decline could bring about interventions, pharmaceutical or otherwise.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The College of Sciences selects the associate professors for innovative research"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJennifer Hom, Takamitsu Ito, and Scott Moffat are the 2018 recipients of Cullen-Peck fellowships. The awards recognize innovative research by faculty at the associate professor or advanced assistant professor level.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The College of Sciences selects the associate professors for innovative research."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2018-07-25 17:34:09","changed_gmt":"2018-08-10 14:23:23","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"608065":{"id":"608065","type":"image","title":"2018 Cullen-Peck Fellows","body":null,"created":"1532539541","gmt_created":"2018-07-25 17:25:41","changed":"1532539541","gmt_changed":"2018-07-25 17:25:41","alt":"","file":{"fid":"231926","name":"2018 CoS Cullen-Peck Fellows.V2.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20CoS%20Cullen-Peck%20Fellows.V2_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20CoS%20Cullen-Peck%20Fellows.V2_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":596148,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2018%20CoS%20Cullen-Peck%20Fellows.V2_0.png?itok=_aJBVqSE"}},"607464":{"id":"607464","type":"image","title":"Jennifer Hom","body":null,"created":"1530556151","gmt_created":"2018-07-02 18:29:11","changed":"1530556151","gmt_changed":"2018-07-02 18:29:11","alt":"","file":{"fid":"231717","name":"2018 Jennifer Hom.sq250.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20Jennifer%20Hom.sq250.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20Jennifer%20Hom.sq250.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":37223,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2018%20Jennifer%20Hom.sq250.jpg?itok=M2CxTKsl"}},"608067":{"id":"608067","type":"image","title":"Takamitsu Ito","body":null,"created":"1532540094","gmt_created":"2018-07-25 17:34:54","changed":"1532540094","gmt_changed":"2018-07-25 17:34:54","alt":"","file":{"fid":"231927","name":"Taka.Ito_.sq250.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Taka.Ito_.sq250_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Taka.Ito_.sq250_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":65267,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Taka.Ito_.sq250_0.jpg?itok=LB9_7dHt"}},"608068":{"id":"608068","type":"image","title":"Scott Moffat","body":null,"created":"1532540130","gmt_created":"2018-07-25 17:35:30","changed":"1532540130","gmt_changed":"2018-07-25 17:35:30","alt":"","file":{"fid":"231928","name":"2018 moffat photo color.sq250.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20moffat%20photo%20color.sq250_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20moffat%20photo%20color.sq250_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":121487,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2018%20moffat%20photo%20color.sq250_0.png?itok=p5VwOPf2"}}},"media_ids":["608065","607464","608067","608068"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/596036","title":"Welcoming New Colleagues, Celebrating Award Recipients "},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/574241","title":"Celebrating Academic Excellence and Welcoming New Colleagues "},{"url":"https:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/566451","title":"College of Sciences Names 2016 Cullen-Peck Fellows"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"EAS"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"178549","name":"2018 Cullen-Peck Fellows"},{"id":"173647","name":"_for_math_site_"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}