{"667349":{"#nid":"667349","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Teams Awarded $15M to Design Materials Inspired by Deep Sea Fish and to Explore Attention Control ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETwo teams from Georgia Tech have been awarded a combined $15 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for basic research projects as part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. MURI seeks to fund research teams with creative and diverse solutions to complex problems and is a major part of the DoD\u2019s research portfolio.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/erturk\u0022\u003EAlper Erturk\u003C\/a\u003E (Lead PI), Carl Ring Family Chair and professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/people\/yuhang-hu\u0022\u003EYuhang Hu\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor and Woodruff Faculty Fellow in the Woodruff School and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, were awarded $7.5 million for their project, Bio\u003Cspan lang=\u0022ZH-CN\u0022\u003E\u2010\u003C\/span\u003EInspired Material Architectures for Deep Sea (BIMADS). \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/randall-w-engle\u0022\u003ERandall Engle\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Psychology\u003C\/a\u003E, was awarded the same amount for his project titled Understanding and Building Overall Cognitive Capability Through Attention Control.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EErturk and Hu\u2019s interdisciplinary project will explore the fundamental science behind the biological characteristics that allow deep sea fish to adapt and survive in high pressure ocean environments. They will then translate those findings to engineer bioinspired materials needed to realize the Navy\u2019s advanced capabilities in deep sea environments.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cIn the deep ocean, marine organisms have evolved to thrive in high pressure environments, and adapt to pressure changes while remaining functional,\u201d Erturk said. \u201cOur goal for this project is to discover, test, and translate biological mechanisms into synthetic materials and structures that can dynamically adapt to high pressures in the ocean.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESpecifically, the researchers will test and explore the origins of the biological mechanisms (both molecular and macroscopic) that underlie the ability for deep sea snailfish to adapt to high pressures, pressure changes, and pressure differentials across material interfaces. Using findings from the biological studies, the researchers will design synthetic materials and structures that will then be evaluated in high pressure chambers. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cKnowledge gained from these studies will provide insight toward the design of structures spanning from atmospheric dive suits to robotic fish for the deep ocean,\u201d Hu said. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBIMADS brings together experts in marine biology, bioengineering, biomimetic materials, chemistry, mechanochemistry and multiphysics chemomechanical modeling, hydrogel synthesis, biohybrid material fabrication, and the design, mechanics, and dynamics of architected structures. In addition to Erturk and Hu, the team also includes Anna Balazs and Lance Davidson from the University of Pittsburgh, John Costello from Providence College, Shashank Priya from the University of Minnesota, and Andrew Sarles from the University of Tennessee. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAttention Control in Naval Training\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EEngle\u2019s project will explore the brain\u2019s mechanisms of attention control and investigate methods to potentially improve it or reduce its decline.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cWe want to better understand the role that controlling attention and individual differences in that ability has in real-world, complex tasks such as flying a plane, driving a car, or even studying for a physics test,\u201d Engle said. \u201cWe expect this work will help the Navy identify job trainees who are best able to attend to complex tasks, and also help to mitigate the effects of fatigue and mind wandering common to those tasks.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAccording to Engle, the Navy trains about a thousand air traffic control professionals each year and spends over $100,000 per candidate. But nearly a quarter of candidates fail training, leading to significant financial waste. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EEngle\u2019s work with air traffic control trainees showed that current evaluations used to select candidates for training only predicts a small percentage of success. Engle found that, by using his measures of ability to control attention in evaluations, the Navy could more than double predictive success in candidate training. In addition, researchers found that Engle\u2019s measures appeared to have less adverse impact and bias against women and minority candidates.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EEngle\u2019s collaborative research team includes researchers from MIT, the University of Chicago, Purdue University, and Michigan State University. Each team member is studying a different aspect of attention control.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Two teams from Georgia Tech have been awarded a combined $15 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for basic research projects as part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETwo teams from Georgia Tech have been awarded a combined $15 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for basic research projects as part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. MURI seeks to fund research teams with creative and diverse solutions to complex problems and is a major part of the DoD\u2019s research portfolio.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Two teams from Georgia Tech have been awarded a combined $15 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for basic research projects as part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. "}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2023-04-14 14:54:41","changed_gmt":"2023-04-14 14:58:04","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-04-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-04-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"594266":{"id":"594266","type":"image","title":"Randy Engle","body":null,"created":"1502311700","gmt_created":"2017-08-09 20:48:20","changed":"1681484266","gmt_changed":"2023-04-14 14:57:46","alt":"Randy Engle","file":{"fid":"226481","name":"Randy\u0027s picture (002).jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Randy%27s%20picture%20%28002%29.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Randy%27s%20picture%20%28002%29.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":449429,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Randy%27s%20picture%20%28002%29.jpg?itok=dDjfpaIE"}},"670549":{"id":"670549","type":"image","title":"Randall Engle, professor in the School of Psychology;\u00a0Alper Erturk, Carl Ring Family Chair and professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; and Yuhang Hu, associate professor in the Woodruff School and the School of Chemical and B","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERandall Engle, professor in the School of Psychology;\u0026nbsp;Alper Erturk, Carl Ring Family Chair and professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; and Yuhang Hu, associate professor in the Woodruff School and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1681484114","gmt_created":"2023-04-14 14:55:14","changed":"1681484114","gmt_changed":"2023-04-14 14:55:14","alt":"Randall Engle, professor in the School of Psychology;\u00a0Alper Erturk, Carl Ring Family Chair and professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; and Yuhang Hu, associate professor in the Woodruff School and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering","file":{"fid":"253430","name":"MURI.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/14\/MURI.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/04\/14\/MURI.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":80612,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/04\/14\/MURI.jpg?itok=kJw9bfY_"}}},"media_ids":["594266","670549"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192253","name":"cos-neuro"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:catherine.barzler@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECatherine Barzler,\u003C\/a\u003E Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["catherine.barzler@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}