University Times

Four Pitt faculty members have been selected to receive prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development grants.

The awardees include Karen Arndt, biological sciences; Marek Druzdzel, School of Information Sciences; Patrick Loughlin, electrical engineering, and Tara Meyer, chemistry.

NSF created the awards to help scientists and engineers simultaneously develop their contributions to education and research early in their careers.

* Arndt was selected for an award based on her work in transcription initiation in gene expression.

"As the first direct step in the complex process of gene expression, transcription initiation is subject to many levels of regulation," explained Arndt. "Proper control on transcription is essential for the normal growth and development of all organisms." The primary research goal of Arndt's laboratory is to identify the mechanisms that regulate transcription initiations by RNA polymerase II in vivo.

* Druzdzel was given an NSF grant for his research into the development of efficient approximate algorithms for probabilistic inference in Bayesian networks.

"Bayesian networks are a graphical tool," said Druzdzel, "for representing probabilistic information that are applied successfully in many practical information systems across a wide range of domains, including strategic planning of financial business operations, medical diagnostic systems and intelligent tutoring systems."

* Loughlin was selected for his work in developing and applying the theory and methods for time-varying properties, also called time-frequency analysis.

The group of which Loughlin is a part has been studying time-varying properties of postural control between healthy populations and individuals with balance impairments. His work is expected to contribute to better understanding of how humans maintain balance and how different impairments affect that process.

* Meyer's research in chemistry has focused on polymers.

"Polymers are used in the manufacture of a large variety of products ranging from CDs to clothing to automobile components," she said. "As a result, both their synthesis and their disposal have become increasingly important fields of research. The goal is to use transition catalysts to address some specific problems in this area."