Grant Abstracts 2008   California Institute of Technology James J. Bock Pasadena, CA $2,300,000 2008 Based largely on recent observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), cosmologists believe that the entire observable Universe was spawned in a fraction of a second by the superluminal “inflation” of a sub-atomic volume. This paradigm presents a remarkable opportunity. Inflation produced a Cosmic Gravitational-wave Background (CGB) that may be detectable now via a faint signature imprinted in the polarization of the CMB. To do so could probe the very moment at which the Universe sprang into existence and explore energies far higher than will ever be achieved in terrestrial accelerators. This project will search for the signature of the CGB due to inflation using a set of novel, microwave polarimeters sited at the South Pole. A prototype experiment now in its third year of operation at the South Pole has proven the methodology. A full set of more capable polarimeters is proposed to be built. This technique will allow a search for the CGB with sensitivity exceeding that targeted by the Task Force on CMB Research for a future orbital mission, at least a decade earlier and at ~ 1% of the cost of an orbital mission. A detection of the signature of the CGB would be an historic achievement for both cosmology and high-energy physics.   Princeton University A. J. Stew Smith Princeton, NJ $1,300,000 2008 This grant proposes to develop a novel microscope to probe and manipulate quantum dynamics in real time on the nanometer scale and use it to identify the physical processes that limit the implementation of materials in quantum computing applications. Scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs) have evolved into powerful tools that can image and manipulate single atoms and are now routinely used to unveil phenomena at the nanoscale. These instruments operate by mapping on the microscopic scale interaction between a sharp probe and the sample. However, the most advanced nanoscale microscopes developed to date cannot probe quantum dynamics in real time, as they operate at low frequencies and are insensitive to phenomena that occur on faster timescales. Development of a high-frequency STM will enable a new generation of experimentation in which quantum dynamics can be measured and manipulated on an unprecedented scale. This instrument will allow researchers to characterize directly processes that limit the use of materials for quantum computing applications and to correlate these limitations with the nanoscale properties of the materials. Beyond quantum computing, the proposed microscope breaks new ground in the measurement of properties of matter and should create opportunities for discovery across a wide range of areas.   University of California, Santa Cruz Holger Schmidt Santa Cruz, CA $1,500,000 2008 What if costly, high-end microscopes could be replaced with tiny chips that detect, analyze, and manipulate single biomolecules, in a spirit similar to the replacement of bulky vacuum tubes with planar transistors that created the integrated circuit? Single biomolecules and macromolecular complexes are nanoscale objects, and to build, manipulate and observe objects of this size requires specialized tools. A team at the University of California, Santa Cruz will obtain cutting-edge, versatile nanofabrication equipment and bring together an interdisciplinary group of leading experts and their students spanning the range from device engineering to molecular biology. They will define nanoscale features on integrated optofluidic chips in order to optimize them for single particle studies. These chips will then be the basis for comprehensive studies of properties and functions of some of the basic building blocks of life: ribonucleic acids (RNA) and their macromolecular complexes.   University of Hawaii at Manoa Ralf I. Kaiser Honolulu, HI $1,200,000 2008 The overall goal of this project is to comprehend the chemical evolution of the Solar System. This will be achieved through an understanding of the formation of carbon-, hydrogen-, oxygen-, and nitrogen-bearing (CHON) molecules in ices of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) by reproducing the space environment in a specially designed experimental setup. KBOs are small planetary bodies orbiting the sun beyond the planet Neptune, and are considered as the most primitive objects in the Solar System. A study of KBOs is important because they resemble natural “time capsules” at a frozen stage before life developed on Earth. The methodology is based on a comparison of the molecules formed in the experiments with the current composition of KBOs; such an approach provides the potential to reconstruct the composition of icy Solar System bodies at the time of their formation billions of years ago. The significance of this project is that it will elucidate the origin of biologically relevant molecules and help unravel the chemical evolution of the Solar System. Since KBOs are believed to be the main reservoir of short-period comets, which are considered as “delivery systems” of biologically important molecules to the early Earth, the project will also bring a better understanding of how life might have emerged on Earth.   University of Maine Paul Andrew Mayewski Orono, ME $1,600,000 2008 Ice cores provide highly robust, sub-annually resolved, multi-millennial reconstructions of past chemical and physical climate essential to understanding climate change because instrumented climate records barely cover the last 100 years and significantly longer perspective is required to assess current and predict future climate. Researchers at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute have longstanding experience in ice core research and have contributed to major climate science realizations. The team has a vision for the future of climate research that includes: completion of a global array of ice cores before many of these records are destroyed by warming; development of interactive climate data search engines utilizing ice core records as a framework; and, through the proposed work, cutting edge innovations. These innovations require purchase of a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma spectrometer and associated development of an innovative cold stage sampling system to allow unprecedented increase in sample resolution, efficiency, and through flow for over 40 elements. Support is also sought to develop radically new, in situ ice core measuring capability utilizing novel thin film chemical sensors embedded in an ice core drill, and a “disposable” GPS system for remote sampling in extremely hazardous environments needed for ice core site reconnaissance and interpretation.   University of New Mexico Jean-Claude Diels Albuquerque, NM $1,100,000 2008 The quest to visualize ever smaller biological structures has driven scientific progress. Spatial resolution and contrast, essential factors in imaging, are limited by the wavelength and the intensity noise, respectively. While shorter wavelengths (X-rays, electron beams) can improve resolution and fluorescent labeling can increase contrast, these benefits come at the expense of harmful radiation and invasive sample preparation. The project team proposes an optical instrument based on making differential measurements on the phase of two circulating ultrashort laser pulses in order to achieve unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. The underlying physical principles, established in prior research programs at UNM, are the conversion of phase (or distance) as small as a billionth (10-9) of a wavelength inside a laser to a measurable frequency and the discovery that the injection of even one trillionth (10-12) of one pulse into the other is sufficient to change measurably the frequency of the latter. Equipped with mechanical nano-positioners, the complete instrument, which will be called the Scanning Phase Intracavity Nanoscope (SPIN), will provide three-dimensional images of biological objects with a spatial resolution of 1 nm. To be housed in the Cancer Research and Treatment Center Microscopy Facility, SPIN has the potential to serve the biomedical community by opening a new window to the intra-cellular nanoworld.