Biodiversity of Deep Sea Mollusks

Supported by the National Science Foundation, biologists Ron Etter and Michael Rex are conducting the first molecular genetic study of population differentiation and speciation in the deep sea--the largest and least known ecosystem on Earth.

Their research is providing important clues about how life evolved in the deep ocean. It also has implications for conservation of biodiversity in an environment that is targeted for massive international exploitation for petroleum exploration, mining, and waste disposal.

Biodiversity of Fragmented Rainforests

Tropical deforestation and forest fragmentation raise many global environmental concerns, including potential loss of biodiversity as a result of habitat alteration. Biologist Kamal Bawa directs a multifaceted, interdisciplinary research project focused on these changes to improve the conservation of tropical forests by understanding the biological and socioeconomic reasons for their decline.

Another major goal is to identify the effects of habitat degradation on the biodiversity of forest trees. Bawa and molecular geneticist Richard Kesseli are approaching this problem by using genetic markers to study genetic diversity and patterns of gene flow in contiguous and fragmented Costa Rican forests.

Chemical Sensors to Study the Coastal Ocean

Real-time chemical sensors are being developed by environmentalist Robert Chen to study the dynamic and highly variable coastal ocean. To date, Chen and his students have developed a shipboard fluorescence spectroscopy system that uses a fiber optic sensor that can measure directly from seawater every 10 seconds.

Sensitive, real-time geochemical measurements of coastal waters have myriad environmental applications. Chen and his students are now analyzing the largest data set ever taken of two important contaminants: measurements in Boston Harbor of pyrene, an EPA priority pollutant, and in the Mid-Atlantic Bight of total dissolved organic carbon, a large, critical, and relatively unknown pool of carbon that may affect the magnitude of global warming.

Lasers to Integrate Photonics with Electronics

Supported in part by the US Army Natick Labs, physicist Gopal Rao uses ultrafast laser pulse techniques to study nonlinear optical properties of organic materialst. These properties are then exploited in diverse applications. Some porphyrin materials studied by Rao were found to be good candidates for laser eye protection.

The US Army is using Rao's work to build a prototype for a tank periscope that will protect soldiers' eyes from laser damage. These new techniques developed with biochemical molecules hold promise for applications in medical imaging, such as sharpening the edges of a diffuse X-ray or CT scan. Two patents have recently been granted for applications developed in Rao's laboratory.