News

Virus Transmission in Pumas
Pumas, while widespread across the U.S., are solitary animals, and there is little known about how diseases can move through a population. MSI PI Meggan Craft (associate professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior) led a recent study that investigated the transmission of a common virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, using DNA analysis. The 10-year study examined populations in two regions, one where hunting had been reinstated after a being banned for five years, and one where there was less hunting.
MSI PIs Receive Graduate and Professional Teaching Awards for 2021-22
The University of Minnesota annually recognizes a select group of faculty members for their outstanding contributions to graduate and/or professional education. This honor is awarded to exceptional candidates nominated by their colleges in their quest to identify excellence in graduate and/or professional education.  Two MSI PIs have received awards for 2021-22.
Advances in Nanoelectronics
Research by MSI PI Bethanie Stadler (professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering) was featured recently in a story by Technology Commercialization. Professor Stadler has invented magnetic nanowires that could someday be used to thaw cryogenically preserved organs in such a way that the organs aren’t damaged by thawing.
MSI PIs Receive 2022-24 McKnight Land-Grant Professorships
Four MSI PIs are among the ten faculty members who have been named as the 2022-24 McKnight Land-Grant Professors. Recipients hold the designation “McKnight Land-Grant Professor” for two years. The goal of the program is to advance the careers of assistant professors at a crucial point in their professional lives. The MSI PIs who have been honored with this award are:
Remote Sensing Data Can Help Uncover Underground Plant Processes
Research by MSI PI Jeannine Cavender-Bares (professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior) is the lead author on a study that describes using remote sensing techniques to determine underground plant and soil processes based on their aboveground traits. This has important implications for understanding how biogeochemical cycles work.
Developing Gene Therapy for Cockayne Syndrome
MSI PI Christina Pacak (assistant professor, Neurology) has received a new $1.8M grant to develop an efficient manufacturing process of a gene therapy for Cockayne Syndrome, a rare accelerated aging disorder that currently has no treatment. Professor Pacak is the PI on this project along with Dr. George Aslanidi of the Hormel Institute - University of Minnesota, Medical Research Center. The grant was awarded by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S.
March 2022 Maintenance
On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, MSI staff will perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades to various MSI systems. During this month's scheduled maintenance period, primary storage may be unavailable or in a read-only state throughout much of the day. Mesabi and Mangi front-end nodes will be unavailable some portion of the day. A global system reservation will start at 5:00 a.m. on March 2. Jobs that cannot be completed before 5:00 a.m. on March 2 will be held until after maintenance and then started once the system returns to production status. March maintenance will include:
Duo 2-Factor Authentication Coming to MSI
On March 2, 2022, after scheduled maintenance, all researchers using secure shell (ssh) to connect to MSI high-performance computing cluster Mesabi, Mangi, and (very soon) Agate will be required to use Duo 2-factor authentication. For the vast majority of our researchers at the University of Minnesota, this will require no action as you are already using Duo to access University email and other IT services.
Air Pollution Filtration
Many large Asian cities suffer with air pollution, including large amounts of particulate matter (PM2.5), which causes severe health problems. MSI PI David Pui (Regents Professor, Mechanical Engineering) and his colleagues at the Center for Filtration Research have developed towers that can scrub this pollution from the atmosphere. The towers are being tested in China and India.
MSI PIs Named Optica Fellows
Two MSI PIs from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor Steven Koester and Professor Sang-Hyun Oh, have been named Fellows of Optica (formerly The Optical Society).
MSI PIs Receive 2022 Grants From Minnesota Partnership
MSI PIs are among the researchers who have received grants from the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics. PIs head three of the five projects that received research grants for 2022.
Studying Tiny Things
Three MSI PIs who study very small things are profiled in the Fall 2021 issue of the College of Science and Engineering’s Inventing Tomorrow magazine. The PIs are:
MSI PIs Named as 2021 AAAS Fellows
Two MSI PIs, Professor Gary Muehlbauer (Agronomy and Plant Genetics) and Professor Peter Tiffin (Plant and Microbial Biology), have been named lifetime fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
MSI PI Jian-Ping Wang Named to National Academy of Inventors
MSI PI Jian-Ping Wang (Electrical and Computer Engineering; Director, Center for Spintronic Materials for Advanced Information Technologies) has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). This is the highest honor given to academic inventors and recognizes creation or facilitation of outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
February 2022 Maintenance
On Wednesday, February 2, 2022, MSI staff will perform scheduled maintenance and upgrades to various MSI systems. During this month's scheduled maintenance period, Primary Storage, Mesabi, and Mangi will be unavailable throughout much of the day. A global system reservation will start at 5:00 a.m. on February 2. Jobs that cannot be completed before 5:00 a.m. on February 2 will be held until after maintenance and then started once the system returns to production status. February maintenance will include:
3D Printing an OLED Display
In exciting new research, MSI PI Michael McAlpine (professor, Mechanical Engineering) led a team that used a 3D printer to create a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. These displays are normally produced in expensive clean-room facilities, but the team was able to create a working device by combining two different modes of printing with their custom-built printer. The OLED display is flexible and can be packaged in an encapsulating material, which gives it a wide variety of possible uses.
MSI PI Ognjen Ilic Receives Air Force Young Investigator Award
MSI PI Ognjen Ilic (assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering) has received a 2022 Air Force Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. This award supports early-career researchers who show exceptional promise in conducting creative research in science and engineering that furthers the Air Force’s mission.
Bell Museum Profiles MSI PI Andrew Simons
MSI PI Andrew Simons (professor, Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; Curator of Fishes, Bell Museum) was recently profiled in a blog post by the Bell Museum. The post features the path Professor Simons took to his current positions as a professor and curator.
Targeting Brain Stimulation for Improved Mental Function
A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota and Massachusetts General Hospital has published results from a pilot human study showing that brain functions related to self-control and mental flexibility can be improved with targeted electrical brain stimulation and artificial intelligence.
MSI PI Cari Dutcher Receives SERDP Project of the Year Award
MSI PI Cari Dutcher (associate professor, Mechanical Engineering) has received the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Project of the Year Award for Weapons Systems and Platforms. This award recognizes scientific advances and technological solutions to significant environmental and installation energy challenges.

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