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Three professors have received a multidisciplinary National Science Foundation (NSF) grant which will provide cutting edge technology to enhance numerous research projects focusing on the study of colloid science and complex fluids.
A $143,200 Major Research Instrumentation grant has been awarded to Steven E. Mylon, assistant professor of chemistry, and Patricia A. Darcy and James K. Ferri, assistant professors of chemical engineering. Funding will officially begin September 2006 and last for three years.
Through this collaborative effort, the professors found a common theme among their areas of specialization. Research in colloid science and complex fluids facilitates the efficient production of existing products and the scale-up of novel laboratory procedure for new products. It has important industrial and environmental links in areas as diverse as pharmaceutics, petroleum and plastics, and environmental science.
Each professor will focus on a different project in the field, but they will share the new equipment supported by this grant. The first item is a sensitive light scattering system capable of static and dynamic light scattering. A state-of-the-art system for measuring surface potentials of nanoparticles and a protein purification system will also be purchased.
Mylon’s research will look at the role of organic matter in the fate of inorganic colloidal particles of 50-100 nanometers in natural aquatic systems. Ferri will study encapsulation and controlled-delivery systems consisting of colloidal particles of the size range 100-300 nm prepared by mini-emulsion polymerization (process of binding monomer molecules together to form three-dimensional networks) and the double emulsion/solvent-evaporation technique. Darcy will investigate biocatalytic complex fluids consisting of water-in-oil mixtures containing extremophilic (unicellular organism) enzymes in which the length scale of the mesophase (i.e. the water droplet) is between 10 and 50 nm.
“It was a fun and exciting process to put this proposal together with colleagues. These interactions between Lafayette faculty members are among the most important to us. Because these proposals undergo a difficult review process, James, Patricia, and I are very pleased that our peers feel our research programs are as important as we do. We are really excited for the arrival of these instruments so we can begin our research,” Mylon says.
The professors expect that as many as eight to ten students each year will participate in research supported by this grant. Mylon says the projects are suitable for a student summer research experience or partial fulfillment of chemistry or chemical engineering honors thesis work.
“With this grant, both chemistry and chemical engineering students will have an even greater opportunity to participate in multidisciplinary research. The more opportunities like this that we can offer students, the more we will distinguish ourselves from other undergraduate institutions,” Mylon says.
Not only will the students be able to participate in the research process, but the instruments will be demonstrated and used in classes like Mylon’s PCHEM II class and Ferri’s Colloids class.
In the future, the professors hope to publish their results in appropriate peer reviewed journals and present their work at important national, regional, and local conferences.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.