Cizdziel, J., primary investigator
Plant/soil microbe interactions and plant health in modern cropping systems
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service
Award Amount: $48,733.00
Glyphosate, better known as Roundup, is the mostly widely used herbicide in the world. Field studies are being performed to assess the impact of glyphosate on plant health (disease and nutrition) and productivity. Understanding how these interactions vary with cropping systems is important in the development of future technologies designed to improve plant-pest pressure and ensure economic competitiveness.
Dass, A., primary investigator
CAREER: Monodisperse Noble Metal Alloy Nanoparticles
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $650,000.00
Professor Dass and his students are studying gold-metal (Cu, Ag, Pd) alloy nanoparticles (< 3 nm, < 500 atoms). The chemical and physical properties of these nanomolecules are unique and different from bulk materials. This research will facilitate the understanding of these alloys in this size regime where quantum effects play important roles. These unusual materials have potential applications in catalysis, electronics/plasmonics, and solar cells as well as medical diagnostics.
High School Outreach Program in Chemistry and Biochemistry Summer 2012
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $8,580.00
Dr. Dass’s CAREER Award has a required educational component. Thus, as part of this educational program, Professor Dass and his students are developing a K-12 outreach program at North Panola high school that involves high school and undergraduate students in his nanomaterial research. These programs are designed to encourage the interest of younger and under-represented students in science careers.
International Travel Grant – Year 4 – EPSCoR
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $12,169.00
High School Summer Outreach for 2013-2014
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $5,000.00
CompBio-CompChem Collaborative MS EPSCoR Seed Grant Proposal
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $25,527.00
Seed grant to foster collaboration in nanomaterial research between Mississippi universities participating in the EPSCoR Program
Delcamp, J., primary investigator
Development of NIR Dyes with Novel Heterocyclic Structures for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells: A Combined Experimental, Computational Approach
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $53,000.00
Grant to develop novel organic building blocks for solar energy applications. The project will focus on concise, cost-effective solutions to current challenges in dye-sensitized solar cell technology. The building blocks have been judiciously selected for in order to collect sunlight in the near-IR region, which is commonly wasted. Computational analysis of these novel dyes will allow the prediction of future high profile synthetic targets.
Hammer, N., primary investigator
REU Site: Ole Miss Physical Chemistry Summer Research Program REU
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $300,000.00
This NSF-sponsored Ole Miss Physical chemistry Research Program will host ten students for a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) May 28th – August 6th, 2014. These students will have completed their freshman year of college at schools outside of Ole Miss and will work on a research project under the direction of UM faculty advisors. They will also participate in mini-courses and social activities with Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty and students. The director of the program is Dr. Nathan Hammer and the co-director is Dr. Gregory Tschumper. Other mentors include Drs. Steve Davis, Randy Wadkins, Robert Doerksen, and Jared Delcamp.
NSF EPSCoR Community College Internship Supplement (P. Correro)
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $1,430.00
Grant supplement to foster research internships at UM with community college students.
NSF EPSCoR Student Exchange UGA Supplement
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $1,496.00
Grant supplement to foster student exchange between UM and UGA
Advanced Training and Fostering Collaborations with the Biomolecules and Spectroscopy Research Group at Villetaneuse and Orsay, France (EPSCoR International Exchange)
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $3,647.00
Grant supplement to foster international collaboration with French scientists
Hussey, C., primary investigator
SISGR: An Integrated Basic Research Program for Advanced Nuclear Energy Separations Systems Based on Ionic Liquids
Sponsor: Brookhaven National Lab
Award Amount: $71,991.00
Department of Energy collaborative grant between Brookhaven National Lab; Argonne National Lab; Oak Ridge National Lab; University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and UM. The goals of this project are to study the use of ionic liquids as solvents for the processing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The UM component takes advantage of our research groups expertise in the electrochemistry of ionic liquids and molten salts. Work at UM is directed toward the application of electrochemical technology to separate actinides, lanthanides, and other deadly fission products such as 141Cs and 90Sr that are produced in significant amounts during the burn-up of nuclear reactor fuel.
Alternative Plating Processes for Metal Electroplating Based on Ionic Liquids
Sponsor: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Award Amount: $107,632.00
Department of Defense collaborative grant between Oak Ridge National Lab and UM. Aluminum and its alloys cannot be plated from aqueous solutions because hydrogen is generated before aluminum compounds can be reduced to the metal. This project is to develop electrochemical-based methods for the portable plating of corrosion protective aluminum coatings from non-aqueous, highly conductive aluminum-based ionic liquid solvents. These platings are important for defense applications, e.g., corrosion protection of aircraft landing gear and radar equipment for naval vessels.
Mattern, D., primary investigator
Design, Synthesis, and Applications of a Uniquely Multi-functionalized Small Organoboron Molecule for Organic Synthesis
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $241,398.00
The deceptively simple small molecule diaminoboryl acetonitrile now joins the ranks of useful boron reagents in organic synthesis. By carefully manipulating the reagent’s ionic character, we can convert aldehydes into a series of alkenes having the Z configuration that is difficult to obtain by other means. This work has also led to the development of an acetonitrile reagent that can convert epoxides into 2-aryl allylic alcohols, another arrangement that is ordinarily difficult to obtain. Having such transformations available can facilitate the production of pharmaceuticals and other useful chemicals by synthetic chemists.
Pedigo, S., primary investigator
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need – Chemistry
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Education
Award Amount: $133,266.00
“This program provides fellowships, through academic departments to assist graduate students with excellent records who demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course study at the institution in a field designated as an area of national need. Grants are awarded to programs and institutions to sustain and enhance the capacity for teaching and research in areas of national need.” (from the GAANN website).
Tschumper, G., primary investigator
Modeling and Simulation of Complex Systems
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $755,946.00
Prof. Greg Tschumper is the Computational Chemistry (CompChem) focus area leader for the state-wide NSF EPSCoR award in MS. Experimental and theoretical chemists from UM, MSU, JSU and MC are collaborating to understand a wide range of complex chemical systems including the discovery of nanomaterials for new sensor technologies, drug delivery, and solar cells. Since September 2009, the EPSCoR program has supported 8 faculty at UM and enabled more than 20 undergraduates to participate in summer research programs with these faculty. Furthermore, an average of 6 graduate students have been supported during EACH semester of the award.
Modeling and Simulation of Complex Systems
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $718,603.00
NSF EPSCoR Supplement: Request to Support Graduate Student Training Opportunity
Sponsor: Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $4,819.00
Grant supplement to foster training opportunities for graduate students at UM.
MRI: Acquisition of a GPC Cluster for Computational Science in MIssissippi
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Award Amount: $300,000.00
With this award, Professor Gregory Tschumper and colleagues Brian Hopkins and Robert Doerksen from UM have acquired a GPU-based high performance computing (HPC) cluster to investigate chemical reactions and the properties of chemicals and materials using theoretical models and programs. This resource will be operated by the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research (MCSR) on the UM campus, but will be available for research and course work to students and faculty at all eight public institutions of higher learning in Mississippi. The scientific computations performed on the resource will be used, often along with experimental data, to model and better understand many types of complex chemical phenomena.