Acquisition of a 400 MHz NMR Instrumentation at NCAT: Integrative Research and Educational Efforts
Abstract
The purpose of this proposal is to acquire a new 400 MHz NMR instrument at North Carolina A&T State University to replace an aging instrument which has reached the end of its useful life-time after 22 years of service. With its new features, the requested 400 MHz NMR instrument will enhance our collaborative model of research and education in the areas of material science, energetic materials, solid state materials for sensor application, and chemical and biological materials. The team collaborating in this proposal will use the NMR instrument for research and educational efforts using a wide array of materials including solution and solid systems with different physical properties and potential applications. As a multi-purpose instrument lab, the NMR facility supports a wide spectrum of instructional and research activities in the university s chemistry program. There are sixteen research groups collaborating for the NMR instrument acquisition from Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Food Science departments as well as JSNN collaborators. One of the main benefits of the acquisition of the NMR instrument is that it will provide the opportunity for material scientists to work in a team with biologists and engineers on a common problem and accomplish common scientific and engineering goals. This will enhance the success rate of the project and henceforth its deliverables. It will also inspire a cultural change in our approaches towards specific research and education problems. Coming from an HBCU, this project can be considered as a broad plan to boost the research and educational capabilities of underrepresented African Americans in the areas of life sciences, biotechnology , neuroscience, and materials science . Improving the students training in these important areas of education and research will enhance our student s competitiveness in pursuing graduate studies in STEM areas. Students training in seminal research projects is also one of the main contributions of the proposal. Several of the proposed activities in this proposal are aligned with DoD missions - several research topics discussed in this proposal are aligned with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research-Chemistry and Biological Science Team s goals (AFOSR/RTB2 ). Here, study of the unusual properties and behaviors of polymeric and organic materials and their inorganic hybrids are targeted through a better understanding of their chemistry, physics and processing in addition to theoretical chemistry program that can be utilized as predictive tools in the design of new materials and improving processes pertinent to the U.S. Air Force mission.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1710484
Entities
People
- Zerihun Assefa
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
- Office of the Secretary of Defense