Spring 2008
Faculty Profile: Dr. Qian Wang
Dr. Qian Wang was hired by leveraged SC EPSCoR/IDeA funds as part of the National Science Foundation EPSCoR 2000 Cooperative Agreement (EPS-9983444) and the National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (NIH/NCRR P20RR016461). Since joining the faculty at the University of South Carolina, he has gained significant respect in the fields of chemistry and nanotechnology.
Dr. Wang’s research is divided into four inter-connected topics: (1) chemoselective functionalization of bionanoparticles (BNPs); (2) self-assembly of BNPs towards materials development; (3) cell-recognition study with BNP-assemblies; and (4) fluorogenic reaction for protein imaging and recognition. All of these research topics point to one theme: building three-dimensional programmable scaffolds that mimic the native extracellular matrices and can be used to probe the cellular activities.
In May 2006, Dr. Qian Wang and Dr. Kris Varazo of Francis Marion University were awarded a SC EPSCoR/IDeA Collaborative Research Program (CRP) grant. In this project, they focus on forming polymeric/metallic nanoparticles and nanowires within and on plant viruses. By developing this process, improvements will be made in the ability to control the size, size distribution, and particle shape of nanoparticles and nanowires. This will extend to other fields of nanotechnology and allow researchers to produce precise nanoparticles. The turnip yellow mosaic virus and the tobacco mosaic virus prove useful to Drs. Wang and Varazo’s research because large quantities can be cultivated in a greenhouse with minimal laboratory processing. The viruses have no effect on animals and can be treated as inert organic chemicals, rather than viruses. Each virus has a crystalline structure with a very loose protein shell. This shell promotes propagation and attachment of the nanoparticles, which can then be transferred and applied to other systems.
Their collaboration has generated numerous journal articles, invited
lectures, and has provided baseline data for multiple extramural grant
submissions. The CRP has also incited important change in the research culture
at Francis Marion by including more than six undergraduate students in advanced
nanotechnology, providing mentorship by two rising scientists, and resulting in
a grant submission to the Merck-American Association for the
Advancement of Science Undergraduate Science Program. This grant will improve
undergraduate education by exposing students to scientific research and
encouraging them to matriculate to graduate programs in the sciences.
Dr. Wang
has been the recipient of several prestigious awards; most recently a National
Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award entitled
“Development of Hierarchical Plant Virus Assemblies for Probing
Cell-Matrix Interactions” (CHE-0748690). He has also been named
an Alfred Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, which provides support and
recognition to early-career scientists and scholars who establishing their
laboratories and independent research projects. The Sloan funds are more
flexible than most other extramural research project funds, allowing the fellows
to adjust research priorities as they find necessary. Dr. Wang was recently
recognized as a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, which provides support for the
research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical
sciences.
In the past two years, Dr. Wang has presented over twenty invited
lectures throughout the United States and China. In the next few months, he
will give lectures to scientists at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago,
Illinois and at the Gordon Research Conference in Bioanalytical Sensors in
Smithfield, Rhode Island. He has published over forty peer-reviewed papers or
book chapters since accepting his position at USC. His research in 2D
virus assembly was featured as the cover article for an issue of the Angewandte
Chemie, International Edition; his paper about the synthesis of 1D plant virus
based nanowires was highlighted by Nature Nanotechnology and Nanowerk, and was
amongst the top ten most accessed articles from all online versions of Chemical
Communications in July 2006. In 2007, his group’s research was highlighted by
the new supplement journal of Synlett and synthesis, SYNFORM. Dr. Wang’s
research was also featured on the March 3, 2008 cover of the journal ChemBioChem
(2008, 9, 519-523) for an article entitled “Surface Modification of Tobacco
Mosaic Virus with “Click” Chemistry.”
South Carolina Ranks High in University Spin-offs
The University of South Carolina recently was ranked 19th nationwide and 14th among public universities for the number of start-up companies created in 2006, according to a national technology-transfer survey from the Association of University Technology Managers. South Carolina was tied with the University of South Florida and with private universities Johns Hopkins, Northwestern and Cornell for the number of start-up companies created. Two of USC’s spin-off companies, CarboNix, LLC and Nitek Inc., were also South Carolina EPSCoR/IDeA SBIR Phase-0 award winners.
CarboNix, LLC was founded in 2006 by Dr. Michael Matthews in the USC
Department of Chemical Engineering and Mr. Al Quick, the chief operating
officer. Research efforts are being made to develop a novel method of near
ambient temperature sterilization, eliminating microbial spores and
environmental contaminants using compressed CO2 technology. This
sterilization technique will be used to specifically target dust mites, the
second leading cause of allergenic contaminants in the home, from nesting in
bedding and fabrics. Potential applications can be found in the hotel
industry where the ability to easily and quickly sanitize linens is extremely
important. CarboNix submitted their first Phase I application to the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH in April 2008.
Nitek, Inc. was founded in 2007 based on the research of Dr. Asif Khan in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Nitek’s newest technology focuses on developing LEDs that create UV rays for effective sterilization of air or water in a biomedical environment. By improving upon current UV LEDs, Nitek hopes to increase the lifetime of the LEDs, improve energy efficiency, and increase output production. Nitek was awarded two SBIR Phase I grants from the National Science Foundation in November 2007 (IIP-0740546 and IIP-0740621) totaling $199,775. Currently, Nitek holds several provisional patents and has already filed eight full patents. Several other patents are in progress to be filed. Dr. Khan expects to file Phase II applications in late 2008, upon the completion of each of Nitek’s Phase I grants.
“These two examples of cultivating the ideas of faculty and students in our laboratories and bringing them to the market through start-up companies involving the same faculty and students, highlight the role that a modern College of Engineering or Applied Sciences can play in the economic development of its region. We have been investing and need to continue to invest in creating the necessary infrastructure for more success stories; I am delighted to see the first returns,” states Dr. Michael Amiridis, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing.
Sustaining Investment in Thermoelectric Materials
Dr. Terry Tritt’s research team at Clemson University is busy investigating
the thermal and electrical transport properties of new and novel solid state
materials, with the specific goal of achieving more efficient thermoelectric
materials. Thermoelectric materials are extremely useful in recovering
waste heat from engine exhausts and turning heat energy into useful electrical
energy, a necessary commodity in the portable technology era.
Thermoelectric technologies will prove to be extremely important to efficient
energy production methods that supplement the demand for fossil fuels and reduce
the detrimental impact on the environment. The collection of heat energy
using thermoelectric materials could help streamline solar energy farms, making
the process more viable for broad scale implementation.
Dr. Tritt’s Department of Energy (DOE) EPSCoR Implementation award, entitled “Investigation of the Next Generation Solid State Power Conversion Materials” (DE-FG02-04ER46139), was recently renewed and will run until August 2010. As part of the second phase of funding, Dr. Tritt will focus on the development of a nationally-recognized research center of excellence in the focused areas of next generation thermoelectric materials for power conversion and refrigeration technologies. The funding will enable the hire of three new faculty members in the fields of materials synthesis, X-ray diffraction, and electrical/thermal transport, and provide Clemson the ability to purchase a spark plasma sintering system. This system will allow researchers to pass extremely large electrical currents through a sample material that is under extreme pressure, altering the densities of materials to approach the maximum theoretical density. Graduate and undergraduate students will again be significantly involved in the research projects. Collaboration with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee will allow students to garner education and training through interaction with professional scientists and sophisticated research facilities.
The efforts of the two phases of DOE Implementation Awards will make Clemson
University more competitive for major non-EPSCoR funding from the National
Science Foundation, Department of Defense, or the Department of Energy.
Significant support from the SC General Assembly and Clemson University supplements DOE’s investment in thermoelectric materials research. Dr. Tritt has initiated efforts to establish a Thermoelectric Materials Center by submitting center-type proposals to the DOE Basic Energy Sciences office, among others. Such a center would sustain the progress that Dr. Tritt and his colleagues have made for years to come, further establishing Clemson University’s international prominence in thermoelectric materials research.
Expanding Opportunities in Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate students across South Carolina will now have more opportunities to participate in research projects at Furman University and the College of Charleston. Both universities are SC INBRE network institutions and are recent recipients of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Science Education awards. Each of these institutions will sponsor programs designed to teach undergraduates the fundamentals of academic research.
Furman’s $1.2 million HHMI award will provide twenty undergraduate research fellowships for students having just completed their freshman year, and continue support through the sophomore year in the form of a 9-month research stipend. HHMI funding and a new partnership with the University of Florida will enable students to travel to sites in France and Argentina to engage in research projects led by internationally-recognized HHMI investigators. Furman also plans to connect special courses in math, physics, genetics, and bioorganic chemistry in a new interdisciplinary curriculum that includes a quantitative science concentration to promote a well-rounded understanding of the tools of math and computer science. A third component of Furman’s program will focus on outreach to the greater Greenville educational community by providing opportunities for high school students and teachers to participate in summer math and science curricular and research experiences. Dr. John Wheeler, the director of Furman’s HHMI award and INBRE award expressed Furman’s excitement at the prospect of the project, saying: “The grant will allow us to develop increased interdisciplinary programs through a host of new mechanisms and give us a new world to offer Furman students and the Greenville community.”
Furman will also host a summer research program in biology, chemistry and
psychology as a part of the SC INBRE program. As Dr. Wheeler reports, “By
the summer of 2008, 42 life science undergraduates from Furman
and other South Carolina institutions, including twelve students from five
different HBCUs, will have participated in full-time summer research experiences
on Furman’s campus funded directly funded by NIH-INBRE.” Students will
work directly with a Furman INBRE faculty member in focus areas relating to the
students’ background and interests. The primary goal for students involved
in the summer program will be the presentation of their research findings at a
regional or national meeting within the months following the award.
The College of Charleston also has exciting opportunities for undergraduates and high school students with their recent HHMI award of $1.5 million and the SC INBRE program. With the HHMI award, they plan to create “learning communities” focused on three interdisciplinary areas: computational biology, chemical biology and neuroscience. Students with similar interests will study, take classes, and live together during their first year in school. Dr. Norine Noonan, dean of the School of Sciences and Mathematics, estimates that this will be important to student retention in the sciences, stating: “We want to get students into their disciplines culturally, and we want them in an interdisciplinary science environment as soon as possible. We felt we were missing the boat by waiting until the second semester of sophomore year (to immerse them in that environment). HHMI offered us an opportunity to start at the freshman level.” The College will also use the grant to fund 27 summer research fellowships, add two science faculty members, and assist students and science teachers at the predominantly African-American Burke High School by providing funds to improve scientific laboratories.
The College of Charleston also plans to host their annual Biomedical Research Skills summer course as part of the SC INBRE program. The emphasis will be on proposal and scientific paper preparation, graduate or professional school application submission, and finding support for research. Students will present their research at both regional and national meetings. This summer program provides opportunities for undergraduates to have direct involvement in research being performed by faculty and gain a better understanding of research application and administration.
Both Furman University and the College of Charleston have made strong
institutional commitments to integrating undergraduate research into their curricula, and there have been positive
results. Of the students that received direct support
from the SC INBRE program, ten from the College of Charleston and four
from Furman have entered medical or professional school or have
enrolled in a science or math graduate program. The support of the
HHMI will only expand opportunities for undergraduates at each of these
institutions.
Congratulations
The South Carolina EPSCoR/IDeA Program would like to congratulate the following scientists for their recent achievements:
Dr. Pamela Riggs-Gelasco (College of Charleston): Granted one of seven national 2007 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar awards from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., which are designed to support the teaching and research careers of young faculty in the chemical sciences. Her research is in oxygen activation by metalloenzymes.
Dr. Xuejun Wen (Clemson University): Received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation for research in cell replacement therapy for the treatment of disease and injury.
Dr. Hans-Conrad zur Loye (University of South Carolina): Awarded a Department of Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) grant. Dr. zur Loye’s project seeks to develop lightweight, high powered capacitors for military applications.
Upcoming EPSCoR/IDeA Sponsored Events
Carolina International Symposium on Neutrino Physics
May 15-17, 2008
www.physics.sc.edu/CISNP
Charleston Nuclear Magnetic Resonance—Summer Camp 2008
May 19-22, 2008
www.musc.edu/BCMB/NMRcamp
Fourth Annual Workshop on Basic Confocal Microscopy
June 16-20, 2008
dba.med.sc.edu/price/irf/irf.htm