Chemical Research Funding

Dr. Feng Yang received NASA and US Navy STTR awards totaling $1.4 million to study the cost effective synthesis of flexible polyurethane foams for such applications as cryogenic insulation, fireproofing, energy absorption and other aerospace applications.  STTR (Small business Technology TRansfer) research contracts promote technology transfer and cooperative research and development between nonprofit research institutions, government agencies and small businesses. 

Dr. Andy Knight has been awarded a 5-year, $963,555 contract from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC.  Along with collaborators at the Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering at NRL, Dr. Knight and his research group at FIT will study the cooperative effects of organic and inorganic coordination complexes on the catalytic degradation of organophosphorus compounds.  These compounds are of interest because of their similarities to a number of phosphorus containing chemical warfare agents such as Sarin and VX.

Drs. Mary Helen McCay (Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering) and Kurt Winkelmann received a $300,000 grant from the Florida Hydrogen Initiative to develop a curriculum to help Florida Tech students learn about hydrogen as an alternative energy source.  Dr. Winkelmann's work will focus on introducing hydrogen-themed experiments into the General Chemistry II laboratory and measure their impact on students' learning.

The National Science Foundation awarded Drs. Monica Baloga and Kurt Winkelmann a 2-year, $186,000 award to develop new research-inspired experiment modules for the general chemistry laboratory.  The modules will be based on research performed at Florida Tech in the areas of lightning, environmental remediation, nanotechnology, and composite materials.

Dr. Rudi Wehmschulte received a 3-year, $400,000 NSF grant to synthesize and study novel, highly reactive cationic aluminum and gallium compounds. These materials can be applied as catalysts for important processes, including C-H and C-F activation, arene functionalization, and carbonylation and hydrogenation. An outreach program to nearby colleges and high schools is also planned.

Dr. Virender Sharma received a 3-year, $70,000 NSF award to investigate the electrochemical synthesis of ferrate(VI) salts (Na2FeO4 and K2FeO4). This project is a collaboration with Dr. K. Bouzek of the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague. This research program seeks to reveal the mechanism of the processes occurring at the surfaces of silicon and carbidic cast iron anode materials. One practical goal is to enhance the formation of solid ferrate(VI) in electrochemical solution mixtures. Understanding the synthesis of ferrate(VI) is important because ferrate(VI) can be used as an environmentally friendly oxidant, disinfectant, and coagulant for treatment of emerging pollutants and toxins in aquatic systems. Other potential applications include industrial "green" processes for synthesizing environmentally more benign products. This international collaboration will facilitate scientific and educational interaction between US and Czech Republic research groups.

The National Science Foundation awarded Drs. Jim Brenner (chemical engineering), Kurt Winkelmann and Joel Olson a $200,000 grant to develop a laboratory-intensive curriculum for a nanotechnology minor.  Besides enrolling in lecture and laboratory courses, students will participate in undergraduate research and a high school outreach program.

Dr. Joshua Rokach, Florida Tech Chemistry Professor and Director of the Claude Pepper Institute, has been awarded a four-year $1.3 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will allow Dr. Rokach to continue his studies on chronic inflammatory diseases.

Interested in Chemistry?

Are you interested in studying chemistry as a graduate student or undergraduate chemistry major? If so, please contact Dr. Mark Novak by email or phone (321-674-7735) to find out more about our undergraduate program. Future graduate students should contact Dr. Mike Babich by email or phone (321-674-8046). We look forward to talking with you.

Also check out our faculty webpages, research facilities and information for prospective students.

A Special Welcome to Our Alumni

Thank to all our alumni for your continued support.  You can keep up with old friends and network with other chemistry alumni at our Facebook Group.  You can also read our current and previous Alumni Newsletters to find our what's going on in our department.

Our alumni and friends have been very generous to our department.  This is illustrated by their financial support for the Clayton J. Baum Award.  Click on the image to the right to read more about how your giving can help us reward the outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements of our chemistry students and at the same time recognize one of the department's most admired faculty members.

Thanks to our generous alumni, Florida Tech's 50th anniversary capital campaign was a huge sucess, surpassing our $50 million goal by almost $10 million.  We hope that our alumni continue to support chemistry excellence at Florida Tech.  Please contact Michelle Verkooy (321-674-6852), Office of Advancement, to learn more about supporting our growing department.

 

Department News

Grad Students Receive Florida Academy of Sciences Awards 

Four graduate students received awards for their presentations at the 75th Annual Meeting of the Florida Academy of Sciences held March 11-12 at Florida Tech.  Awards were given to:

  • Mr. Yannick Ouerdraogo, Outstanding Graduate Student Poster Paper (Environmental and Chemical Sciences) for his poster entitled "A two-step stereoselective synthesis of a fish pheromone from cortexolone"
  • Mr. Nelson Akaighe, Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Paper (Environmental and Chemical Sciences) for his talk entitled "Suwannee River humic acid-mediated silver nanoparticle formation under environmentally relevant conditions"
  • Mr. Richard Comitz, Honorable Mention for a Graduate Student Poster Paper (Environmental and Chemical Sciences) for his poster entitled "Development of photolabile caged neural transmitters"
  • Mr. Peter Cohen, Oustanding Graduate Student Oral Paper (Science Teaching) for his talk entitled "Results of integrating research-inspired laboratory modules in the general chemistry curriculum"

The Chemistry Department is proud of all our award winning graduate students.  Congratulations!

Professor Pioneers New Product to Purify Polluted Water

06/21/2010

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology chemistry professor Virender K. Sharma is making new strides in solving an old problem—safely and efficiently cleaning polluted water. Sharma has invented a liquid cleaning product based on ferrate, a supercharged iron molecule.

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Grant Funds Virtual Mars Exploration at Florida Tech

09/24/2009

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Florida Space Grant Consortium has provided $12,426 to associate professor of chemistry Kurt Winkelmann to create interactive virtual laboratory experiments at Florida Institute of Technology. In this project, Winkelmann will create two such experiments based on NASA missions to Mars.

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Florida Tech Research Professor Receives $850,000 NIH Grant for Chronic Inflammatory Disease Studies

09/16/2009

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Joshua Rokach, Florida Tech chemistry professor and director of the university’s Claude Pepper Institute, has been awarded a two-year research grant of $850,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant, from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute, will allow Rokach to continue his studies on chronic inflammatory diseases and, especially on the design and synthesis of antagonists to the 5-oxo-ETE receptor.

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