Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, and Department of Chemistry awarded National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grants

MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State University professors in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES), Department of Biological Sciences, and the Department of Chemistry have received a total of two National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grants. 

“A total of two applications from a higher education institution is allowed to be submitted for MRI grants of the same track in each competition,” said Dr. Robin Q. Zhang, professor and chair of the Department of EES. “Murray State is two for two this year.”

The projects will improve infrastructure at Murray State for multidisciplinary research, training and teaching of the University’s students. Additionally, this infrastructure will allow for faculty to conduct innovative research and increase student participation in cutting edge scientific inquiry.

The first MRI grant, in the amount of $297,890, was awarded to principal investigator (PI) Dr. Bassil El Masri, associate professor in EES, along with his collaborators, Dr. Michael Flinn and Dr. Jessica Moon in the Department of Biological Sciences. This award will be used to purchase gas fluxes and analyzers to study the effects of changing climate on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in wetland and upland ecosystems. Given the climatic importance of the production and consumption of GHGs on land, this project will raise public awareness in protecting the local environment through monitoring and model development.

“The new equipment supported by this project will allow for real-time analysis of the soil-vegetation-atmosphere of GHGs exchanges including vegetation carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and methane (CH4), and soil (CO2, H2O, CH4, and nitrogen oxide (N2O),” said Dr. El Masri.

The new equipment acquired through this research will be integrated into the curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate courses, including six courses being taught by the project team across the Earth and Environmental Sciences and Biological Sciences departments, to provide enhanced training and teaching activities for more than 100 students each year.

 

The second MRI grant, in the amount of $233,633, was awarded to Dr. Kevin Miller, professor in organic and polymer chemistry, along with his collaborators, Dr. Bikram Subedi, Dr. Chris Lennon and Dr. Grace Eder. The award will be used to purchase a gel permeation chromatography (GPC) system with dynamic light scattering capabilities. 

The NSF-MRI awarded to PI Miller and his team is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Programs. The award is interdisciplinary and will support education and research activities across several departments in the Jones College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, including Chemistry, Biological Sciences and Earth and Environmental Sciences. The new instrumentation consists of a GPC unit which allows for the separation of molecules such as polymers and biomacromolecules based upon their size. A dynamic light scattering (DLS) device, also acquired as part of this award, will help elucidate changes in molecular diffusion and distributions as a functional of molecular size. Other investigations supported by this instrumentation include the separation and analysis of drug residues and other small molecules from biological tissue, environmental samples and wastewater. It also assists in analyzing molecular weight distributions of copolymers for organic photovoltaics. Students will gain hands-on experience working with the GPC/DLS system through upper-level chemistry and biology courses, as well as through research activities.

This MRI award represents the third that the Department of Chemistry has been awarded since 2014, totaling nearly $600,000, and has resulted in the most comprehensive suite of instrumentation for polymers and soft materials analyses in the region (located in the Polymer and Materials Science Lab, second floor of Jones Hall). 

“A lot of work has gone into the acquisition of each of these MRI awards,” said Miller, professor of chemistry and coordinator of the Polymer and Materials Characterization Lab. “And a great deal of thanks must be given to co-PIs Johnson (CHE), Allenbaugh (CHE), Subedi (CHE), Eder (CHE), Lennon (BIO) and Stinchcomb (EES). Without a collaborative vision for utilizing these instruments in research and educational activities across multiple groups and departments, none of the MRI applications would have been awarded.”

Instrumentation acquired from prior MRI awards continue to be utilized in research activities and across three different upper-level chemistry laboratory courses and in new materials analyses. It is anticipated that the current MRI will immediately enhance the research and education of 40-50 students each year.

For more information on the Department of EES at Murray State University, please visit murraystate.edu/ees. For more information on the Department of Chemistry at Murray State University, please visit murraystate.edu/chemistry.