Category: Research

Call for Applications: 2023 Songer Research Award for Human Health

Undergraduate and graduate chemistry students are encouraged to apply for the 2023 Songer Research Award for Human Health. Matthew Songer, (Biological Sciences ’79) and Laura Songer (Biological Sciences ’80) established these awards to stimulate and encourage opportunities for original research by current Michigan Tech students.

Students may propose an innovative medically-oriented research project in any area of human health. The best projects will demonstrate the potential to have a broad impact on improving human life. This research will be pursued in consultation with faculty members within the College of Sciences and Arts. The Songers’ gift and matching funds from the College will support two awards for undergraduate research ($4,000) and two for graduate research ($6,000), for research conducted over the Summer of 2023 and/or the following academic year.

Learn more about who is eligible to apply, how to apply, and how the funds may be used.

Submit applications as a single PDF file to the Office of the College of Sciences and Arts by 4:00 p.m. Monday, April 24, 2023. Applications may be emailed to djhemmer@mtu.edu. Any questions may be directed to David Hemmer (djhemmer@mtu.edu).

On the (Virtual) Road

Two members of Dr. Kathryn Perrine’s research group, Mikhail Trought, and Chathura de Alwis, presented at the spring Materials Research Society (MRS) meeting April 17th-23rd.

Trought presented on redox chemistry of iron oxide single-crystal surfaces using ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). de Alwis presented on probing the initial stages of iron surface corrosion using AP-XPS. Dr. Perrine presented on measuring the effects of ions on iron surface oxidation at the air/liquid/solid interface using polarization modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) and surface analysis, the research group’s current focus.

This work is supported by the NASA award number NNX15AJ20H, a Michigan Space Grant Consortium faculty seed grant, NSF MRI CHE 1725818, and the Michigan Tech 2019 Research Excellence Fund.

On the (Virtual) Road

Kathryn A. Perrine
Kathryn A. Perrine

Kathryn Perrine (Chem) presented an invited talk on electrochemical surface corrosion, “Surface Chemistry and Catalysis at Complex Interfaces using PM-IRRAS,” at the #ChemistsLive, an American Chemical Society Cross-Division Virtual Live event Friday (Sept. 25) in the Ambient Pressure Spectroscopy in Complex Chemical Environments session (Catalysis Division).

This event followed the ACS Fall 2020 virtual National Meeting where graduate students of the Perrine group, Mikhail Trought and Chathura de Alwis, also presented their research on surface oxidation.

In Print

Christina J. Welch, Priyanka D. Kadav, Jared L. Edwards, Jessica Krycia, Melanie L. Talaga, Purnima Bandyopadhyay, and Tarun K. Dam were published on September 3rd, 2020. Their paper, “A Rapid and Facile Purification Method for Glycan‐Binding Proteins and Glycoproteins” was funded by the National Science Foundation. Grant Number: 1608537. It was published on the cover of the September issue of Current Protocols in Protein Science.

New Funding

shiyue-fang-personnel

Shiyue Fang is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $490,000 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is entitled, “CAS: Long Oligodeoxynucleotides Directly from Automated De Novo Synthesis.” Yinan Yuan (CFRES) is a Co-PI on this three-year project.

New Funding

tajiri_personnel

Momoko Tajiri (Chemistry/MuSTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $33,597 research and development grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development – Michigan Craft Beer Council.

The project is entitled, “Berries & Brews: Understanding the Market and Technological Processing Opportunities of Michigan Grown Fruit in the Craft Beverage Industry”. Jenny Apriesnig (College of Business/MuSTI), Ezequiel Medici (MEEM/MuSTI), Kazuya Tajiri (MEEM/MuSTI), Lynn Mazzoleni (Chemistry/MuSTI), and Martin Thompson (Chemistry/MuSTI) are co-PIs on this 16-month project.

In Print

Graduate students Rashmi Adhikari (Chemistry), Mu Yang (Chemistry), post-doctoral fellow Nabanita Saikia (Physics), graduate students Colina Dutta (Chemistry), Wafa Alharbi (Biological Sciences), associate professor Zhiying Shan (KIP), professor Ravi Pandey (Physics), and associate professor Ashutosh Tiwari (Chemistry) published a paper in ACS Chemical Neuroscience titled “Acetylation of Aβ42 at lysine 16 disrupts amyloid formation” on March 24, 2020.