Block Grant 2016DNBX0145

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) under the NIJ Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program (CFDA 16.560) will support research to develop and evaluate improved methods for forensic fiber examination using fluorescence microscopy. The $412,786 award to the University of Central Florida will fund research to: (a) determine optimal wavelength ranges for discriminating between common forensic fibers, (b) reduce photobleaching of fibers during...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $599,865 Project Grant through its Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The purpose of this 3-year award is to study the photodegradation products of commercial sunscreens and other outdoor products containing ultraviolet (UV) filters. The project will evaluate changes in UV filters...

Professor Yuhuang Wang of the University of Maryland College Park will use a $488,482 National Science Foundation project grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program to control the synthesis and placement of organic color centers on single-walled carbon nanotubes. Over three years, Professor Wang and his team will covalently attach small functional groups to carbon nanotubes to create model defect color centers. They will study how these organic color centers can be generated,...

This three-year, $308,978 National Science Foundation project grant supports collaborative research between Professor José Gascón of the University of Connecticut and Professor Warren F. Beck of Michigan State University. The researchers will investigate the photophysical mechanisms cyanobacteria employ to protect themselves from excessive sunlight exposure. Specifically, they will determine how a ketocarotenoid bound to the Orange Carotenoid Protein serves as a light intensity and color sensor....

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $289,490 to the University of Delaware to develop photocatalytic optical fibers. The research aims to enable the scalable implementation of photochemical processes in industrial applications by guiding light into reactor vessels using photocatalyst-coated optical fibers. Key objectives include identifying chemical structure-property relationships for organic photoredox catalysts that can be...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems awarded a 3-year, $300,000 Project Grant to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (Georgia Tech) to conduct fundamental research on the use of novel krypton chloride excimer lamps (KrCl* excilamps) emitting UV radiation at 222 nm for the degradation and mineralization of organic micropollutants in water and wastewater. The key objectives are to: 1) measure photolysis properties of...

This Project Grant award of $700,000 from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences Program (CFDA 47.049) supports research by Professor Tolga Karsili of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) to investigate the photodegradation mechanisms of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in marine environments. The key activities under this 5-year project include using quantum chemistry and ultrafast spectroscopy to study how common CECs, such as those found in...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems awarded a $200,000 Project Grant to North Dakota State University (NDSU) to conduct collaborative research on enhanced photolysis and advanced oxidation processes using novel krypton chloride (KrCl*) excimer lamps that emit ultraviolet (UV) light at 222 nm. The objective is to systematically investigate the use of KrCl* excilamps for photolysis and UV-based advanced oxidation...

The National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry awarded the University of California, Los Angeles a $600,000 Project Grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to investigate spin, exciton, and chemical dynamics in crystalline solids for applications in quantum information science. Professor Miguel A. Garcia-Garibay and his research group will use pulsed lasers on nano-crystals of selected ketones suspended in water to detect the absorption spectra and decay...

Optical Waters, Inc. received a $255,492 National Science Foundation Project Grant under the Engineering (47.041) federal grant program. The grant funded research and development of scaling and optimizing manufacturing methods for germicidal optical fibers to prevent disease-causing biofilms in tight channels. The goal is to advance technologies that inhibit biofilm formation using fiber optic delivery of ultraviolet light. Work will be conducted in Hadley, Massachusetts over an 11-month...