Dr. Robert L. Green
By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded an $800,000 grant to Alabama State University to conduct research in chemistry and material sciences during a three-year project, titled “Collaboration to Introduce Neutron Diffraction to Enhance Research Education by increasing Lab Access" (CINDERELA). The project’s goal is to develop new materials and to train University students in neutron diffraction as an analytical technique to confirm the structure of synthesized solids.
Dr. Robert L. Green, chairman of ASU’s Department of Physical and Forensic Sciences, will serve as the principal investigator for the grant and as the scientific expert on the project’s experimental technique.
"This award is a part of the Department of Energy’s Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) program, which is focused on building research capacity at academic institutions, like Alabama State, which have been historically underrepresented in the realm of science," Green said.
He explained that ASU and similar institutions that were awarded funding had to be classified as non-R1 Minority Serving Institutions, or as an Emerging Research Institution and partner with a DOE national laboratory or scientific user facility.
"Alabama State’s award includes a partnership with Dr. Thomas Watkins at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide access to its facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee," said Green. "Oak Ridge's spallation neutron source produces neutrons with an accelerator-based system and is one of the sites across the U.S. that provides neutron sources necessary to conduct neutron diffraction."
The project will involve ASU student-faculty partnerships that can leverage additional collaborations with the DOE national laboratory facilities to conduct groundbreaking research.
ASU STUDENT INTERNS TO BENEFIT
The award provides for eight Alabama State University summer internship opportunities, as well as paid research experiences during the academic year over the program's three-year cycle.
"Undergraduate researchers involved in this grant will benefit by becoming more marketable for jobs, and it will also give them an advantage when applying to internships and graduate programs. Helping our students is an important part of our program," Green commented.
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
ASU’s cutting-edge research within this study will focus on the development of novel materials for energy transfer.
Work on the project will include another noted ASU scientist, Dr. Gulnaz T. Javan, coordinator of the University’s Forensic Biology program and a national expert in the study of death-related medical topics and issues.
“I am excited that our undergraduate and graduate Chemistry and Forensic Science students will be able to further their research capabilities alongside ASU’s Physical and Forensic Science faculty members as a result of this DOE award," Javan said. "Our forensic program, under Dr. Green’s supervision, has evolved to be one of the top programs to graduate accomplished students every year."