61st Annual Report on Research 2016

Since its inception in 1995, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholars program has awarded over 2800 college scholarships to minority students pursuing degrees and careers in the chemical sciences. The PRF has made grants of $50,000 to the ACS Scholars Program since 2007. During the 2015-2016 academic year the PRF funds were assigned to 10 students majoring in and planning careers in the chemical sciences and conducting undergraduate research related to petroleum field and fossil fuels. The record shows that being selected by the American Chemical Society for this scholarship award not only reduces the students’ financial burden but it also boosts their confidence resulting in higher academic achievement. The PRF grant helps these students progress toward their bachelor’s degrees and beyond.

The following 10 Scholars benefitted from the PRF grant during academic year 2015-2016 and are either currently in good standing and renewed in the ACS Scholars Program, or graduated during or at the end of the 2015-2016 academic year.

1. Taylor Bank, Washington University in St. Louis, Chemistry. Conducted a Synthetic Organic Chemistry research with Dr. David E. Bergbreiter at the Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, titled: “Designing Polymer Supports to Minimize Leaching of Phase Separable Catalysts” The goal of this project was to use PEG bound dyes as catalyst surrogates to study the leaching of PEG bound materials into the nonpolar phase of different polar/nonpolar solvent systems. Taylor will graduate in May 2017.

2. Andrew Beahan, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering. Conducted a Polymer Science research with Dr. Roxanne Spencer at the Princeton International School for Mathematics and Science (PRISMS), titled: “Piezoelectric polymers for energy generation”. Piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride thin films were created with the intention to integrate into a system for energy generation, using mesoporous PVDF thin films and custom circuitry to attempt this task. The films conducted electricity and generated small amounts of energy as measured on a multimeter. PVDF thin films and circuitry can be improved upon with further research, and applied in renewable energy. Andrew will graduate in June 2020.

3. Isamar Garrido, The City College of New York, Chemical Engineering:  Conducted a Surface Science research with Professor Jose Rodriguez, Chemistry at Brookhaven National Lab, Upton, NY, titled: “A fundamental study and characterization of the surface structure of a Cs/TiO2 (110) model catalyst” , focusing on imaging a rutile Titania(TiO2) crystal under an oxygen environment using Scanning tunneling Microscopy (STM) in combination with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) studied how the structure, catalytic activity and selectivity of TiO2(110) is affected by the addition of various compounds, such as Cesium(Cs). Hypothesized that the addition of Cs enhances the overall activity of the TiO2(110) crystal. Isamar will graduate in June 2018.

4. Jackson Hernandez, State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, Chemistry.  Conducted a Synthetic Organic Chemistry research project with Dr. Nancy Totah, at Syracuse University, titled: “Synthesis of 2-[(trimethylsilyl) methyl]-2-propen-1-ol Derivatives”. The main objective was to devise a new, safer and cheaper, mechanism for the synthesis of 2-[(trimethylsilyl) methyl]-2-propen-1-ol derivatives. Jackson will graduate in June 2018.

5. Jade Johnson, San Diego State University, Chemistry. Conducted a Material Science research with Dr. Edward Rosenberg, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of Montana, titled: “Investigations on the surface structure of magnetite silica-polyamine composite nano particles for metal ion capture and recovery”. The goal of the project was to modify the material by synthesizing a magnetic core (Fe3O4), then coating that core with the SPC, and further functionalizing that resulting material to capture copper and cobalt ions.  Characterized the final product and conducted experiments to determine its capacity to absorb copper and cobalt. Jade will graduate in May 2018

6. Karla Morrissey, University of Arkansas, Chemical Engineering and Mathematics: research with Dr. Greg Thoma from the Chemical Engineering department at UofA looking at conducting a life cycle assessment for sweet sorghum in the production of ethanol. Karla will graduate in May 2017.

7. Karla Murrieta, University of Arizona, Chemical Engineering: research with Dr. Ogden in obtaining the highest percentage of ethanol from the distillation of an ethanol-water mixture by designing and conducting a distillation column, integrating knowledge and skills from a unit operations course while following safety practices. Karla graduated in May 2016.

8. Samantha Medina, University of Tennessee, Material Science & Engineering. Conducted a Material Science research with Professor Gabriel Goenaga, titled: “Electrochemical Evaluation of Cu Fe Based Catalyst for Fuel Cell Applications”. The objective of this investigation was to determine the synthesis parameters to achieve optimal catalytic activity for pyrolyzed Cu and Fe carbon-supported catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode in low temperature fuel cells. Synthesized catalysts by mixing the metal salt, nitrogen source, and carbon black support using a mortar and pestle, followed by pyrolysis under nitrogen gas. Samantha will graduate in May 2017.

9. Constance Smylie, University of West Florida, Biochemistry. Conducted an Inorganic Chemistry research with Professor Timothy A. Royappa, titled: “Structural Characterization of Biometallic Nanoparticles Precursor Complexes”. The focus of the project was to isolate and structurally characterized the precursor molecule that the Millstone group at the University of Pittsburgh proposed was formed when synthesizing both gold and copper bimetallic nanoparticles. Constance will graduate in May 2019.

10. Rachel Wilson, University of Pennsylvania, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. Conducted a Chemical Engineering research with Dr. Ray Gorte, which consisted on the formation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). The cell is comprised of at least three layers, an anode and a cathode, which act as the electrodes, and an electrolyte, which is the dense layer in between.  The advantages to using these devices in order to
produce energy include: their high efficiency, they are environmentally friendly, no precious metals are needed, and a lot of flexibility in type of fuel to use. Though the fuel cell devices are typically very small, they can provide a very high power output while being very efficient. Rachel will graduate in May 2019.