| NSF Org: |
CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 5, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 10, 2014 |
| Award Number: | 1438584 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Ron Joslin
rjoslin@nsf.gov (703)292-7030 CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | January 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $98,758.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $98,758.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1050 STEWART ST. LAS CRUCES NM US 88003 (575)646-1590 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
NM US 88003-8001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | FD-Fluid Dynamics |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
This is a small equipment proposal to purchase a rheometer (Discovery Series HR-2). Obtaining this instrument will advance emerging and established research at New Mexico State University (NMSU). The availability of a high-end instrument that can give accurate measurements for fluids that are more complex than water (e.g., polymers, pastes, biological fluids, suspensions etc.) will foster a rheology-centered community among the materials engineering research strengths at NMSU, and form the core of a multidisciplinary "Viscoelastic Measurement Laboratory?. Using the instrument will also support a number of research faculty who are working between the disciplines of fluid dynamics of complex fluids, chemistry, biological sciences, and engineering. NMSU is a Hispanic-serving Institution; therefore, the number of underrepresented minorities in STEM is quite large. Upon installing the instrument for use in research, the co-PIs will implement educational activities for undergraduates and graduate students with particular engagement of underrepresented minorities. The rheometer will be used in a variety of undergraduate and graduate classes. The equipment will also be used to provide technical workshops for graduate students through the NMSU NIH RISE program, reach out to the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, and to improve the interaction of faculty members with local industries in food processing, petrochemicals, refinery, plastics, and composites manufacturing - all of which impact regional economy.
The departments to be directly influenced include chemical engineering, food science and technology, chemistry and biochemistry, and biology. The research projects to be studied with the rheometer include (i) the dynamics of polymer chains during asymmetric phase separation, which is controlled by viscoelasticity, (ii) rheology of cells sorted through flow cytometry, (iii) the rheology of healthy and cancerous laboratory-cultured cells, (iv) rheology of mechanosensory organs and engineered neural cultures, and (v) interfacial rheology of a new emulsifier for food products derived from cotton seed meal.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The main goal of this small equipment proposal was to acquire a rheometer to advance emerging and established research at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, NM. The science of rheology deals with the behavior of soft matter (liquids, colloids, pastes, polymers, foams, gels, biological fluids, biological tissues, etc.) under deformation. To study the rheological behavior of soft matter, rheometers have been developed, which can apply different modes of deformation and detect the force, or vice versa.
The availability of a high-end rheometer that can give accurate measurements for soft matter fostered a rheology-centered community among the faculty members in different departments at NMSU. The instrument also supported a number of researchers who are working between the disciplines of fluid dynamics, chemical engineering, polymer science, civil engineering, chemistry, biological sciences, and food science. In addition, collaborations have been enhanced among researchers in different departments at NMSU and between NMSU and other national institutes. The rheometer has been used in 2 graduate-level theses, 11 conference papers, 4 invited talks, 2 intellectual properties, and 3 journal papers (under review) so far, which will increase as the rheometer is used by more researchers at NMSU and beyond.
NMSU is the land grant university for the State of New Mexico. The student population on the Las Cruces campus is 49 percent Hispanic; other minorities that make up the student body include Native Americans, Asians, and African-Americans. Forbes ranks NMSU 13th in the nation among the best colleges for helping minorities to succeed in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Active teaching and research in rheology has encouraged undergrad students to continue their education in graduate level.
Upon installing the instrument, the co-PIs implemented educational activities for undergraduates and graduate students with particular engagement of underrepresented minorities. The rheometer was incorporated in the curriculum of two courses in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering (CHME): (1) Instrumentation & Transport Phenomena Laboratory II (CHME 324L) class in Spring 2016 and 2017 semesters, and (2) Polymer Science and Engineering course (CHME 464, CHME 564) in Spring 2017. Additionally, the PI developed and delivered a technical workshop on Introduction to Rheology and Viscoelasticity through RISE program (funded by National Institutes of Health, NIH).
Two outreach activities were done for middle school students and general public. In each of these outreaches, 4 experiments on different aspects of rheology were performed by the PI and his research group for a duration of about 4 hr.
Last Modified: 05/08/2018
Modified by: Reza Foudazi
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