College of Staten Island Awarded $2.3M
to Expand High-Tech
Research Program
New York Governor George Pataki
just announced a five-year, $2.3 million grant to the
College of Staten Island (CSI) to “bolster and expand high-tech research” as
part of a new comprehensive initiative to spur technology-based
applied research and economic development across the
state.
The grant, funded through
the College Applied Research and Technology (CART)
program of the New York State Office of Science, Technology,
and Academic Research (NYSTAR), is “yet another milestone that recognizes the scientific
research accomplishments of our college’s faculty,” noted
Marlene Springer, president of CSI.
“CSI scientists contribute to our mission of undergraduate
and graduate education while they also successfully compete
with scientists at other major research institutions
in obtaining significant research grants,” she
continued.
Over the past few years, CSI
has attracted many prominent faculty members to its
chemistry, and engineering science and physics departments
who have collectively built an interdisciplinary research
program in the area of engineered polymeric materials,
according to David Podell, CSI’s
provost and vice president for academic affairs. The
CART grant will support the establishment of the Center
for Engineered Polymeric Materials, which will further
advance the college’s research efforts in polymers
and engineered nanomaterials, which are materials one
thousand times smaller than the human hair, or one-billionth
of a meter.
Dr.
Nan-Loh Yang, a CSI chemistry professor and chair of
the CUNY Polymer Ph.D. Program, is a senior investigator
for the research initiatives of the Center. The projects
include studying a variety of nanomaterials and developing
processes to inexpensively produce nanomaterials for
commercial use.
“Basically, we will be conducting applied research
on polymers, which most people recognize as forms of
plastic and fibers,” said Dr. Yang, adding that
this research plays an integral role in the basics of
nanotechnology.
“With this important funding, we will significantly
enhance our equipment,” he continued, “and
this will benefit students by engaging them in hands-on
research and exposing them to industrial activity in
our laboratories.” Students and researchers at
the Center will be spurred on by the promise of creating
new materials, according to Dr. Yang.
These materials may then go
on and benefit society in a variety of ways, for example,
by developing batteries with a high energy density
that may power mobile phones and other consumer electronics,
new fibers to enhance commercial optical communications,
and “pollution
abatement” resins that absorb harmful pollutants
from exhausts.
“By conducting this important research, the Center
will not only explore the forefront of nano-tech research,
but will also train the next generation of scientists
by offering industry-oriented outreach programs for professionals
regarding trends and current developments in the field,” commented
President Springer.
The Center’s research
activity will be overseen by an advisory board of industry
leaders and researchers who will work with CSI scientists
to identify areas of research, supporting the overarching
goal to promote the economy of New York State through
collaborative research and development.
Last year CSI was awarded a NYSTAR grant for $2.5 million
in support of its CUNY Institute for Macromolecular Assemblies
on its Staten Island campus, which is focusing on research
in biomedical fields.#
