SUMMER RESEARCH TRAINING IN MEMBRANE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2008 NSF REU SITE PROGRAM at the UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
The Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering is pleased to offer this research project as part of  the 2008 summer NSF-REU Site Program administered by the Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics.  Students interested in this project are urged to contact Professor Schaefer to discover more about the project, learn what your responsibilities will be during the ten-week research training program.
Project #: 08 – 019 Faculty Supervisor/Mentor: Dale W. Schaefer, Ph.D., Professor Chemical & Materials Engineering College of Engineering Email:  dale.schaefer@uc.edu
Polymers Materials and Membranes for Molecular Sieves
General background and significance of the project: Bridging the gap between academia and industrial application this REU project seeks to develop new coating materials for flavor molecule delivery. The goal is to utilize the temperature-responsive behavior in materials to control diffusion and retention of flavor in food products. Specifically, the REU student will be researching environmentally responsive polymers that show an abrupt change in mechanical, optical, and diffusive properties with varying temperature.  These polymers have been extensively studied in drug delivery applications with little to no research in the food industry.
Brief description of proposed research and activities for the 10-week REU period: The REU student will learn basic and advanced polymer characterization methods, and laboratory techniques.  A Ph.D. student will closely supervise and instruct the REU student in polymer cross-linking and modification techniques along with characterization methods such as diffusion analysis, UV-visible spectroscopy, rheology, X-ray and neutron scattering, electron and confocal microscopy, DSC, and possibly infrared and NMR spectroscopy.  Experiments that require neutron scattering are conducted at national laboratories.
What the REU Student can gain from participating in this project: The REU student may, together with the Ph.D. student, make a visit the local industrial sponsor of the research project.  In addition, there is the possibility of for the REU student to deliver a presentation at a Cincinnati or Colorado NSF-funded MAST Center meeting.  Research results, when published, will include the REU student as a co-author.