Research Recent Grants and Contracts (Updated April, 2008)

NSF Award Given to Study the “Effects of Sulfur on Fuel Nitrogen Conversion During Combustion”

Dr. Paul Marshall, a UNT chemistry Regents Professor, has been granted $280,000 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the effects of sulfur on fuel nitrogen conversion during combustion. The focus of the proposed study “is on aspects likely to influence NOx chemistry in flames and exhaust gases, and extends some of the concepts previously explored under” a formerly awarded NSF grant. Graduate students and members of the Texas Academy of Math and Science will be involved in research efforts. Our office wishes Dr. Marshall congratulations and good luck on his new project.

National Science Foundation Awards Physics Professor Grant

UNT physics professor, Zhibing Hu, has been awarded $309,000 by the National Science Foundation “to create new monodisperse, thermo-responsive polymer colloids based on poly(ethylene glycol) derivative polymers, joining in these well-known colloids of polystyrene, PMMA, and PNIPAM.” Hopefully this project will “lead to a new class of polymer colloids that have thermal responsive properties and monodisperse size distribution.” Dr. Hu plans to work with graduate and undergraduate students, providing them with a unique learning opportunity. Congratulations, Dr. Hu, and good luck!

UNT Mathematics Professor Receives NSF Award

Dr. Anne Shepler, an Associate Professor in Mathematics, was recently awarded $152,999 by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Shelper will be working to “develop a theory of deformations expanding that for graded Hecke algebras…[and] creat[ing] new techniques by blending methods from invariant theory, combinatorics, homological algebra, and representation theory.” This is an exciting opportunity to address “several open questions and conjectures connecting a variety of mathematical fields and grows from the exploding interest the mathematical community shows in graded Hecke algebras.” Congratulations, Dr. Shelper and good luck on your research!