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CAMP Professor Anja Mueller and her group use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize the structure, molecular weight, and surface properties of hydrophilic polyesters and polycarbonates that are synthesized with enzymes using an environmentally friendly technique. This method reduces the amount of organic solvents and toxic chemicals used during polymerization. In addition enzyme polymerization may also reduce production costs. Since it increases control over the polymeric structure, the separation and purification costs are reduced. These polymers are important biomaterials, with physical properties useful for various applications. However their production so far is too expensive. Most of the hydrophilic polyesters and polyamides are biodegradable and biocompatible and therefore can be used for medical applications. Poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) is a biomaterial that has been used as absorbable sutures and as a scaffold for tissue engineering. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), the most common biomaterial, is often used for medical implants and drug delivery. It could also be useful as a material for threads and packaging due to its excellent mechanical properties, but so far its production is too expensive. Poly(hydroxybutyric acid) is an elastomeric material used for medical applications. Polyglucosamine and poly(glycolic acid) are the first polycarbonates to be synthesized by enzymes. Random and block copolymers of all of the monomers will also be synthesized by Professor Mueller and her group. The molecular weight and the structure (tacticity) are important for the physical properties of these polymers. Molecular weight will be determined by GPC and confirmed by NMR end-group analysis. End-group analysis compares the ratio of end groups to polymer 1H NMR signals. The tacticity of a polymer can also be determined by a difference in shift in 1H and 13C NMR. Three dimensional structure, mechanical properties, and energy of the surface will be determined by AFM.

For more information about Professor Mueller and her research, please call her at 315-268-4405 or send email to muellean@clarkson.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Professor William Wilcox

CAMP's Dr. William Wilcox Becomes Clarkson Distinguished Professor

CAMP Professor William Wilcox, of Clarkson University's Department of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded the title "Clarkson Distinguished Professor." The title "Clarkson Distinguished Professor" is applied to tenured professors whose accomplishments well exceed the requirements for promotion to the rank of full professor.

Professor Wilcox has been at Clarkson University since 1975, and has served as chair of the Chemical Engineering Department, Dean of the School of Engineering, founding Director of CAMP, founding Director of a NASA Center for Commercial Development of Space, and Associate Director of the International Center for Gravity Materials Science and Applications.

Professor Wilcox has more than 270 publications, has been responsible for over $19 million of external funding, and has directed 31 Ph.D. and 31 M.S. students to completion. He has served on the Editorial Board of Separation Science and Technology since 1977, and on the Executive Committee of the American Association for Crystal Growth since 1970, with 6 years of service as Vice President. He has been elected a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Professor Wilcox is currently working with Professor Liya Regel on the following projects: deposition of diamond films, materials processing by centrifugation, and measurements of the influence of trace amounts of oxygen on the surface properties of molten semiconductors. More information on their research can be found at the web site, http://www.clarkson.edu/~regel/research.htm

Vice Provost/CAMP Director S.V. Babu

CAMP Director / Vice Provost S.V. Babu Presents Dongjin Lecture in Korea

CAMP Director / Clarkson University's Vice Provost S.V. Babu was invited by the Board of Directors of the Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (KSIEC) to present the first Dongjin Lecture in Korea. Vice Provost Babu's lecture, entitled "Recent Progress and Emerging Challenges in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization," was part of the 2002 KSIEC Fall Meeting held in Ansan, Korea on November 1-2, 2002. The Lecture Series was established early in 2002 with a fund endowed by Mr. Boo-Sup Lee, President of the Society and Chairman / CEO of DongJin Semichem Industries. KSIEC is one of the leading and one of the largest scientific societies in Korea with over four thousand members. Society President Boo- Sup Lee presented Vice Provost Babu with a Plaque of Appreciation for the Lecture.

Vice Provost Babu, who joined Clarkson University in 1981, has been a Visiting Scientist at Bell Communications Research Center in New Jersey, at the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark, and at the International Center of Theoretical Physics in Italy. He has also been a Visiting Professor at the Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico and at IBM in Endicott, New York. Also he taught at IIT, Kanpur in India. His research endeavors are primarily in the area of materials processing with a strong emphasis on chemical-mechanical polishing, thin film etching, and deposition techniques. In addition, Vice Provost Babu is the co-author of over 160 papers and 14 patents.