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Josie Giles, School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Contact Josie Giles josie.giles@chbe.gatech.edu
404-385-2299
ChBE Asst. Professor Sankar Nair Receives NSF CAREER Award
Dr. Nair Will Investigate Areas of Nanotechnology
Atlanta (November 6, 2008) — ChBE Assistant Professor Dr. Sankar Nair has been selected to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for his work entitled “Engineered Nanoscopic Objects via Controlled Creation and Rearrangement of Amorphous Nanoparticles.”
ABOUT DR. NAIR
Dr. Nair directs the Nanomaterials and Nanoengineering research group in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. The research of his group has important potential applications in several areas including biomolecule sensing, energy management, and separations. Analytical chemical engineering fundamentals are carefully combined with synthetic chemistry, mechanistic experiments, theory, and simulation methods, to develop synthesis-structure-property relationships of technological and fundamental interest.
Dr. Nair also teaches a unique course: “Chemical Engineering in Nanoscale Systems,” which explores the principles underlying the fabrication and analysis of nanotechnological materials and devices produced by chemical processing strategies.
ABOUT DR. NAIR'S NSF CAREER PLAN
The long-term objective of Dr. Nair’s career plan is to develop and demonstrate a generalized enabling framework of principles for the design and reaction engineering of ultra-small metal oxide objects of complex morphology and structure.
Specifically, he proposes to understand and manipulate the novel mechanisms and thermodynamics that govern the liquid-phase engineering of a unique class of single-walled mixed oxide nanotubes (with exceptionally small lengths of 20-100 nm and diameters 2-4 nm) and single-walled nanoshells (with diameter < 5 nm), all with complex and ordered internal structures. The ability to engineer the shape, size, structure, and composition of nanoscopic metal oxide objects at very small length scales – using only the minimum quantity of matter necessary – is highly attractive (but thus far elusive).
A number of emerging applications could exploit the range of novel and drastically tunable electronic, optical, catalytic, transport, and mechanical properties arising from the unique shape, size, and structural complexity of these objects. Such a development would underscore the full potential of advanced chemical processing approaches for nanoscale science and technology, and can overcome limits imposed by current materials and processes.
ABOUT THE NSF CAREER AWARD
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.
Related Links
Dr. Sankar Nair's Research Group
http://www.chbe.gatech.edu/nair/ResearchPage.html
National Science Foundation
http://www.nsf.gov/index.jsp
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premiere research universities. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report's top 10 public universities, Georgia Tech educates more than 16,000 students every year through its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management and Sciences. Tech maintains a diverse campus and is among the nation's top producers of women and African-American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute. During the 2003-2004 academic year, Georgia Tech reached $341.9 million in new research award funding.