IRES-IEGAC Interdisciplinary Environmental and Green Applications in Chemistry (IEGAC)

University Of North Dakota Main Campus, Grand Forks ND

Investigators

Abstract

Part 1: A nontechnical description. Environmental and green chemistry are becoming high priority and even pivotal issues with depletion of natural resources (e.g., petroleum) and increase of society's environmental footprint on a global scale. The IRES Interdisciplinary Environmental and Green Applications in Chemistry (IEGAC) program is the cooperative effort between research universities at North Dakota and Czech research Institutions addressing such environmental and green chemistry applications. The program encompasses novel environmental analytical methods, biotechnology processes as well as development of green organocatalysts. Each year, four undergraduate students and one graduate student will participate in an 8-week summer research experience at several premiere research institutions in Prague, Czech Republic, including the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Charles University (CUNI), the Department of Biotechnology, University of Chemical Technology (UCT), and Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The essential component of the program is exposure of participating students from the rural US Midwest to a global, multicultural, and interdisciplinary environment. This will further be promoted by interactive pre- and post-travel coursework, which will be designed to create effective research teams that work together throughout the experience. The students will be trained to effectively communicate their research results on several levels, including poster presentations at regional and national conferences and peer reviewed papers. The dissemination of the results at various levels is an essential element with commitment from all researchers involved. The research and cultural impact of the IEGAC program will also be communicated professionally by both students and mentors alike through online social media to the community. Overall, this program will provide outstanding professional development for its participating students and propel many toward graduate studies and careers in environmental and green chemistry that are in critical need. Part 2: A technical description. The IRES Interdisciplinary Environmental and Green Applications in Chemistry (IEGAC) program is the cooperative effort between research universities at North Dakota and Czech research institutions. The program encompasses novel environmental analytical methods, biotechnology processes, as well as development of green synthetic organocatalysts. Each year, four undergraduate students and one graduate student will participate in an 8-week summer research experience at several premiere research institutions in Prague, Czech Republic, including the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Charles University (CUNI), the Department of Biotechnology, University of Chemical Technology (UCT), and Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The specific interdisciplinary research projects at CUNI include development of DNA-modified electrochemical sensors for organic pollutants led by Dr. Vyskocil, development of capillary electrophoretic methods for simultaneous determination of target cations and anions led by Dr. Krizek, and development of new toxic-metal volatilization approaches for ultratrace atomic spectroscopic determinations led by Dr. Hranicek. Applied environmental chemistry leading to more effective biotechnology processes will be addressed by the UCT researchers; specifically, Dr. Halecky studying biofiltration of complex model mixtures and Dr. Branyik investigating microalgal biosorption. Finally, Dr. Jahn at IOCB will offer a green chemistry project for students interested in the synthetic development of a new class of bifunctional organocatalysts based on non-natural polyfunctional amino acids. The essential feature of the project is pre- and post- research experience for students ensuring enhanced interaction of Czech and US mentors as effective teams potentially expanding the research collaborations established through this grant. Th IEGAC program will provide outstanding professional development for its participating students and propel many toward graduate studies and careers in environmental and green chemistry that are in critical need.