JSU-RISE: Research Infrastructure and Student Development through the Chemical Design of Multifunctional Carbon Nanotubes

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The Jackson State University HBCU-RISE (Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering) project will utilize an interdisciplinary approach to develop a research and educational program that will prepare chemistry undergraduate (RISE Scholars) and graduate students (RISE Fellows) to be competitive in a global market. The research activities of the project will bring together faculty members from different scientific disciplines with these students to develop multifunctional carbon nanotube hybrid materials for the possible detection of several waterborne pathogens (e.g. Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Shigella) selectively and simultaneously, which will be suitable for potential applications for water purification. Intellectual MeritWaterborne pathogens are an emerging threat worldwide in hospitalized children and adult patients. These pathogens are responsible for an increase in mortality rates and additional financial costs. Computationally driven synthesis of the proposed multifunctional CNTs with multimodal sensing capabilities would selectively and simultaneously sense and identify several pathogens in real time and purify the water supply. Broader ImpactThe human resource objectives of the project are (a) to improve and expand JSU's research and educational capability in order to prepare African Americans and women to become effective future scientists for the nation and (b) to increase the number and quality of underrepresented minority STEM students through interdisciplinary research and effective mentoring. The research and educational goals of this project align well within the ongoing developmental plan of Jackson State University to become one of the region's foremost centers for nanoscience and nanotechnology. The specific aims of the Jackson State-RISE program are (1) to establish an interdisciplinary research team to address water contamination problems; (2) to expose students to the collaborative nature of the scientific enterprise by bringing together a core group of interdisciplinary faculty with complementary scientific pursuits; (3) to develop leadership skills of students: this includes the active roles of students in decision making concerning their research projects, summer internships, seminar speakers and other programmatic issues; (4) to create a JSU-RISE educational/research atmosphere that includes journal clubs, seminars, workshops on scientific writing, presentation and research ethics, research skill development, teaching experiences, and strategies for competing for national pre-doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships; (5) to increase the candidate pool for future JSU-RISE students by involving highly qualified undergraduate and K-12 students in the program. The ultimate aim for the JSU-RISE program is to positively impact a large quantity of underrepresented minority K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students who will enter, remain, and exit the STEM pipeline with a terminal STEM degree.