Planning: Enabling a Future in Chemistry at a Historically Black University

非技术性：休斯顿-蒂洛森大学（HT）是一所历史悠久的小型黑人大学（HBCU），位于德克萨斯州奥斯汀市，拥有148年的历史。与其他德州大学相比，得克萨斯大学在研究能力方面有相当大的增长空间。在过去两年的研究启动奖（RIA）的支持下，PI和她的代表性不足的本科研究人员获得了初步的研究数据。考虑到HT这样的小型HBCU缺乏先进的设备或设施，未来必须发展专业合作以实现科学出版。这一步对于收集PI未来申请卓越研究（EIR）奖的研究数据也很重要。因此，提出了各种活动，如培训本科生研究人员，与合作者举办小型研讨会，参观合作者的实验室，参加专业研讨会和会议。这些努力将大大有助于我们的最终目标，即为hbcu中代表性不足的学生改善未来。此外，这个eir计划奖将有助于我们的化学项目的发展。聘用和保留经验丰富的兼职教师，将提高化学课程的质量和多样性。将设立一个专业的化学研讨会，随着活动的发展，由此产生的合作将在知名度和地位上不断提高。化学方面的专业文章将以HT为第一组织发表。最重要的是，化学系将吸引新的学生，我们提供的详细培训将引导他们在工业领域从事专业工作或在毕业后获得高等教育学位。技术：mof（金属有机框架）作为多孔晶体材料已被证明是催化反应的纳米平台。基于金属卟啉（由四个吡咯环和四个甲基连接而成的环状结构）的催化剂可以加入mof中用于聚合石化单体和非石化单体。MOF内的化学环境不仅可以启动聚合，还可以调整所得聚合物的微观结构。在无机节点和有机配体上修饰后，mof可以用作立体和化学选择性催化反应器，将特定单体从单体混合物中转化为高策略性聚合物。我们的研究目标是与其他实验室合作开发一种廉价的可回收金属有机框架（MOFs）催化剂。这也将支持PI在卟啉mof催化剂聚合中的EIR应用，其中将重点研究卟啉基团的调整以及动力学和机理研究。利用与其他实验室在这些领域的合作，PI将能够表征她的多相mof催化剂。规划和合作活动不仅有助于获得化学方面的现代设备，而且还将促进有关研究领域的新计划。最后，各种研讨会、会议和培训将帮助教师和学生提高我们在学术上进一步进步的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical: Huston-Tillotson University (HT) is a small historically black university (HBCU) in Austin, Texas with 148 years history. Compared to other Texas-based universities, HT has considerable room for growth in their research capacity. During the past two years supported by Research Initiation Award (RIA), preliminary research data has been obtained by PI and her underrepresented undergraduate researchers. In the future, professional collaboration must be developed in order to achieve scientific publication, considering the lack of advanced equipment or facilities at a small HBCU like HT. This step is also of importance to collect research data for PI’s future application for the Excellence in Research (EIR) award. Thus, various activities have been proposed such as training undergraduate researchers, conducting a small workshop with collaborators, visiting collaborators’ labs, participating in professional workshops, and conferences. These efforts will contribute significantly to our final goal of enhancing the future for underrepresented students at HBCUs. Additionally, this EIR-planning award will help our chemistry program to grow. With the hiring and retention of experienced adjunct faculty, both the chemistry curriculum quality and diversity will be improved. A professional chemistry workshop will be set up and the resulting collaboration will grow in visibility and stature as the event develops. Professional articles in chemistry will be published with HT as the first organization. Most importantly, new students will be attracted to the chemistry department and the detailed training that we provide will lead them to either a professional job in Industry or a postsecondary degree after their graduation from HT.Technical: MOFs (metal organic frameworks) as porous crystalline materials have proven especially useful as nano platforms for catalytic reactions. Metalloporphyrin-based (cyclic structures consisting of four pyrrole rings joined together by four methine groups) catalysts can be incorporated in MOFs for polymerization of petrochemical monomers as well as non-petrochemical monomers. The chemical environment within a MOF not only initiates the polymerization, but also enables the tuning the microstructure of the resulting polymer. After the modification on the inorganic nodes and organic ligands, the MOFs may be used as a stereo and chemical selective catalytic reactor, converting a specific monomer out of a mixture of monomers, and into highly tactic polymer. Our Research objective is to develop an inexpensive recyclable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) catalysts with collaboration with other labs. This will also support PI’s coming EIR application in polymerization by porphyrin MOFs catalysts, in which effort will focus on the adjustment of groups on Porphyrin as well as kinetic and mechanism studies. Utilizing collaboration with other labs in these areas, PI would be able to characterize her heterogenous MOFs catalysts. Planning and collaboration activities will not only help to obtain access to modern equipment in chemistry, it will also foment new plans in related research areas. Lastly, various workshops, conferences, and trainings will help both faculty and students to improve our abilities to further advance in academia.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.