US - Argentina Planning Visit: New Thymine Based Bioinspired Polymeric Materials

这项美国-阿根廷奖学金将在西蒙斯学院Richard Gurney博士的指导下，资助一名高级研究员和四名本科女学生，计划于2011年和2012年夏季对阿根廷进行两次访问。这些访问的主要目标是进一步发展来自西蒙斯学院和阿根廷国立滨海大学的科学家和学生之间在胸腺嘧啶聚合物研究方面的合作。在Gurney博士访问国立滨海大学的Debora Martino博士期间，PI将制定一项为期三年的研究计划。访问学生将进行与所讨论的聚合物相关的计算工作，获得使用通常在本科院校实验室中无法获得的仪器的经验，并将他们的研究知识、技能和结果传递给阿根廷的研究人员。研究课题包括胸腺嘧啶基聚合物的合成、表征、加工和生物降解性。合作伙伴将为该项目带来互补的技能，Gurney博士提供胸腺嘧啶聚合物的合成和表征方面的专业知识，Martino博士提供她在分子动力学计算和进一步表征技术方面的经验。这一共同努力将使本科生在与阿根廷研究人员建立国际伙伴关系的同时，获得分析技能方面的宝贵经验。将要开发的聚合物已经引起了一个商业组织的兴趣。

This U.S. - Argentina award will support one senior researcher and four undergraduate college women under the direction of Dr. Richard Gurney of Simmons College, on two planning visits visits to Argentina in the summers of 2011 and 2012. The primary goal of these visits is to further develop collaborations on thymine-based polymer research between scientists and students from Simmons College and the Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Argentina. During Dr. Gurney's visit to Dr. Debora Martino at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, the PI will develop a three-year research plan. The visiting students will perform computational work related to the polymers in question, gain experience in the use of a breath of instruments not normally available in the laboratories of undergraduate institutions, and transfer their research knowledge, skills, and results to investigators in Argentina. The research topics include the synthesis, characterization, processing and biodegradability of thymine-based polymers.The collaborators will bring complementary skills to the project with Dr. Gurney providing expertise in the synthesis and characterization of thymine-based polymers and Dr. Martino offering her experience in molecular dynamic calculations and further characterization techniques. This joint effort will allow undergraduate students to gain valuable experience in analytical skills while forging international partnerships with Argentinean researchers. The polymers to be developed have generated interest from a commercial organization.