Chemistry and Physics Research at Chicago State University
Other research projects may be available with other chemistry and physics faculty not listed below. You may want to contact specific individuals regarding their research and the availability of positions.
Email Dr. Lionel Pittman and Dr. Archie Peters for more information on their research and research groups.
Contact Information: | Aida Abraha773-995-2491 | ![]() |
Funding agency: | Office of Research Development: EARDA Award (submitted) | |
Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students:
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Dr. Abraha is doing research on Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The focus of this research
is on the tau protein that tangles in the brain. This protein is called neurofibrillary
tangles (NFTs). NFTs are partly responsible for the memory loss and behavioral changes
that occur in AD. One of the reasons for the NFTs formation is proteolytic cleavage
of tau. One of the proteases associated with tau truncation in AD is calpain.
In my laboratory, students will learn to design primers based on the calpain cleavage sites of tau protein. They will make the construct from the PT7C-Tau cDNA, express the protein in E-coli and monitor and compare the kinetics and morphology of the truncated tau to the wild type full-length tau protein using laser light scattering (LLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. |
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Student Qualifications: |
Students should complete at least one semester of general chemistry course with lab.
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Contact Information: |
Mel S. Sabella 773-995-2172 |
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Funding agency: | PhysTEC, National Science Foundation | |
Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students: | Yes | |
Dr. Sabella has two main projects he is currently working on, both of which are funded
by the NSF. The first project, titled "Creating Innovative Physics Learning Environments
in the Urban Classroom " is led by CSU and involves implementing new instructional
materials in the introductory physics classes and assessing whether these materials
are effective in promoting student understanding. Students involved with this research
will analyze student responses to physics questions given in a number of settings
to identify common difficulties and identify different modes of reasoning. In this
project, students will have opportunities to review their physics knowledge, learn
different excel and digital video capture techniques, construct online homework problems,
and work on developing and revising instructional materials. The second project is
a collaborative project led by the Ohio State University titled "Creating Research-Based
Single Concept Question Sequences for In-Class Polling Systems." The project involves
creating question sequences that will be used in the lecture portion of the introductory
physics classes. Student will utilize "clickers" to respond to these questions, therefore
providing an instructor with immediate feedback regarding where the class is in their
understanding of different topics. The clickers provide an anonymous way for students
to get more involved in the physics lecture. Students will assist in assessing the
effectiveness of the clickers in promoting understanding and will develop questions
sequences that will be used in CSU classes.
Both these projects can lead to academic year projects with different types of involvement. For more information about these projects, please talk to Dr. Sabella either by phone or email. |
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Student Qualifications: |
Students participating in this research should have passed physics 2110 and 2220 with a grade of B or above. Exceptions to this requirement are possible.
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Contact Information: | Andrea Gay Van Duzor 773-995-4437 |
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Funding agency: |
National Science Foundation |
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Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students: | Learning Assistants only | |
Dr. Van Duzor is researching the use of Argument Driven Inquiry in general chemistry laboratories and Learning Assistant pedagogy development. She is also interested in ways to better facilitate students connections between theory and practice in the laboratory. Students will be introduced to qualitative education research methodologies and theoretical frameworks. There will be opportunities to collect, transcribe, and analyze video, interview, and classroom artifact data. |
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Student Qualifications: | Students should have successfully completed at least one semester of general chemistry. Additionally students should should be interested in understanding learning theories. | |
Contact Information: | Kristy Mardis773-995-2171 |
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Funding agency: | National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense | |
Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students: | Yes | |
Dr. Mardis has two main research areas. In the first project, Dr. Mardis seeks to understand the role of conformation on electron tranfer in c-type cytochromes. It is known that cytochromes undergo electron transfer (think photosynthesis). It would be useful in developing biomimetic solar energy devices if supramolecular assemblies of the cytochromes could be built. These assemblies would act like wires conducting the electrons to a storage device. However, it is unknown whether these assemblies must have the cytochromes lined up straight like soldiers or whether they can tilt in and out of the plane. Students on this project would learn to build molecular models of the cytochromes, run molecular dynamics simulations to simulate their behaviour in water, and compare the x-ray scattering patterns of the calculated models to experimentally available data. This project is done in collaboration with Dr. Tiede at Argonne National Laboratory. In the second project, she is working with Dr. Richter, Dr. LeSuer, and Dr. Rivas to create a database of dyes that may be used in solar cell devices. This project involves building molecular models, calculating molecular orbitals using ab initio techniques, and predicting their absorbance spectras. Eventually molecular dynamic simulations will be run on promising candidates. Both of these projects can lead to academic year projects for credit or pay. I intend to take 2-3 students to Argonne again for the summer. | ||
Student Qualifications:
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At least an "A" or a "B" in Chemistry 1400 and 1410; ideally and an "A" or a "B" in Chemistry 1450 and 1460 and one semester of calculus. No programming experience necessary, but prior experience with computers is a real plus.
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Contact Information:
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Edmundo Garcia 773-995-2325
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Funding agency:
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National Science Foundation | |
Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students: | Yes | |
My area of scientific research is experimental high-energy nuclear physics, also often
called high-energy "heavy-ion" physics. This research is primarily carried out at
CERN, in Geneva Switzerland. We utilize large particle accelerators (or colliders)
to collide "heavy-ion" nuclei such as gold and lead traveling at near the speed of
light in order to re-create the conditions of the early universe in the laboratory.
By doing this we are able to melt normal nuclear matter, the protons and neutrons,
into a "plasma" of quarks and gluons in order to study, and better understand, the
strong force and the theory of Quantum Chromo-Dynamics. I am member of the ALICE collaboration, one of the four main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. My group is involved in hardware and analysis projects. During the summer, in collaboration with IL-LSAMP we travel to CERN, my students travel to Berkeley Labs and CERN where they do research for 10 weeks. |
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Student Qualifications: |
Student should have preferably taken Physics I and II, or should do an independent study course with me before beginning paid research.
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Contact Information: | Robert Richter773-995-2182 |
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Funding agency: | Department of Defense (DOD) Solar Cell Grant and DOD CMEC grant | |
Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students: | Yes | |
Dr. Richter is the Director is CSU’s Center for Microwave Enhanced Chemistry (CMEC). CMEC established to enhance the professional development of undergraduate students as well as to foster intercollegial working relationships between the faculty of CSU’s Chemistry, Physics and Biology departments. Students working in CMEC to gain extensive experience in instrument development, R&D planning, fundamental organic, analytical, microwave and physical chemistry and a variety of analytical techniques such as infrared, ultraviolet and mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and liquid chromatography. CMEC is currently involved in the following projects: 1) Investigating, understanding and exploiting microwave-enhanced heating in chemical synthesis and materials development. 2) ICP-MS method development for studying stress factors in plants. 3) Development of undergraduate laboratories using Ocean Optics spectroscopy equipment. 4) Solar Cell research and curriculum development. |
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Student Qualifications: |
Must have completed Chemistry 1400, 1410, 1450, and 1460 with B or better average.
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Contact Information: | Felix M. Rivas773-995-2299 |
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Funding agency: | Department of Defense (DOD) Solar Cell Grant and DOD CMEC grant | |
Course Credit: | Course credit is available through independent research throughout the academic year. | |
Funding for Students: | Yes | |
Research Project I-Synthesis of Antibacterial Agents: This research project involves the synthesis of two new antibacterial agents using solid-supported organic synthesis. New antibacterial agents are needed due to bacteria that have become resistant to know antibacterial agents (antibiotics). Resistant bacteria cannot be treated effectively with known antibiotics because they have developed a mechanism that allows then to survive in the presence of these known antibiotics. Our goal is to use solid-supported organic synthesis to synthesize new antibacterial agents similar to Cicadapeptins I and II. The new antibacterial agents will have as key elements unusual amino acids that induce a particular three-dimensional structure. Students will have the opportunity to synthesize their own molecules and will evaluate their antibacterial properties in collaboration with departments in the biological sciences. Research Project II- Synthesis of Chiral Ligands for Stereoselective Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation: The stereoselective formation of carbon-carbon bonds is of paramount importance in the synthesis of drugs that posses one or more stereogenic centers. To allow the synthesis of such molecules organic chemists have developed an array of stereoselective reactions. Our goal within this project is to contribute with new and better ligands that can be use on reactions with low stereoselectivity. The ligands to be synthesize will serve as the scaffold on metals that are use to facilitate carbon-carbon bond formation. The project will explore how the combination of phosphorous and nucleophilic carbenes on a single ligand will work together to yield stereoselective bond formation. |
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Student Qualifications: |
Must have completed Chemistry 1400, 1410, 1450, and 1460 with B or better average. Exceptions to this requirement are possible.
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Contact Information: | Valerie Goss 773-995-3892 |
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Funding agency: |
NSF - Through RISE and LSAMP |
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Course Credit: | Yes | |
Funding for Students: | Yes | |
Topics of interest in the group are centered on understanding binding and structural properties of nanostructures that have important implications for increasing storage capacity in molecular electronics, minimizing high temperature destabilizing effects in energy systems, and maintaining bioactivity of bound molecules in biosensors. DNA origami nano technology, scanning microscopy (SEM and AFM), and electrochemistry are applicable techniques. Our research group focuses on creating transforming technology - sub-10 nm fabrication methods - that will advance US capabilities for a range of science, technology, and security objectives. Immediate applications are in computation and environmental sensing. Ultra-small circuits could mediate between electronic devices and molecules, enabling close integration of electronics with sensors and with living organisms. Capabilities such as real-time chemical detection and rapid image processing are possible future applications. To meet the challenge, one promising technology is nanoimprint lithography (NIL) which uses a mold stamped into a resist to render patterned features. Student researchers in our group will assistant in the development of this technique. Many variations of this basic method have been developed. We aim to develop DNA origami (smart molecules) that are functionalized to accept 1-D and 2-D nanomolecules (suitable for studying light-induced energy transfer), and to show that we can use folded DNA molecules to localize nano components on a nanoimprint surface with exquisite precision, as small as 2 nm, to create functional structures. |
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Student Qualifications: |
Completion of Chemistry 1400 and 1410 with a grade of B or better. Exceptions are possible.
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