Faculty Research

Our faculty members take pride in the high quality of our program. They work closely with students in teaching and research laboratories. We strongly encourage our undergraduate students to participate in research with faculty members as early as the summer of their freshmen year. Research opportunities in the department are available for chemistry majors and minor.

	Remi Oki , the department head, We are interested in the synthesis of inorganic materials for bone repairs and bone tissue engineering, these bioactive glasses are able to bond to both bone and soft tissue and can stimulate bone growth. The poor mechanical properties of bioglass monoliths have limited their application to the reconstruction of non-stress bearing bones and we are interested in the synthesis by sol-gel techniques of 3-D macroporous hybrid materials incorporating inorganic bioglass (CaO-SiO2-ZnO) with a variety of organic phases. Silane functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT) for surface coatings and ceramics composite processing is another area of interest. The surface adhesion properties of CNTs can be improved through their sidewall functionalization. Our goal is to put appropriate functional groups on the surface of carbon nanotubes that will permit applications as coatings on metal surfaces, such as aluminum and steel by forming strong covalent bonds with the surface for targeted applications such as corrosion resistant, heat dissipation and hydrophobic coatings applications. In addition, we are interested in integrating functionalized carbon nanotubes in polymers to enhance functional properties
	Ananda Amarasekara We are currently studying the dissolution and hydrolysis of cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass using Brönsted acid ionic liquids for the production of ethanol from non-food biomass resources. Metal ion catalyzed degradation of cellulose is another area of interest, and this involves the use of metal catalysts for hydrolysis of cellulose and selective dehydration to produce furan derivatives such as furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, which are sustainable monomers for the polymer industry. Furthermore, we are investigating the synthesis of next generation biodegradable polymeric materials from these renewable resources based furan derivatives.
	Antoine Carty is interested in Organic Synthesis/Kinetics, Green Catalysts for oxidation reactions
	Vassant Doctor Dr. Doctor’s research group has recently prepared some highly active compounds from naturally sulfated polysaccharides by oversulfation, which are effective as anticoagulants and in enhancing the fibrinolytic process. These are being tested in vitro systems under physiological conditions using purified human blood proteins such as thrombin and plasminogen. The results are evaluated by comparing these with heparin, highly sulfated naturally occurring polysaccharide, which is widely used for treatment of cardiovascular problems.
	Hua-Jun Fan Dr. Fan's research interests focus on applying computational chemistry method on understanding the fundamentals of chemical reactions and mechanisms. His research activities generally fall on (1) molecular model on protein and enzyme molecules, (2) reaction mechanism of organometallic and inorganic complexes, (3) electronic structure and functionality study of nanotubes and nanocomposite.
	Max Winshell A. Fontus is interested in Electrometabolomic modelingfocus, Microbial fuel cell, Systems biology, Self-assembly of biocomplexes and nanoparticles.
	Hylton McWhinney is interested in surface and interfacial characterizations as it relates to Environmental waste treatment, waste management and waste restoration, sensing and detection of toxic gases and hazardous bio-materials.
	Tamiko N. Porter is interestecd in structure-function relationships of metalloenzymes, methods of enhancing our undergraduate Forensic Chemistry program and college readiness of K-12 students .
	John Williams is interested on computational chemistry and in the general application of technology in chemical research and teaching.

In addition, chemistry research opportunities and internships, and coops are also available to our majors outside PVAMU. For more information, contact any member of our faculty and visit the ACS site www.acs.org