PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (August 24, 2022) Nabila Shamim recently earned over $750,000 in funding to support her research on the physics and chemistry of polymers and glass-forming materials. The funding includes a $458,190.00 grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and an initiation award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) of $300,000 to support the projects Investigating the Kinetics of Vitrification and Crystallization of green propellants and Electrospuned Nanofibrous Carrier for Improved Stability and Drug Loading Capacity respectively.
Dr. Nabila Shamim
Shamim serves as an assistant professor in the chemical engineering department in the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU).
The AFOSR funding provides the opportunity to conduct new scientific works and develop productive collaborations in the Advanced Materials and Characterization laboratory housed within the Department of Chemical Engineering. Co-Principal Investigators for the project Investigating the Kinetics of Vitrification and Crystallization of Energetic Materials using Flash Differential Scanning Calorimetry are Irvin Osborne-Lee, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering) and Ananda Amarasekara, Ph.D. (Chemistry).
Shamim aims to gain an in-depth knowledge of crystal kinetics and develop new processing strategies to make stable forms of amorphous energetic materials. The anticipated results will facilitate the development of stable amorphous energetic materials attainment of desirable properties that are not available in such material’s crystalline form. The crystallization, or devitrification, from the glassy state, will be investigated using the time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram as a framework for crystallizing materials and glass transition temperature for amorphous materials to determine how the rate of change influences the material. The research will impact Prairie View A&M University students.
“We will train graduate and undergraduate students in thermal science systems and nanoscale material properties and provide hands-on experience with cutting-edge equipment supporting nanoscience,” said Shamim.
Shamim’s research studies the multiphysics phenomena in complex fluids and nanoconfined polymers, emphasizing the glass transition temperature and related dynamics.
“We will study different combinations of green propellants to enhance energetic materials’ performance and stability,” said Shamim about the AFOSR project.
“The importance of Dr. Nabila Shamim’s two projects, funded by Air Force and NSF, cannot be overstated: her cutting-edge research on making amorphous forms of energetic materials with improved stability and nanofibers with increased solubility of pharmaceuticals from their crystalline states places the university at the forefront,” said PVAMU Vice President of Research & Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA. “Dr. Shamim’s recognized expertise in this area provides PVAMU students a tremendous opportunity to be trained in cutting-edge technologies.”
Shamim aims to gain an in-depth knowledge of crystal kinetics and develop new processing strategies to make stable forms of amorphous energetic materials. The anticipated results will facilitate the development of steady amorphous active materials attainment of desirable properties that are not available in such material’s crystalline form.
Shamim stated, “In our lab, we will continue researching the thermophysical properties of energetic materials. The goal will be of making them more efficient by improving their metastability and reorganizing samples on the nano-gram scale.”
“With this funding from AFOSR, we have the privilege to hire dedicated graduate and undergraduate students and train them with cutting-edge technologies,” said Shamim.
The award will enhance Prairie View &M University’s (PVAMU) institutional research capabilities by increasing the engagement of faculty and students in state-of-the-art research. The project aims to increase the number of underrepresented students, predominantly minority female students, in STEM fields with comprehensive training in thermal sciences through an enhanced education experience with improved lab experiments and hands-on research experience.
Shamim stated, “I believe the innovative and experiential projects that deliver excellent research diligence and ingenuity on time strengthen students’ creativity and collaboration and steadily elevate the quality of research.”
Shamim mentions that the challenge to understanding the nanoconfinement influence on crystallization lies in the varying roles of kinetics and thermodynamics of materials. The NSF funding will lead to an in-depth understanding of the structure-property relationship of nanofibers that will enable technology developments in drug delivery. The successful completion of the project will contribute to loading a wide variety of soluble drugs into the nanofibers to improve their bioavailability and attain their controlled release.
The project will be executed in collaboration with the NSF CREST Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES) to provide numerous hands-on opportunities to underrepresented minority students and thus serve as an effective teaching practice to enhance the education of minority students. It will enhance the research capabilities of PVAMU and educate and train new generations of minority and women STEM professionals.
“I am confident the project will provide a capability at PVAMU that opens new lines of research support for national defense interests. Materials relevant to defense applications will be studied while creating and analyzing data that can prepare our students for U.S. Department of Defense-affiliated service and research,” stated Shamim.
Karen B. Cotton MS, MA