PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (December 8, 2021) For Kevin Storr, Ph.D., exposing Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) students to equipment and laboratory experiences typically found in Tier One research institutions is one of the most exciting aspects of being selected to receive the $259,988 Department of Defense -Air Force-Office of Scientific Research grant.
Earlier this year, Storr won the Quantum Design Teaching Laboratory award, which included Physical Property Measurement System Quantum Design PPMS® VersaLab™, valued at more than $250,000 from Quantum Design. The award elevated the physics equipment to that of a “nationally competitive research” or “Tier One” university.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Storr sought out funding that would enhance the capacity of the award.
With the current grant, Storr explains, “We will be able to increase the amount of time our lab equipment is in use and perform the proposed research at a more fiscally affordable rate.”
“The impact of Quantum Design’s partnership with Dr. Storr is immeasurable,” says Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA, Vice President, PVAMU Research & Innovation. “Dr. Storr has been able to upgrade the quality within physics labs, and the state-of-art equipment has increased student lab experimentation exponentially. This level of innovation is exceptional and demonstrates the elevation of the research culture at Prairie View A&M.”
The state-of-the-art VersaLab is located in the Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences, where students in the STEM disciplines will discover aspects of science that were previously inaccessible to PVAMU students. The VersaLab Physical Property Measurement System provides a wide range of measurements, including magnetometry electrical transport, heat capacity, and thermal transport.
Kevin Storr, Ph.D.
Storr will acquire a Quantum Design USA ATL80 helium liquefier, which takes compressed, captured, or vented cold helium gas and reliquefies it to operate the superconducting magnet. The liquefier will reduce yearly lab operational costs by 80%.
Working with a research team at Rice University’s Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Storr will engage in collaborative research on low-dimensional materials.
The project, Thermal and Electrical and Conductivity Investigations into Boron Nitride, Transition Metal Dichalcogenides, and Diamond Films will allow him to work with the Quantum Design team to provide educational modules for students and faculty that demonstrate the capabilities of the equipment.
Storr is an associate professor of physics in the Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences. He is a graduate of PVAMU’s Benjamin Banneker Honors College, completing undergraduate physics and computer science degrees. While pursuing undergraduate degrees, Storr was a part of the historic physics cohort that the late Professor Dennis Judd instituted.
By Karen B. Cotton