Visiting undergraduate research program

Synthesis of new advanced materials and formulating novel conducting inks to engineer flexible conducting films, with tunable optical and electrical properties similar to non-flexible films is still a challenging research direction in material science and printed electronics applications. The global market for flexible-printed electronics is expected to grow annually by 22.4 % and reach a size of $ 363.1 billion by 2030. This growth is driven by increased interest in Flexible-printed electronics for surface computing including Augmented Reality (AR) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. These devices will be deployed to monitor several “things” such as human health, food supplies, the status…

Passive radar systems provide for target detection and situational awareness. They do not send dedicated electromagnetic (EM) waves, but rather they exploit EM waves emitted by other sources (such as WiFi routers, FM towers, etc.) for other purposes. In this project, new radar system founded on novel design concepts will developed to address the multiple rising needs in the industry.

It is a major challenge to reduce global warming through the reduction in the carbon emission into the atmosphere. Hydrogen in this context could serve to be the ideal fuel of the future, categorized as green and blue hydrogen. Among the different ways of hydrogen production, thermo-catalytic decomposition of methane is an attractive way to produce clean hydrogen, devoid of COx with low energy consumption. Thermodynamics favors operation at low pressure and high temperature while stoichiometry indicates large proportion of carbon as compared to H2 (mass). The proposal attempts to synthesis tunable porous transition bimetallic catalyst that would maximize decomposition…

Nearly one in every hundred children born on this planet suffers from life threatening genetic disorder . Two key goals are to understand the molecular changes at the systemic level in these mutation-bearing individuals and with this knowledge to advance the science of medicine. One way to achieve such goal is to replicate the same mutation in model systems. Mammalian mouse models have been favored however, owing to high cost, less fecundity and time involved with maintenance of these animals, very few mouse disease models have been generated indicating the need for a fast and reliable model systems. Due to…

In this project we design, develop and investigate novel techniques and materials for the recovery of valuable elements such as Lithium and Magnesium

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a major class of air pollutants emitted by industrial processes, fuels, solvents, and everyday materials, and they play a significant role in degrading environmental quality and human health. Many VOCs, such as benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde, are toxic, carcinogenic, and contribute to the formation of ground‑level ozone and secondary organic aerosols, which drive smog and climate‑relevant atmospheric chemistry. Because VOCs are often emitted at low concentrations but are highly reactive, effective adsorption technologies are essential for capturing them before they enter the atmosphere. This project involves synthesizing and characterizing candidate MOFs, evaluating their adsorption capacity…

Addressing the urgent need for environmentally sustainable solutions in water remediation, particularly in tackling persistent emerging contaminants such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), antibiotics, this project main objective is to use novel green solvents, namely deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for the purification of wastewater. DESs have many advantageous characteristics, e.g. low volatility, non-flammability, fine-tunning, etc.

The objective of this project is to develop advanced membrane materials and fabrication techniques for improved water and wastewater treatment applications. The project aims to address current challenges in membrane technology, such as fouling, low permeability, and high energy consumption, by exploring innovative materials and manufacturing processes.

The proposed project aims to design and synthesize series of polymers for efficient CO2 adsorption and/or electro- or photochemical reduction to value-added products. The design of the project involves tailoring synthesis of polymers with catalytically active metal centers featuring high surface area and high chemical stability in extreme pH conditions. This work provides an experimental strategy that can be employed to control the physical and chemical properties of polymeric networks including their electronic and energy-states to achieve novel electro/photo-responsive behavior, and utilize them as green, sustainable environmentally benign and industrially viable catalysts. This investigation will be part of a larger…

The proposed project aims to deliver highly efficient and selective polymer membranes for water purification via rational design and synthesis. Among the interesting properties, we plan to uncover (1) the role of ordered structure in solvent flux and fouling control, (2) a tunable internal surface area and pore size distribution, and (3) the generality in synthetic inclusion of different pores into the polymer membrane. The planned synthesis potentially results in various polymers and/or membranes with high surface area and pre-designed network structures. These materials will be tested for their ability in removal of water pollutants via nano/ultra-filtration. This work provides…

Tuning mesoporous Na-LTA zeolite adsorbent systems for enhancing CO2 capture performance This project aims to develop adsorbent systems based on Na-LTA zeolite using various hybridization and post-synthesis modification techniques. Following development, the adsorbents must be investigated for various types of material characteristics using techniques including XRD, FTIR, SEM, etc. The textural properties of these adsorbents must then be investigated to gain insight into the surface area and pore structure, which are critical features that must be prioritized, particularly for gas adsorption purposes. Finally, CO2 capture performance in connection with capture capacity under various conditions, selectivity, adsorption heat, regenerability, and other…

Hands on research program in which students get a taste of life in a research lab conducting cutting edge research

“An important cornerstone for current nuclear power stations is to optimize the operational costs. Unsurprisingly, this goal relies on large amounts of computing power, which improves the speed and precision of the decision-making process. In fact, although high-performance computing is at the heart of the nuclear-energy industry, the need and eagerness for more computing power are not yet satisfied. Quantum computing represents a realistic hope for upscaling computational power. Quantum computation is an emerging technology with huge disruptive potential, attracting tremendous interest and investment worldwide. It offers a new paradigm for information processing that exploits quantum effects (superpositions and entanglement)…