STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State professor is among 86 of the nation's top nanotechnology scientists now competing for a portion of $1 million in seed grants designed to spark innovative, collaborative research in the field.
Adrienne Minerick, an assistant professor in the university's Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, recently joined other researchers from academia, industry and government to explore the future of nanoscience in medical imaging, materials science, biological machines, and tissue engineering.
Each participant in the second annual National Academies Keck Futures Initiative Designing Nanostructures conference held recently in Irvine, Calif., became eligible for $1 million in seed grants--up to $75,000 each--to begin new lines of collaborative research inspired by ideas and relationships developed during the conference. Grant recipients will be announced next April.
"Nanotechnology creates new intersections between science, engineering and medical researchers," said Harvey Fineberg, president of the Institute of Medicine. "The conference joined researchers from diverse fields. They forged teams, explored new ideas and identified novel directions for research."
Minerick earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1998. She received both master's and doctoral degrees, also in the major, from the University of Notre Dame in 2003.
Her research specialty area is in the development of handheld blood diagnostic kits for use at home, in doctor's offices or in clinical laboratories.
"It was a phenomenal experience brainstorming and networking with such talented individuals," said Minerick. "It sparked so many new ideas and I am looking forward to further developing some key collaborative relationships."
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Adrienne Minerick at (662) 325-7323.