National Science Foundation Award Steps Up USU Research Opportunities

The ability to investigate and understand the molecular structure of a wide range of substances is at the heart of chemistry and materials study and a critical capability for a research university.

Utah State University is celebrating a 2014 National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program award that replaces one of the institution’s aging nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers with state-of-the-art technology.

“NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools we have to identify unknown substances, characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules and study the dynamics of interactions between molecules,” says Lisa Berreau, interim dean for USU’s College of Science, chemistry professor and principle investigator on the grant award. “This equipment is integral to our teaching and research efforts.”

The $385,000 award provides two-thirds of the funds needed to purchase the equipment, which is expected to be operational in about six months. USU provides the remaining funding.

Additional USU investigators who contributed to the successful proposal include Jixun Zhan of the Department of Biological Engineering; Yujie Sun, Cheng-Wei “Tom” Chang and Alvan Hengge of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, along with Dale Gardner of the USDA Poisonous Plants Laboratory on the USU Logan campus and Mike Christiansen, Chemistry faculty member at USU Uintah Basin.

“Our NMR instruments are workhorses,” Berreau says. “The new machine will aid science and engineering students and faculty throughout our Logan campus, at the USDA Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory and at the USU Uintah Basin campus. It will be used by students and faculty involved in a broad range of research disciplines.”

The new award is one of a number of successful bids USU has made in recent years to the NSF’s highly competitive MRI program, including:

In 2013, USU physics professor T-C Shen led a 15-member faculty team in securing funding for an advanced scanning electron microscope for the university’s recently established Microscopy Core Facility. The microscope supports more than 30 research projects involving microscopy of wet biological samples, elemental analysis of varied materials and transmission electron imaging of nanoparticles. Via the Internet, the instrument provides real-time demonstrations for classrooms and will soon provide sub-100 nanometer lithography for nanoscale patterning.
In 2012, a proposal led by USU biochemist Sean Johnson secured an X-ray generator that allows Aggie researchers to determine 3-dimensional structures of large proteins and protein complexes. Information derived from this process allows students and faculty to see what biological molecules look like and how they function.
In 2010, Shen led efforts to gain funding for a mask aligner and pattern generation system for nanoscale science and device research. Combined with existing equipment in USU’s Nanoscale Device Laboratory, the equipment allows characterization of new materials and creation of novel devices for a number of cross-disciplinary research projects.
In 2007, USU biochemistry professor Lance Seefeldt was awarded NSF funding to upgrade an electron spin resonance spectrometer. The instrument, used by multiple faculty and students researchers at USU, allows investigators to observe transition metals in critical biological catalysts.

“We depend on these awards to keep our teaching and research capabilities on par or above those of peer institutions,” Berreau says. “These opportunities enhance our efforts at all levels and we’re grateful, in a time of reduced federal resources for scientific research, to move our mission forward.”

The most recent award, she says, will advance the university’s research in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, understanding processes in biological systems, developing new catalysts for solar energy production, identifying poisonous plant toxins and advancing natural products synthesis.

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Contact: Lisa Berreau, phone, 435-797-3509, lisa.berreau@usu.edu

Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto, 435-797-3517, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu