2
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Dear Friends,
Welcome to CBE! This past year the department has seen significant growth that I would like to share with you. We have
had a continued increase in undergraduate and graduate enrollment, a new bio-track was offered to undergraduates, a
record seven students received their PhD, Kenneth Lau (MIT) was welcomed to the department as an assistant professor,
Prof. Elabd received a NSF CAREER award, and our faculty enjoyed high levels of productivity and recognition.
In response to the growing demand for chemical engineers in bio-related fields, and to broaden the educational
opportunities of our undergraduates, a bio-track was added to our curriculum. The effort was spearheaded by Prof. Wrenn
(Associate Department Head). Students completing the program, which is comprised of 23.5 credits, will constitute a new
generation of engineers that speak the language of biology, yet remain true to the process intensive nature of chemical
engineering.
The department continues to be dedicated to multi-disciplinary research at the highest level. This year marks the first full
year of activity for the Drexel-ARL Army Materials Center of Excellence (MCOE) that highlights a multi-investigator approach
to solving complex multiscale challenges in the design of polymeric materials. Additional multi-investigator grants were
awarded to our faculty this year. They include a USDA/DOE grant headed by Prof. Cairncross for the improvement of biobased polymers, and Prof. Elabd’s participation in a MURI for developing high
performance membranes using ionic liquids. Further details of these and other
new efforts that showcase our dedication to research are detailed in the
pages that follow. This past year our research expenditures reached
$2 million and the faculty published 40 articles in major journals.
This report also summarizes the development of our faculty. During this
year, Prof. Lowman was promoted to full professor, Prof. Dan returned
from her sabbatical at Harvard University where she focused on microfluids, and Prof. Wrenn received a Humboldt research fellowship
that took him to Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany. This year Professor Grossmann retired after 55 years of service to the department
and was awarded the rank of professor emeritus of chemical engineering. Other exciting news includes Professor Mutharasan’s
recognition when his work regarding pathogen sensors received
media coverage during the E. coli outbreak of 2006. His work
was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, LA Times, and
ABC News.
As you can see, this has been an exciting and productive year for our department. We are looking forward to adding to this growth next year and I hope
you will enjoy the report.
Best wishes,
Annual Report 2006-2007
3
The department welcomed Kenneth Lau to the department in
September, 2006 as an assistant professor after several years
of postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000,
where he worked with Prof. Karen K.
Gleason on the chemical vapor
deposition of polymer thin
films and coatings. At MIT,
Ken was awarded a fellowship in the program in polymer science and technology
and he also had the opportunity to help start up a
company, GVD Corporation, related to his
research work. He
obtained
his
B.Eng. in chemical engineering
with first class
honors from
the National
Prof. Richard Cairncross received the
prestigious L.E. Scriven Young Investigator
Award at the International Coating Science
and Technology (ICST) Symposium on September 11, 2006. Prof. Cairncross received this award for fundamental,
theoretical, and experimental contributions
to coating science, including physicochemical behavior, flow prediction, and numerical modeling, and service as an
educator and mentor. Along with receiving
this award, Prof. Cairncross also served as
chair for the ICST symposium.
University of Singapore in 1995. At NUS, Ken was selected for
an overseas internship with Mobil Oil Corporation in Joliet, IL
during his junior year, and he was awarded, among many
other college prizes and medals, the Mobil Gold Medal as the
top chemical engineering student in his senior year at NUS.
While Ken is originally from Hong Kong, he grew up spending
his formative years not only in Hong Kong, but also in Taiwan
and Singapore, receiving education from both American and
British schools. Ken has been passionate about research since
the start of college, with at least 20 journal publications and
one patent pending to date. He was recently invited to present
at the 4th International Conference on Hot-Wire (Cat-CVD)
Process in Takayama, Japan, and also at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His current research interests are in the area of polymer thin films and coatings for
nanoscience and nanotechnology, especially in the fields of biomedicine and energy and the environment. His latest work has
been looking at initiated chemical vapor deposition methods to
create enteric coatings for controlled drug release. Outside of
research, Ken likes to play tennis and volleyball and go for the
occasional run. He also has a passion for music and plays the
piano. He is actively involved with the Salvation Army, helping
to reach out to the disadvantaged.
Prof. Anthony Lowman was recently promoted to professor for his continued commitment
to Drexel University and exceptional quality of research. Prof. Lowman joined the CBE department in 1997 after completing his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Purdue University.
Prof. Lowman’s research focus is in the areas of controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering,
biomaterials, and polymer science and engineering.
He also serves the Drexel community as a graduate committee member and the coordinator
for the B.S./Ph.D. program.
Prof. Raj Mutharasan & Prof. Anthony Lowman were inducted as fellows of the
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) on March 1, 2007.
AIMBE, based out of Washington, D.C., was founded in 1991 to help “bridge the gap between the field of medicine and biological engineering.” Aside from this honor, in 2001, Prof.
Mutharasan became honored as a fellow for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
(AIChE). Prof. Mutharasan is the second in the history of the department of chemical and biological engineering to receive this honor.
Prof. Giuseppe Palmese was given the Technical Cooperation Program Achievement Award
on June 18, 2007 from the Department of Defence. The award is for significant contribution to
collaborative research in the area of electron beam curing of polymers and advanced composite
materials, including fundamental curing mechanisms, characterization techniques and modeling
tools. The result is a substantial advance in the state of the art of this important new manufacturing
technology that is expected to result in new capabilities and lower cost for new defense platforms
and repair of existing platforms.
4
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
After serving 55 years in Drexel University’s department of
Chemical and Biological Engineering, Prof. Elihu Grossmann
celebrated his retirement on September 18, 2006. Prof. Grossmann’s career at Drexel is the longest continuous teaching career recorded in the university’s history.
Prof. Grossmann’s other notable accomplishments while teaching at Drexel University include: winning the first external research grant, becoming the youngest Drexel professor, being
tenured after only five years, and initiating the first graduate
program in Chemical Engineering.
Prof. Grossmann’s
research contributions include: the
design of a permanent lunar station, nanotube
discovery through plasma processing for monomer recovery, thermodynamic analysis research, and cellulose hydrolysis research with Prof. Raj Mutharasan.
George Rowell, visiting associate professor, celebrated 35 years of
service to Drexel University
Dorothy Porter, office manager, celebrated 25 years of service to
Drexel University.
Dan Luu, laboratory coordinator, celebrated 20 years of service to Drexel University.
Annual Report 2006-2007
5
PI: CAMERON ABRAMS
PI: RAJ MUTHARASAN
Title: Acquisition of a High Performance Beowulf Computer
Cluster for Polymeric Materials Simulation
Title: Rapid assay of biomarkers in urine for point-of-care applications
Source: ARO
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health
Total Funding: $120,000
Duration: 6/1/2007-5/31/2007
Total Funding: $85,177
Duration: 1/1/2007-12/31/2007
PI: GIUSEPPE PALMESE
PI: RICHARD CAIRNCROSS
Title: Reformation project
Title: Moisture management in polylactide and polylactide copolymers
Source: Benjamin Franklin Tech Partners
Source: USDA-DOE
Total Funding: $13,200
Duration: 3/1/2007-6/30/2007
Total Funding: $ 1,312,389
Duration: 12/18/2006-12/17/2009
PI: MASOUD SOROUSH
Title: GOALI: New generation of acrylic resins produced
through spontaneous thermal polymerization
PI: YOSSEF ELABD
Source: NSF
Source: ARO
Total Funding: $99,253
Duration: 4/1/2007-3/31/2009
Total Funding: $950,000
Duration: 11/2007-10/2013
PI: RAJ MUTHARASAN
PI: YOSSEF ELABD
Title: Robust Cantilever Sensors for Detecting
Pathogens in Drinking Water
Title: CAREER: Multicomponent transport
in polymer electrolyte membranes
Source: EPA
Source: NSF
Total Funding: $562, 215
Duration: 9/1/2006-12/31/2009
Total Funding: $467,899
Duration: 2/1/2007-1/31/2012
PI: RAJ MUTHARASAN
PI: YOSSEF ELABD
Title: An integrated research and education
program on highly sensitive and sensitive
biosensors for food born pathogens and toxins.
Title: Highly selective ionic block copolymer membranes
Source: United States Department of Agriculture
Total Funding: $527,150
Duration: 9/15/2006-9/14/2007
Title: MURI: Ionic Liquids in Electro-Active Devices (ILEAD)
Source: ARO
Total Funding: $325,872
Duration: 4/4/2007-4/3/2010
PI: YOSSEF ELABD
Title: 2007 MRS Symposium: Emerging materials
for international security and defense applications
Source: ARO- DNI
Total Funding: $5,000
Duration: 8/13/2007-8/12/2008
Prof. Raj Mutharasan, of the department of
chemical and biological engineering, was
awarded $562,215 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to research the detection of pathogens in drinking water
without the need of a filtration step. Prof.
Mutharasan and his research group will
6
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
use the piezoelectric-excited millimeter-sized
mechanically robust cantilever sensor to test
samples of water spiked with various concentrations of pathogens. This will help characterize sensor response to the levels of pathogens
in the water.
Professor Cairncross received a $1.3 million research and development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday, November 8th, 2006. The grant is part of $17.5 million awarded to 17 biomass demonstration,
research, and development projects.
According to the DOE, Drexel CBE will use the
grant to "improve bio-based polymers for moisture
barrier applications."
Professor Cairncross's research initiative is
entitled "Moisture Management in Polylactide and Polylactide Copolymers. The
project's principal investigators are
Richard
Cairncross,
Giuseppe
Palmese, and Yossef Elabd in chemical and biological engineering at
Drexel, Shri Ramaswamy in
biobased products at University
of Minnesota, and Marc
Hillmyer in chemistry at
University of Minnesota
The Army Research Office has awarded Yossef
A. Elabd a $7.5 million Multi-University Research
Initiative (MURI) grant in conjunction with other
scientists from lead institution Virginia Tech and
partner universities including University of
Pennsylvania and The Pennsylvania State
University. The project, “Ionic Liquids in Electro-Active Devices (ILEAD),” will focus on developing electromechanical devices and
Drexel University’s College of Engineering was
awarded a U.S. Army Materials Center of Excellence for research on polymers by the U.S.
Army Research Laboratory. This is a cooperative
program for $6.75M over a period of nine years
headed by Giuseppe Palmese, professor and
head of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department. Co-PIs of this effort are Cameron
Abrams, Joe Elabd, and Chris Li. The center pro-
high-performance membranes using ionic liquids. This research will have an impact on applications, such as fuel cells, smart fabrics, and
artificial muscles. Industrial collaborators include
DuPont, IBM Almaden, Kraton Polymers, NexGen Aeronautics, BASF, and Discover Technologies. This grant is a 5-year project where Drexel’s
portion is $950K.
posal focused on multiscale synthesis, modeling, and design of advanced polymer systems
and included projects on nanopore-filled systems, encapsulated nano- and meso-fiber
mesh composites, hyperbranched polymers for segmented polyurethanes,
ionically self-healing polymer systems, and computational
modeling.
Annual Report 2006-2007
7
Nily Dan spent her sabbatical in 2005-2006 in the Microfluidics Laboratory of the School for Engineering and Applied Science at Harvard University. Her work focused on the use of microfluidics for
biomedical applications: Polymersomes and colloidosomes for drug delivery and cell encapsulation,
and microfluidics in directed enzyme evolution. Her work at Harvard has appeared in several journal publications, and has led to the funding of a joint project, with David Weitz at Harvard, by the
National Science Foundation.
Figure A
The goal of directed evolution is to mimic nature and develop novel biomaterials by inducing
random genetic mutations. However, such methods are highly inefficient due to the large number
of possible mutations, the majority of which leads to an inactive component. The goal of this
project is to develop a fluorescence-based microfluidic device that can sort 103-104 mutations/sec, thus enabling efficient screening.
Figure B
The goal of this project is to develop a novel drug and cell encapsulation particle whose shell is composed of colloidal particles'colloidosomes', using microfluidic methods. The advantages of
colloidosomes, when compared similar carrier particles, include
controlled porosity, controlled sensitivity to system parameters
(temperature, pH), and the ability to activate release by magnetic
fields.
Figure C
Polymersomes are polymer-based vesicles that have
been widely tested for drug-delivery applications. Current synthesis methods are inefficient, leading to large polydispersity in size
and to significant losses of encapsulants. Here we developed a
microfluidics based polymersome synthesis device that yields
monodisperse particle size with 100% encapsulation efficiency, at
a rate of up to 103 polymersomes/sec.
Prof. Steve Wrenn was awarded the Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation
for the 2006-2007 academic year in Bochum, Germany. There, he worked alongside Prof. Georg Schimtz on a
project entitled “Interactions of Ultrasound with Cholesterol Nanodomains in Lipid Membranes” at Ruhr University.
The focus of the research looks at how ultrasound waves interact with membranes for applications such as wound
healing and drug delivery, and specifically, which acoustic waves create holes in membranes.
Prof. Wrenn’s history with the fellowship started several years ago when he began collaborating with Prof.
Peter Lewin, professor in the department of biomedical engineering. The pair received the Drexel Synergy
Grant and the “Twinning with Poland” grant from the National Research Council. This grant allowed Prof.
Wrenn to travel to the Polish Academy of Sciences – Institute for Ultrasound Research in Warsaw Poland
for the joint German – Poland Biomedical Ultrasound Conference. While there he met the team from
Ruhr University and was nominated by this team and later encouraged to apply for the Humboldt Research Fellowship.
8
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Cameron F. Abrams
PhD, University of California- Berkeley
multiscale molecular simulations, polymer thermodynamics,
molecular and cellular biophysics
Jason B. Baxter
PhD, University of California – Santa Barbara
solar cells, nanowires
Richard A. Cairncross
PhD, University of Minnesota
effects of microstructure on transport in polymers,
biodegradable polymers, transport modeling
Nily R. Dan
PhD, University of Minnesota
gene and drug delivery, polymer nano-composites,
complex fluids
Yossef A. Elabd
PhD, Johns Hopkins University
fuel cells, polymer membranes, diffusion in polymers,
electrocatalysts
Elihu D. Grossmann
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
pyrolysis of polymers, nanotube synthesis,
safety analysis
Kenneth K.S. Lau
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
surface science, nanotechnology, polymer thin films and
coatings, chemical vapor deposition
Anthony M. Lowman
PhD, Purdue University
biomaterials, drug delivery, hydrogels
Raj Mutharasan
PhD, Drexel University
biochemical engineering and biosensors
Giuseppe R. Palmese
PhD, University of Delaware
reacting polymer systems, nanostructured polymers, materials
from renewable sources, composites and interfaces
Masoud Soroush
PhD, University of Michigan
process systems engineering, polymer engineering, modeling
simulation
Charles B. Weinberger
PhD, University of Michigan
suspension rheology, fluid mechanics of multi-phase systems
Steven P. Wrenn
PhD, University of Delaware
biomedical engineering, biological colloids, intercellular
phase separation and mass transfer
Donald R. Coughanowr, Professor Emeritus
Stephen P. Meyer, Assistant Department Head
George Rowell, Visiting Associate Professor
John T. Tallmadge, Professor Emeritus
John R. Thygeson, Professor Emeritus
Annual Report 2006-2007
9
Ehsan Jabbarzadeh Felix Rantow
Kevin Towles
Advisor: Cameron Abrams
Advisor Masoud Soroush
Advisor: Nily Dan
Dissertation: “Theoretical and Experimental
Approaches to Control Blood Vessel Growth
into Tissue Engineered Scaffolds”
Dissertation: “Mechanistic Modeling and
Model-Based Studies in Spontaneous Solution
Polymerization of Alkyl Acrylate Monomers
Dissertation: “Modeling and Experimental
Approaches for Investigating Lipid Bilayer
Heterogeneity”
Angela Leung
Kishan Rijal Advisor Raj Mutharasan
Advisor: Raj Mutharasan
Advisor: Anthony Lowman
Dissertation: “Detection of Cells, Proteins, and
DNA using Tapered Fiber-Optic Biosensors”
Dissertation: “Use of Piezoelectric-Excited
Millimeter-Sized Cantilever (PEMC) Sensors
for DNA-Based Detection of Pathogens and
Disease Conditions”
Dissertation: “Injectable Hydrogels for
Nucleus Pulposus Replacement and Repair of
the Damaged Intervertebral Disc”
Erik D. Perakslis
Advisor: Anthony Lowman
Jennifer Vernengo
Dissertation: “Determination of the in vitro
and in vivo Oral Drug Delivery Capabilities
of Complexation Hydrogels”
Winners of Best Doctoral Disseration
Samuel Laurencin, Advisor: Anthony Lowman
Karri Momyer, Advisor: Anthony Lowman
Vivek Marella, Advisor: Giuseppe Palmese
Joshua Snyder, Advisor: Yossef Elabd
10
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Akinwole Akinfenwa
Isabelle Harroch
Helen Melito***
Stephen Tomczewski
Erik Amrine**
Adam Histed
Krystle Nagle
Stephen Tucker
Dwight Ashleigh
Sean Hutchinson
Michael Ocbo
Farrah Valentine
Seyma Aslan**
Stephen Johnson*
Rosine Passo
Michael Venezian
Daniel Avery
Alisa Kanjanakorn
Devang Patel*
Christopher Barnes
Michael Keefe
Amy Peterson*
Adam Burger
Matthew Losch**
I. Orion Pullman
Bryan Daehnke**
Ian Lutz*
Nicole Rantz
Dustin Dam
Waiyun Ma
Gregory Rothsching*
Nicole Galante
Colleen Mackey
Thomas Salerno*** (1st Honors)
Jimmy George*
Sean Manzano
Joshua Snyder**
Sara Goldberg
Michael Matt
Anthony Stellerine*
Francis Haas *** (2nd Honors)
Lawrence Matthews
Roy Stoflet
* Cum Laude
** Magna Cum Laude
*** Summa Cum Laude
Annual Report 2006-2007
11
12
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Annual Report 2006-2007
13
SAMPE Symposium Winners
Mary Sullivan’s Second Year as NASA Fellow
Jihean Lee, a Ph.D. candidate advised by Prof. Giuseppe Palmese,
was selected as the 2007 SAMPE winner. Jihean was also given
the opportunity to speak about part of her research, “Influence of
water on the kinetics of cationically photo-initiated polymerization of
epoxy systems via electron beam irradiation.” A short talk was given
during the student competition, but she was given the opportunity to
give an extended presentation during the main section of the conference. Every year SAMPE (Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering) holds a student competition. Finalists
are given the opportunity to participate in the International SAMPE
Symposium in Long Beach, California and present their work. The
winner is selected based on leadership, scholarship, innovative ability in research and capability in curricular affairs, activity in student
and community affairs, communicative skills, and growth potential.
Then, one PhD student is chosen to represent the USA in the European conference.
Mary Sullivan is the first student in Drexel’s BS/PhD SuperNOVA
program, majoring in Chemical Engineering. Under the advice of
Giuseppe Palmese, she was selected as a NASA Graduate Fellow
for the second year. Her research focus is the development of nanostructured conductive polymeric composites for chemical sensing applications, and she has been collaborating with the Sensors Division
at Marshall Space Flight Center on her work.
Mary Sullivan, under the direction of Prof. Giuseppe Palmese, was
selected as a student finalist for the Society for the Advancement of
Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Student Research Symposium. All finalists selected were invited to present their research
at the SAMPE International Conference in Baltimore, MD on June
3, 2007. Mary won a cash award for her presentation, “Design of
Nanoporous Polymer Composites with Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes” in the Ph.D. category.
Mike Walters Guest Speaks at 81st Colloid
& Surface Science Symposium
Mike Walters, a PhD student under Prof. Steven Wrenn, spoke at
the 81st Colloid & Surface Science Symposium of the American
Chemical Society at the University of Delaware on June 27, 2007.
Mike's presentation was titled, "the Effect of Sphingomyelinase-Mediated Generation of Ceramide on Aggregation of Low Density
Lipoprotein."
14
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Mary Sullivan was invited to present her PhD research at the International Symposium on Ionizing Radiation and Polymers, held September 26th in Antalya, Turkey. The title of her work was “Electron
Beam Modification and Functionalization of Multiwalled Nanotubes
for Covalent Dispersion in Polymeric Systems,” performed under the
guidance of advisor Giuseppe Palmese, Department Head of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
The NSF IGERT is offered through the Drexel Nanotechnology Institute in cooperation with the University of Pennsylvania.
CBE Senior Design Team Competes in College of
Engineering Competition
The College of Engineering held its Annual Senior Design Group
Competition on Tuesday, June 5, 2007. The competition was sponsored by the Environmental Tectonics Corporation. Eight engineering projects were selected as finalists to present their work during
this last round. The CBE senior design team members were Nicole
Galante, Colleen Mackey, Michael Matt, and Thomas Salerno. The
team's design project entitled "Polymers from Renewable Fatty Acid
Monomers" was advised by Prof. Giuseppe Palmese. The entire department of Chemical and Biological Engineering would like to congratulate the CBE senior design team for being selected as a finalist
for the 2007 Senior Design Competition.
Prof. Abrams’ Work Featured on the
Cover of Tissue Engineering
Prof. Cameron Abrams’ image of “chemoattractant concentration fields inside a 2D porous domain under steady production by a few point sources”
was featured on the August 2007 cover of Tissue Engineering. The August
2007 special issue covers emerging technologies and new basic science
and directions in tissue engineering. Prof. Abrams’ research in Drexel University’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering focuses on multiscale molecular simulations, molecular and cellular biophysics, and polymer
thermodynamics.’
Prof. Mutharasan’s Research Featured in
Newspapers Across the Country
Raj Mutharasan and a sensor he developed to detect pathogens in food and
liquids, was featured in the media throughout the academic year. He was
featured on ABC Action News on September 16, 2006 after the E. coli outbreak nationwide with three cases reported in Pennsylvania. After the recent
attention given to food-borne pathogens in the media nationwide, Prof.
Mutharasan's research on detecting food-borne pathogens was cited for finding a method of detecting individual bacterium in food samples. His research
group is studying the use of piezoelectric-excited millimeter-sized cantilever
sensors to detect pathogens and toxins such as E. coli and salmonella. He
was featured in the October 9, 2006 issue of the L.A. Times, and the December 18 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The story was syndicated and
published in the Monterey County Herald (Calif.), Belleville News-Democrat (Ill.), Kansas City Star (Mo.), San Luis Obispo Tribune
(Calif.), Biloxi Sun Herald (Miss.), Charlotte Observer
(N.C.), Centre Daily Times (Pa.), Myrtle Beach Sun
News (S.C.), Contra Costa Times (Calif.), The State
(Columbia, S.C.), Bradenton Herald (Fla.) and
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Geo.) and on Kentucky.com. Prof. Mutharasan was also featured
on WCAU-TV (NBC-10) on December 17.
Annual Report 2006-2007
15
Brill, R.P., & Palmese, G.R. (2006). Cure behavior of DGEBA vinyl
DeLuca, N.W., & Elabd, Y.A.
ester-styrene resins near silane-treated interfaces. Journal of Applied
Polymer Science, 101(5), 2784-2792.
(2006). Nafion((R))/poly(vinyl alcohol)
blends: Effect of composition and annealing
temperature on transport properties. Journal of
Membrane Science, 282(1-2), 217-224.
Cairncross, R.A., Ramaswamy, S., & O’Connor, R. (2007). Moisture
sorption and transport in polylactide. International Polymer Processing,
22(1), 33-37.
Campbell, G. A., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). Method of measuring
Bacillus anthracis spores in the presence of copious amounts of Bacillus
thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus. Anal. Chem. 79(3), 1145-1152.
Campbell, G. A., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). A method of measuring
Escherichia Coli O157:H7 at 1 cell/mL in 1 liter Sample Using Antibody Functionalized Piezoelectric-Excited Millimeter-Sized Cantilever
Sensor. Environ. Sci. Technol., 41(5), 1668-1674.
Campbell, G. A., Uknalis, J., Mutharasan, R. et al. (2007). Detection
of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef samples using piezoelectric excited millimeter-sized cantilever (PEMC) sensors. Biosensors and
Bioelectronics, 22(7), 1296-1302.
Chen, H., Elabd, Y.A. & Palmese, G.R. (2007). Plasma-aided template
synthesis of inorganic nanotubes and nanorods. J. Mater. Chem., 17,
1593-1596.
Chen, H., Palmese, G.R. & Elabd, Y.A. (2007). Electrosensitive permeability of membranes with oriented polyelectrolyte Nanodomains.
Macromolecules, 40, 781-782.
Chen, H., Palmese, G.R., & Elabd, Y.A. (2006). Membranes with oriented polyelectrolyte nanodomains. Chemistry of Materials, 18(20),
4875-4881.
Cho, E.C., Lim, H.J., Dan, N. et al. (2007). Effect of polymer characteristics on structure of polymer-liposome complexes. Journal of Colloid
and Interface Science, 311(1), 243-252.
Dan, N. & Safran, S.A. (2006). Junctions and end-caps in self-assembled non-ionic cylindrical micelles. Advances in Colloid and Interface
Science, 123, 323-331.
Dan, N., Shimoni, K., Pata, V., et al. (2006). Effect of mixing on the
morphology of cylindrical micelles. Langmuir, 22(24), 9860-9865.
Gorga, R.E., Lau, K.K.S., Gleason, K.K. et al. (2007). The
importance of interfacial design at the carbon nanotube/polymer
composite interface. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 102(2),
1413-1418.
Ivosevic, M., Cairncross, R.A., & Knight, R. (2006). 3D predictions of
thermally sprayed polymer splats: Modeling particle acceleration, heating and deformation on impact with a flat substrate. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 49(19-20), 3285-3297.
Ivosevic, M., Cairncross, R.A., & Knight, R. (2007). Melting and
degradation of nylon-11 particles during HVOF combustion spraying.
Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 105(2), 827-837.
Ivosevic, M., Gupta, V., Cairncross, R.A. et al. (2006). Effect of substrate roughness on splatting behavior of HVOF sprayed polymer particles: Modeling and experiments
Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 15(4), 725-730.
Jabbarzadeh, E., & Abrams, C.F. (2007). Simulations of chemotaxis
and random motility in 2D random porous domains. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 69(2), 747-764.
Jabbarzadeh, E. & Abrams, C.F. (2007). Strategies to enhance capillary formation inside biomaterials: A computational study. Tissue Engineering, 13(8), 2073-2086.
Lau, K.K.S. & Gleason, K.K. (2007). All-dry synthesis and coating of
methacrylic acid copolymers for controlled release. Macromolecular
Bioscience, 7, 429-434.
Leung, A., Shankar, P. M., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). Real-time monitoring of bovine serum albumin at femtogram/mL levels on antibody-immobilized tapered fibers. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, in press
Maraldo, D., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). Optimization of antibody immobilization for sensing using piezoelectrically excited-millimeter-sized
cantilever (PEMC) sensors. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 123(1),
474-479.
David, K., Dan, N., & Tannenbaum, R. (2007). Competitive adsorption of polymers on metal nanoparticles. Surface Science, 601(8),
1781-1788.
Maraldo, D., Rijal, K., Campbell, G., & Mutharasan, R. (2007).
Method for label-free detection of femtogram quantities of biologics
in flowing liquid samples. Anal. Chem., 79, 2762-2770.
David, K., Tadd, E.H., Dan, N., et al. (2006). Effect of polymer architecture on metal nanoclusters. Polymer, 47(25), 8344-8349.
Maraldo, D. & Mutharasan, R. (2007). 10-minute assay for detecting
DeLuca, N.W., & Elabd, Y.A. (2006). Direct methanol fuel cell per-
Escherichia coli O157: H7 in ground beef samples using piezoelectricexcited millimeter-size cantilever sensors. Journal of Food Protection,
70(7), 1670-1677.
formance of Nafiono((R))/poly(vinyl alcohol) blend membranes. Journal
of Power Sources, 163(1), 386-391.
16
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Metzger, K.L., Shoemaker, J.M., Kahn, J.B., Maxwell,
C.R., Liang, Y., Lowman, A.M., et al. (2007). In vivo pharmacokinetic
and behavioral characterization of a long-term antipsychotic delivery
system. Psycopharmacology, 190, 201-211.
Niezgoda, S., Gupta, V., Cairncross, R.A. et al. (2006). Effect of
reinforcement size on the scratch resistance and crystallinity of HVOF
prayed nylon-11/ceramic composite coatings. Journal of Thermal Spray
Technology, 15(4), 731-738
Panjapornpon, C., & Soroush, M. (2007a). Online parameter estimation through dynamic inversion: A real-time study. Industrial &
Engineering Chemistry Research, 46(8), 2503-2507.
Panjapornpon, C., & Soroush, M. (2007). Shortest-prediction-horizon
nonlinear model predictive control with guaranteed asymptotic
stability. International Journal of Control,
80(10), 1533–1543.
Pong, M., Umchid, S., Wrenn, S.P. et al. (2006). In vitro ultrasound-mediated leakage from phospholipid vesicles. Ultrasonics, 45
(1-4), 133-145.
Rijal, K., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). Piezoelectric-excited millimeter-sized
cantilever sensors detect density differences of a few micrograms/mL in
liquid medium. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, In Press.
Siegel, S.J., Kahn, J.B., Dan, N., et al. (2006). Effect of drug type on
the degradation rate of PLGA matrices. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 64(3), 287-293.
Soroush, M. Rantow, F.S., & Dimitratos, Y. (2006). Control quality loss
in analytical control of input-constrained processes. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 45(25), 8528-8538.
Towles, K.B., & Dan, N. (2007). Determination of membrane domain
size by fluorescence resonance energy transfer: Effects of domain
polydispersity and packing. Langmuir, 23(9), 4737-4739.
on craze formation in simulated glassy polymers under tensile load.
Molecular Simulation, 33(4-5), 421-427.
Towles, K.B., Brown, A.C., Wrenn, S.P. et al. (2007). Effect of membrane microheterogeneity and domain size on fluorescence resonance
energy transfer. Biophysical Journal, 93(2),
655-667.
Rijal, K., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). A method for measuring
Troup, G.M., Wrenn, S.P., Apel-Paz, M., et al. (2006). A time-resolved
self-assembly of alkanethiols on gold at femtomorlar concentrations.
Langmuir, in press.
fluorescence diphenylhexatriene (DPH) anisotropy characterization of a
series of model lipid constructs for the sperm plasma membrane. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 45(21), 6939-6945.
Richardson, D.G., & Abrams, C.F. (2007). The effects of nanotube fillers
Wilson, T.L., Campbell, G.A., & Mutharasan, R. (2007). Viscosity and
density values from excitation level response of piezoelectric-excited
cantilever sensors. Sensors and Actuators A-Physical, 138(1), 44-51.
Annual Report 2006-2007
17
PI: Cameron Abrams
PI: Yossef Elabd
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Predicting Failure in Carbon Nanotube
Reinforced Polymer composites: A Novel Multiscale Simulation Approach
Source: Office of Naval Research
Total Funding: $336,313.00
Duration: 6/1/2003-11/30/2006
Title: Selective and Responsive NanoporeFilled Membranes as Breathable Barriers
Source: Army
Total Funding: $698,070.00
Duration: 1/25/2005-1/24/2007
Title: Development of Low HAP, High Performance Vinyl Ester Resins
Source: Army
Total Funding: $150,000.00
Duration: 5/23/2007-9/30/2008
PI: Anthony Lowman
PI: Cameron Abrams
Title: pH-Sensitive Complex Hydrogels for
Protein Drug Release
Source: University of Texas at Austin
Total Funding: $726,444.00
Duration: 5/2/2005-4/30/2007
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Cell Migration in Porous Biomaterials
Engineering
Source: National Science Foundation
Total Funding: $96,129.00
Duration: 11/1/2003-10/31/2006
PI: Cameron Abrams
Title: ITR-ASE-sim: Inhomogeneously Resolved
Simulation of Protein Assembly Dynamics
Source: National Science Foundation
Total Funding: $420,000.00
Duration: 9/1/2004-8/31/2009
PI: Cameron Abrams
Title: CAREER: Multiscale Simulation of Solute
Transport in Hydrogels
Source: National Science Foundation
Total Funding: $400,000.00
Duration: 2/15/2006-1/31/2010
PI: Cameron Abrams
Title: Bioerodible Matrices for Bone Tissue Engineering
Source: University of Virginia
Total Funding: $15,333.00
Duration: 11/1/2005-9/30/2006
PI: Cameron Abrams
Title: Thermodynamics of Heteropolymers
Under Confinement
Source: American Chemical Society
Total Funding: $35,000.00
Duration: 2/1/2005-8/31/2008
PI: Richard Cairncross
Title: Collaborative Research on Thermal
Spray of Multi-Scale Polymer/Ceramic Composite Coatings
Source: National Science Foundation
Total Funding: $319,643.00
Duration: 8/1/2002-7/31/2006
PI: Yossef Elabd
Title: Tuning Ionic Block Copolymers of Sulfonated Polystyrene And Polyvinyl Alcohol
Source: Army
Total Funding: $149,504.00
Duration: 6/15/2004-12/14/2006
18
PI: Anthony Lowman
Title: Thermogelling Polymers for Nucleus Pulposus Replacement
Source: Synthes Spine Co, LP
Total Funding: $637,923.00
Duration: 3/29/2004-3/28/2007
PI: Anthony Lowman
Title: Hydrogels for Nucleus Pulporous Replacement
Source: Synthes Spine Co, LP
Total Funding: $975,000.00
Duration: 4/1/04-3/30/09
PI: Raj Mutharasan
Title: Ultra Sensitive Continuous Tapered Fiber
Biosensors for Pathogens and Bioterrorism
Agents
Source: National Science Foundation
Total Funding: $455,917.00
Duration: 9/1/2003-8/31/2007
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Rational Design of Multifunctional Polymeric Composites
Source: Army
Total Funding: $713,968.00
Duration: 6/1/2002-2/28/2008
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Multiscale Synthesis, Modeling, and Design of Advanced Polymer Systems
Source: Army
Total Funding: $1,463,600.00
Duration: 3/30/2006-3/29/2009
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Multiscale Synthesis, Modeling, and Design of Advanced Polymer Systems: Carbon
Nanoparticle Deposition, Functionalization,
and Nanocomposite Development
Source: Army
Total Funding: $24,750
Duration: 8/16/2006-3/29/2007
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Title: Modification and Optimization of ARL
Plasma System for Treatment of Large Polymer Samples
Source: Army
Total Funding: $36,760.00
Duration: 5/23/2007-5/31/2008
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Novel Polymer Systems for Sensors and
Spacecraft Protective Materials
Source: NASA
Total Funding: $78,000.00
Duration: 7/1/2005-6/30/2007
PI: Giuseppe Palmese
Title: Reformulation Project
Source: Benjamin Franklin Technology Institute
Total Funding: $11,505.27
Duration: 3/1/07-2/29/08
PI: Steven Wrenn
Title: Cholesterol Nanodomain Formation in
Lipid Membranes
Source: National Institute of General Medical
Science
Total Funding: $419,083.00
Duration: 2/1/2005-12/31/2007
PI: Steven Wrenn
Title: CAREER: Cholesterol Domains in Model
Lipid Membranes
Source: National Science Foundation
Total Funding: $232.888.00
Duration: 1/15/2004-12/31/2006
PI: Steven Wrenn
Title: Symposium Novel Colloidal Technology
Source: Whitaker Foundation
Total Funding: $4,867.95
Duration: 3/15/2005-12/31/2005
DONORS
ExxonMobil Foundation,
Mr. William F. McGlynn, Jr., 1974, UG
Alum
National Institute of General
Medical Sciences
Corporate Foundation
Mr. Stephen P. Meyer, 1965, UG Alum
National Institute of Health
Hess Foundation, Inc.,
Corporate Foundation
Mr. William J. Moffatt, 1975, UG Alum
National Medical Technology
Mr. Michael A. Mueller, 1963, UG Alum
National Science Foundation
Shell Oil Company Foundation,
Prof. Albert T. Olenzak, 1955, UG Alum
Office of Naval Research
Corporate Foundation
Mr. Joseph M. Petracco, 1996, UG Alum
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Ms. Carolyn W. Drobot, Friend
Mr. Robert A. Pfeiffer, 1997, UG Alum
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Mr. Deepak Agarwal,1975,Grad Alum
Mrs. Vicki L. Poponi, 1984, UG Alum
Philadelphia Higher Education
Mrs. Roberta A. Hittner, 1985, Grad Alum
Mr. Joseph J. Puskar, 1970, UG Alum
Purdue University
John W. Via III, P.E., 1992 Grad Alum
Mr. John E. Riley, 1983, UG Alum
Sandia National Laboratories
Mr. Timothy J. Murnane, Parent
Mrs. Susan Marie Riley 1983, UG Alum
Scientific Research Laboratories
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.,
Mr. Joseph M. Rzonca, 1941, UG Alum
Synthes Spine Co, LP
Mr. David Slosberg, 1958, UG Alum
The Arthritis Foundation
Public Corporation
Hovensa L.L.C., Public Corporation
Rohm & Haas Company, Public Corporation
Prof. Russell L. Anderson, 1985, UG Alum
Mr. Dominic A. Apikos,1963, UG Alum
Mr. Robert O. Barfoot, 1952, UG Alum
Mr. Louis Beke, Jr., 1976 UG Alum
William M. Bodnar, D.M.D,
1969, UG Alum
Ms. Sarah M. Carpo, 1995, UG Alum
Mr. James A. Clarke, 1948, UG Alum
John D. Cole, CPA, 1974, UG Alum
Mr. Michael P. Connor, Sr., 1980, UG Alum
Mr. Gerard J. Donnelly, 1973, UG Alum
Prof. William H. Dresher, 1953, UG Alum
Mr. Walter Drobot, 1944, UG Alum
Mr. Richard B. Fackler, Sr. 1950 UG Alum
Mr. Carl J. Gakeler, 1963, UG Alum
Mr. William A. Graul, 1952, UG Alum
Mr. Philip M. Hittner, 1977, UG Alum
Mr. William C. Howard, Jr., 1950, UG
Alum
Mr. Joshua M. Stauffer, 2005, UG Alum
Thomas Jefferson University
Mr. Paul M. Stephenson, 1978, UG Alum
U.S. Air Force
Mr. Edward R. Tinsley, 1960, UG Alum
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mr. N. Bruce Weir, 1948, UG Alum
U.S. Department of Transportation
Mr. Andrew M. Woodard, Jr.,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1965, UG Alum
University of Delaware
Mr. Joseph J. Yula, 1982, UG Alum
University of Texas at Austin
FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS
Alcoa Inc.
American Chemical Society
University of Virginia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Whitaker Foundation
Apogee Inc
Army Research Laboratories
Army Research Office
Aventis Research and Technologies
Avery Dennison Research Center
Benjamin Franklin Technolgoy Center
Council for Chemical Research
NASA
National Institute of Arthritis
Mr. Anthony Joseph Kash, 2003, UG Alum
Mr. Vance E. Kilmore, Jr., 1969, UG Alum
Mr. Melvyn J. Kopstein, 1970, UG Alum
Mr. Curtis G. Kramer, Jr., 1975, UG Alum
Mr. Erle F. Krauss, 1940, UG Alum
Mr. Jason P. Kuntz, 1995, UG Alum
Mr. Samuel B. Long, Jr., 1948, UG Alum
Mr. Fred J. Mallgrave, Jr., 1943, UG Alum
Mr. Leon A. Mattioli, 1959, UG Alum
Mr. Paul D. Mayovich, 1991, UG Alum
If you would like to make a donation to the department, please
contact Katie Smalley at 215-895-2239 or kms88@drexel.edu.
Annual Report 2006-2007
19
DREXEL UNIVERSITY
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering • 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.895.2227 • www.chemeng.drexel.edu