Nanotechnology Grants
Research and other
NanoActivities at EPA
Barbara Karn, PhD
US Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Research and
Development
National Center for
Environmental Research
Monday, November 18, 2002
US Department of Agriculture
EPA's Mission:
Protect human health and
safeguard the natural environment
— air, water, land — upon which
life depends.
EPA Organization and Goals
EPA's 10 Strategic Goals:
Administrator
Deputy Administrator
Assistant Administrator
for Administration and
Resources Management
Assistant Administrator
for Air and Radiation
Assistant Administrator
for Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
•
•
•
•
Office of the Chief
Financial Officer
Office of General
Counsel
Office of Inspector
General
•
Assistant Administrator
for International
Activities
Assistant Administrator
for Environmental
Information
Assistant Administrator
for Prevention, Pesticides,
and Toxics Substances
Assistant Administrator
for Research and
Development
Assistant Administrator
for Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Assistant Administrator
for Water
Region 1
Boston
Region 2
New York
Region 3
Philadelphia
Region 4
Atlanta
Region 5
Chicago
Region 6
Dallas
Region 7
Kansas City
Region 8
Denver
Region 9
San Francisco
Region 10
Seattle
•
•
•
•
•
Clean Air
Clean and Safe Water
Safe Food
Preventing Pollution and Reducing
Risk in Communities, homes,
Workplaces and Ecosystems
Better Waste Management and
Restoration of Contaminated Waste
Sites
Reduction of Global and Cross
Border Environmental Risks
Expansion of Americans’ Right-toKnow
Sound Science, Improved
Understanding of Environmental
Risk and Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems
A Credible Deterrent to Pollution
and Greater Compliance with the
Law
Effective Management
The National Center for Environmental Research
(NCER)
•ORD provides the leadership in science and conducts
most of EPA’s research and development
•NCER is one of two Centers that, together with three
National Laboratories, comprise the Office of
Research and Development
•NCER is ORD’s extramural research arm
•ORD’s research budget is approx. $550 million, with
$100 million for competitive extramural grants and
fellowships (STAR)
•ORD in cooperation with other EPA offices selects
topics for research in the STAR program
STAR Program
•Established in 1995 as part of the overall
reorganization of ORD
•Mission: include this country’s universities and nonprofit centers in EPA’s research program and to ensure
the best possible quality of science in areas of highest
risk and greatest importance to the Agency
•Award about $100 million annually
•Manage about 1000 active research grants and
fellowships
•Each year: receive 3000-3500 grant applications;
make about 300 new STAR awards
NCER’s Extramural Programs
Science To Achieve Results (STAR)
Targeted Research Grants through Requests for Applications RFAsDirected specifically towards national environmental science needs as
related to the mission of EPA: Topics selected to complement in-house
research program
Exploratory/Futures Grants- General Solicitation in broad areas related to
mission of the Agency----NANOTECHNOLOGY
Joint Solicitations with other Agencies -Topics complement partner’s inhouse research program
Competed Centers
Earmarked Centers
Hazardous Substance Research Centers
EPSCoR
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Contracts
Environmental Challenges for the
21st Century…
Maintaining and Improving Soil, Water, and Air Quality
Emissions of
Airborne Gaseous
and Particulate
Matter
“Asian Brown Cloud”,
United Nations
Environment Programme
(UNEP)
Abandoned
Industrial and
Mining Sites
Oil and Chemical
Spills
Pesticide and
Fertilizer Runoff
…and the Promising Role of
Nanotechnology
Pollution Prevention
Treatment/
Remediation
Sensors
• Improve environmental
technologies (treatment,
remediation, sensing)
• Improve manufacturing
processes (efficiency,
waste reduction)
• Dematerialization
The scale of things
1 nm = 10-9 m
EPA Nanotechnology Activities
Environmental Applications
First RFA
 Synthesis and Processing;
 Characterization and
Manipulation;
 Modeling and Simulation;
 Device and System
Concepts
EPA Grantees’
workshop, August
28-29, 2002
SBIR
Nanomaterials and
Clean Technologies
Applications
and
Implications
Second RFA
 Environmentally Benign
Manufacturing and Processing;
 Remediation/Treatment;
 Sensors;
 Environmental Implications of
Nanotechnology
? ??
?
?
Third RFA
Health Effects of
Manufactured
Nanomaterials
Implications
 ACS Symposium-March 2003;
 AIChE sessions Nov. 2003
 Interagency Environmental
Conference-Summer 2003
Building a Green
Nanotech Community-
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIENCE
1st Nano RFA
Opened January, 2001; Closed June, 2001
82 Proposals Received
16 Grantees supported
$5.8 M for 3-year research grants,
averaging over $370.7K
Example EPA STAR Research
Sensors
Nanostructured microcantilever
for sensing single microbe
Catalytic
Nanostructures
 Transition metal carbide and
oxycarbide nanoparticles for
exhaust gas treatement.
 Replace use of expensive
Pt-group metals
Ismat Shah, U Delaware
A microcantilever (made from nanoparticles)
is used to detect and manipulate nanosized
biological contaminants. Applicable for
miniaturization of detection technology
Wan Y. Shih, Drexel University
Sensors
Heavy Metals
Molecular electronics
Nanoscale electrodes on a silicon chip
used to detect a few metal ions without
preconcentration. Suitable for on-site
detection of ultratrace levels of heavy
metal ions including radioactive
Nongjian Tao, Arizona State
Nanostructured porous silicon with
nanowire coatings used for realtime,
remote and industiral process control
of specified heavy metals
William Trogler, UC San Diego
Nanowire
sensor for
explosives
Cross-sectional electron micrograph of
luminescent porous silicon.
Treatment/Remediation
Photocatalysts
Ag/Au@TiO2 nanoparticles for
remediation of environmental
pollutants in water.
Uses energy of visible sunlight
for photochemical reaction.
George Chumanov, Clemson University
Bioderived nanosized
catalysts
Chemical degradation
processes in soil or
water.
Daniel Strongin, Temple U
Treatment/Remediation
Membrane and PolymerBased Nanostructures
Heavy-metal
binding
Utilization of a non-toxic
polymer to bind heavy
metals like arsenic in
water or soil
Wilfred Chen, UC Riverside
Reductive dechlorination of
organic pollutants in water or
soil using nanosize FeS
clusters immobilized in
dendrimer nanostructures
Mamadou Diallo, Howard U
Dechlorination
Nanoparticles immobilized in
membrane for treatment of
hazardous organics in water. Use
may lead to miniaturization of
dechlorination reactor systems.
Dibakar Bhattacharyya, U Kentucky
Green Synthesis of
Nanoparticles
Exploring how to stabilize nanoparticles without
harmful additives (make “bare" nanoparticles) that
would pollute water, and soil.
Darrell Velegol, Penn State
Green Catalysis
“Sense and Shoot”
Multifunctionality
Green selective oxidation reactions
in cation-exchanged zeolites
NOx emission abatement
Decomposition of organic
contaminants water or air.
Sarah Larsen, U Iowa
Composite carbon
nanotube/magnetic nanoparticle
structures that can both detect and
treat contaminants in water or air
Wolfgang Sigmund, U Florida
2nd--2002 solicitation
Opened: February 13, 2002 - Closed: July 1, 2002
Over 130 applications
Fall peer review with awards early 2003
3rd--2003 solicitation
Beginning writing; expect RFA in April/May 2003
Health Effects of Manufactured Nanomaterials
NANOTECH GRANTEES’
CONFERENCE
AUGUST 28/29,2002
Proceedings available soon
EPA/USDA areas for coordination and cooperation:
Monitoring/Sensing: Safe food, Runoff, Land/soil,
Water bodies
Treatment/remediation: Feedlots, Agricultural
products, Ponds, Drinking water
Pollution Prevention: Agribusiness, Agricultural
chemical use, Renewable feedstocks
Contact us:
WWW.EPA.GOV/NCER
Barbara Karn
karn.barbara@epa.gov