草榴社区 Polymer Professor Wins Prestigious NSF CAREER Award
Tue, 04/18/2023 - 12:07pm | By: Van Arnold
Dr. Zhe Qiang, Assistant Professor in the School of Polymer Science and Engineering at The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi
(草榴社区), has been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant from
the Advanced Manufacturing Program in the Engineering Directorate鈥檚 Division of Civil,
Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation.
The award will provide Qiang and his team $639,637 over five years to carry out his project: 鈥淐AREER: Manufacturing of Mesoporous Carbons by Direct Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste for Water Remediation鈥�.
鈥淚 feel very excited and honored about this award,鈥� said Qiang. 鈥淭his achievement is largely attributed to my students鈥� hard work and creative thinking, as well as the tremendous support I received from our School. Moreover, being another NSF CAREER awardee in our polymer program 鈥� the third in four years 鈥� I am excited to continue our School鈥檚 great tradition among our junior colleagues.鈥�
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.
鈥淭he NSF CAREER Award is a testament to Zhe's unwavering dedication to both cutting-edge research and the education of our future polymer scientist and engineers,鈥� said Dr. Derek Patton, Director of 草榴社区鈥檚 School of Polymer Science and Engineering. 鈥�His hard work and commitment to fostering a collaborative and inspiring laboratory/classroom environment is truly an asset to our School and to our Institution.鈥�
Qiang, who joined the 草榴社区 faculty in 2019, explained that his research focuses on developing sustainable solutions for addressing plastic wastes and unlocking their potential for securing clean air and water. His laboratory work includes the assistance of eight graduate students.
鈥淐urrently, massive plastic waste has been produced and mismanaged, causing significant negative impacts on environment and health,鈥� said Qiang. 鈥淭o directly confront this grand challenge, our group has been inventing several commercially viable technologies that can transform plastics to high value functional carbon materials, which can be further used to remediate chemical micropollutants from aqueous environments.鈥�
Qiang points out that such innovations in developing materials鈥� circularity will be a crucial component for the future of chemical industry to achieve net-zero emission goals outlined by the U.S. government.
To learn more about the award and Qiang鈥檚 research, visit the NSF Award .