UALR Teams Share in $20 Million NSF Grant

Three teams of UALR scientists and engineers, working with colleagues across the state are collaborating — with the help of a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation — to turn knowledge from their laboratories into the industries and jobs for Arkansas. The grant awarded to the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority will advance research at three research centers as part of phase II of the Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering, and Technology — ASSET — Initiative. “There are three projects funded at UALR,” said Dr. Michael Gealt, dean of the UALR College of Science and Mathematics. The UALR teams are headed by:

• Dr. Stephen Grace, professor of biology. He said the grant will continue his team’s involvement in Arkansas Center for Plant-Powered Production, helping develop plant “factories” that can produce more natural pharmaceutical substances, or generate concentrates of nutritional supplements.

“Plants show tremendous promise as safe and scalable biofactories for high-value proteins, unique chemicals, and renewable biomaterials,” Grace said. “The ability to effectively exploit the unique biosynthetic capacity of plants will be critical in addressing global challenges in energy, climate change, human health, and food security.”

• Dr. Tar-pin Chen, chair of UALR’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. He leads UALR’s team on the GREEN Project, a five-year project receiving the largest — $8 million — share of the NSF grant. That team is developing low-cost, highly efficient solar cells using newly developed nanomaterials and optics. The current solar cell panels based on silicon semiconductors have energy conversion efficiency — output of electrical power relative the solar power — of only 20 percent and they cost more than traditional fossil fuel, said  Dr. Jingbiao Cui, a member of the UALR team.

“The main goal of our GREEN research team is to develop research expertise in the emerging field of next generation solar cells based on nanomaterials and nanotechnology. We will develop the necessary research infrastructure that will enable us to integrate Surface Plasmon Photonics with proven thin film and novel nanowire solar cells in photovoltaic devices. The proposed nanoresearch will lead to new solar cells with high efficiency and low cost.” The surface plasmonic nanostructures are the metallic structures with size in the range of tens to hundred nanometers, which will significantly enhance light absorption of solar cells materials and therefore enhance the cell efficiency.

• Dr. Alex Biris, director and chief research scientist at the Nanotechnology Center at UALR. His UALR team is working on the Vertically integrated Center for Transformative Energy Research — VICTER. The project is developing new power electronics that will interface with the national energy grid.

“The economic development impact for Arkansas could be substantial as the research being developed will create new industry within the state,” said Dr. Gail McClure, director of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research  (EPSCoR) and vice president of sponsored projects at ASTA.

McClure said the P3 project can turn plants into factories for natural pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements. “We know that anti-aging and cancer-fighting agent resveratrol is an antioxidant present in a wide variety of plants and is known especially in red wine. But you would have to drink a lot of wine for it to make a big difference,” McClure said. “What if we can create a plant that generates large quantities of the substance and are able manufacture resveratrol supplements?” She said the market for such a supplement would be lucrative. The GREEN project envisions the ability to absorb enormous amounts of sun energy at a much lower cost and with much more efficiency. The VICTER project aims at developing fuel cells powerful enough to run large appliances and households and connect with the energy grid. The grant is the second phase of the Arkansas ASSET project, developed from a two-year process of internal competition within the state. With the first three-year phase now completed, McClure said efforts will be made to leverage ASSET II resources to position Arkansas as a major player in research on  the world stage. “Our choice of research themes was not happenstance,” she said. “We believe that making these three strategic research themes the center of the ASSET II Project will help change our economy, dramatically affect the state’s workforce, and empower Arkansas to compete in a 21st century global economy. It is an investment in Arkansas’ future.”
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