The National Science Foundation recently awarded $279,297 to seven chemistry professors at Armstrong State University.  Dr. Brandon P. Quillian (Principle Investigator), Dr. Sarah E. Gray, Dr. Gary Guillet, Dr. Cliff Padgett, Dr. Nathaniel Shank, Dr. Mitch Weiland and Dr. Sarah Zingales received a two-year grant for “Polymer Chemistry: Cross-linking the Curriculum.” The grant supports the infusion of polymer chemistry, a multidisciplinary science, throughout the curriculum.
 
“This grant will benefit Armstrong faculty and students by expanding polymer expertise on our campus while exposing students to in-depth theoretical, practical and research aspects of polymer science,” notes Dr. Will Lynch, head of the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Armstrong. “This collective project will support our students and provide professional development for our faculty in the area of polymers, which account for more than half of all synthetic materials.”
 
The award will fund several undergraduate research students and faculty mentors in individual projects focusing on polymer chemistry. Students involved in this undergraduate research will have the opportunity to travel to regional and national meetings to present research findings with their faculty mentor and network with scholars and students from other institutions.
 
The NSF provides funding for research and education in most science and engineering fields to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the U.S. The foundation accounts for roughly one-fourth of federal support to academic institutions for basic research.
 
The NSF receives approximately 40,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 12,000 are funded after a rigorous merit review often referred to as the “gold standard.”