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STEM (VENTURES)

The Vision for Excellence at NTU in Research and Education.

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STEM (VENTURES)

This project, the Vision for Excellence at NTU in Research and Education in STEM (VENTURES), is a partnership between NTU and the National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Harvard University

The two materials research areas

in this award are relevant to health and environmental issues that are of immediate importance to the Navajo Nation.

Research Area 1

Research area 1

will focus on developing materials and techniques for the electrochemical detection of low concentrations of pollutants such as heavy metals and disease biomarkers such as glucose. This research area is motivated by the long history of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation, as well as more recent extraction activities, such as fracking. Low-cost electrochemical detection can also be used to monitor health issues like obesity and type 2 diabetes on the Navajo Nation.
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Research Area 2

Research area 2

which will study mechanical properties of cell membranes, will help to address a growing health concern for the Navajo people - a rising incidence of high cholesterol and associated coronary disease. Collaborative research teams in research area 1 will fabricate and test electrodes for detection of mining contaminants, and develop microfluidics-based laboratory models for flow and detection of contaminants through soil. Research area 2 will investigate the ability of phytosterols to act as cholesterol surrogates and how they modify the sterol profile of mammalian cell membranes, as well as examine the resulting membrane biophysical properties (using capillary microfluidic techniques).
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Research Area 3
By linking each research area to an issue of concern to the Navajo people, this team will be able to achieve the objectives of increasing enrollment in STEM fields at NTU, and will inspire students to continue to graduate research in materials and related fields. In addition, the highly accessible research techniques can be readily adapted into courses at NTU and outreach activities to the Navajo Nation, incorporating cultural knowledge and practices.
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Meet The Faculty

Email: tsoundappan@navajotech.edu
Phone: 505.387.7450
Ph.D. Electrochemistry (Eng), National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
M.S. General Chemistry, Bharathiar University, India
B.S. General Chemistry, Periyar University, India

Dr. Thiagarajan Soundappan

Associate Professor of Chemistry / Chair for School of Science

Email: ianeanyangwe@navajotech.edu
Phone: 505.786.4330
PhD Microbiology, University of Buea, Cameroon
M.Sc Medical Microbiology, University of Lagos, Nigeria
B.Sc. Microbiology, University of Lagos, Nigeria

Dr. Irene Ane Anyangwe

Professor of Biology

Email: ameles@navajotech.edu
Ph.D., Experimental Nuclear and Particle Physics, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
M.S., Physics, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
M.Sc., Theoretical Nucelar and Particle Physics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
B.Sc., Physics Teaching, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dr. Abraham Meles

Assistant Professor of Physics

Email: mramoni@navajotech.edu
Ph.D., Industrial Engineering, Texas Tech University
Master, Industrial Engineering, Wayne State University
Master, Manufacturing Engineering & Management, University of Birmingham, UK
Bachelor, Industrial & Production Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Dr. Monsuru O. Ramoni

Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering

Email: gwhitesides@gmwgroup.harvard.edu
A. B. Harvard University
Ph.D. Californa Institute of Technology

George Whitesides

Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Email: weitz@seas.harvard.edu
Director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
Co-Director of the BASF Advanced Research Initiative
Core Faculty Member, Wyss Institute for Biomedical Engineering
Member, Kavli Institute for Bionano Science & Technology

David A. Weitz

Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics