The National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation (NSF-MRI) program recently made a $254,457
grant to establish an Aerogel Fabrication, Characterization, and Applications Lab
at Union.
An aerogel is a fragile nanostructure consisting of approximately 90-99 percent air. The new lab is a collaborative effort between the Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering Departments to provide a state-of-the-art research facility for student and faculty use. Funding for the lab enables the two departments to introduce their students to an exciting new cross-disciplinary area. Faculty involved in the project are Professors
Ann Andersen, mechanical engineering; Mary Carroll, chemistry; Mike Hagerman, chemistry; and Rich Wilk, mechanical engineering.
Previous NSF-MRI awards have provided instrumentation for non-contact measurement, used in research by Professors Ron Bucinell and Bill Keat,
both in mechanical engineering, and a laser confocal microscope, awarded to Professors Quynh Chu-LaGraff, Barbara Boyer, Barbara Danowski, Steve Horton, and Rob Lauzon, all in biology, for use by them and their students.