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| Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816 August 3, 2004 UNM RECEIVES $500,000 FLUID DYNAMICS RESEARCH GRANTThe University of New Mexico has been awarded a $500,000 grant to investigate the transport of complex fluids at nanoscale dimensions. The project will seek to develop a new generation of methods and devices that address the need for efficient separation of biomolecular components. The grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation will be used to purchase a scanning laser microscope. Funding will also be used to create the Keck Nanofluidics Laboratory, located at the UNM School of Engineering. Gabriel López, professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering and Chemistry, led the diverse team that applied for the grant. “The Keck Foundation grant will help foster collaborative research between the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine, which is investigating the transport of complex fluids in nano-scale channels,” said Joseph L. Cecchi, dean of the UNM School of Engineering. “Beyond the support itself, this award clearly recognizes the exciting potential of the work of Professor López and his team.” Co-investigator on the project is Steven R. J. Brueck , professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics and astronomy. Brueck is also director of UNM's Center for High Technology Materials and an expert in the manufacturability of materials similar to the ones being studied. The microscope, which will be the centerpiece of the laboratory, will complement and enable research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, Los Alamos National Laboratory and others. For López and Brueck, the promise is that the ability to manipulate and control fluid elements in nanoscale devices will lead to generations of dramatic advances. Findings would be analogous to those that have resulted from the ability to control electronic charge transport in silicon integrated circuits. There are many potential applications for such work, especially in the biomedical area. By separating, manipulating, redirecting and reacting complex protein mixtures through these tiny channels, it is possible to analyze them so that their properties can be better understood. Such understanding could lead to development of new drugs. López said that methods developed through the research would address critical needs for applications to pharmaceutics, environmental science and advanced diagnostics. “Our work will have immediate relevance to a wide range of scientific and societal problems,” López said. Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundation's grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering. # # # Comments to: |