Arkansas Tech University student Hope Schneider and two faculty mentors are working on a research project that could contribute to breakthroughs in energy production and biomedicine.
Schneider (photographed), a sophomore electrical engineering major and University Honors student from Prosper, Texas, is working with Dr. Daniel Bullock, associate professor of electrical engineering, and Dr. James Steuber, associate professor of mechanical engineering, in an effort to study the electrospinning of nanofibers for energy harvesting applications.
“Nanofibers are extremely small fibers…over 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of the average human hair…that exhibit novel electrical, mechanical and chemical properties,” said Bullock. “By optimizing the conditions under which these fibers are produced, we hope to engineer nanofibers that could be used for innovative energy production devices or as scaffolding to promote cell or tissue growth.”
Seed funding for the project in the amount of $5,000 was made available by the Arkansas Center for Energy, Natural Resources, and Environmental Studies (ACENRES), which is housed at Arkansas Tech. Dr. Jason Patton, associate professor of geology, serves as director for the ACENRES.
Schneider will present findings from the study at the 100th annual meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Sciences on April 1-2 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Bullock and Steuber are partnering with faculty colleagues Dr. Newton Hilliard, Dr. Charles Mebi and Dr. Ivan Still from the Arkansas Tech College of Natural and Health Sciences to prepare a National Science Foundation proposal that could provide funding to further explore the biomedical applications of the ongoing research.
“The seed funding from the ACENRES puts us in a much better position to compete for external funding from sources such as NSF,” said Bullock.
