Left to right: Tanvir Chowdhury, Muhammad Shiraz Ahmad, Tom Samuel, Chandrima Kartik, Md Ibnul RahmanFive students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have received grants from the Alabama Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Graduate Research Scholars Program, or EPSCoR GRSP.
These graduate students have been awarded a total of $142,500. Each student crafted a successful proposal to receive the external research grant.
Chandrima Kartik and Tom Samuel, both from the UAB Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, were among the winners. Kartik received $30,000 to study the use of plasma to process soft biomaterials and implants that can go inside the human body. Samuel received $22,500 for research regarding how textile fabrics reflect heat using different tiny materials, called nanomaterials.
“Excellence in the cutting-edge areas of applied research is one of the strategic goals of the MME department,” said Kathy Lu, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering in the UAB School of Engineering. “These awards will enhance our graduate programs and allow us to provide the students the professional skills highly needed in the field.”
UAB Department of Chemistry students Tanvir Chowdhury and Md Ibnul Rahman each received $30,000. Chowdhury’s research focuses on the transcription of special messages made at the ends of chromosomes, which are called telomeres. Rahman will research different structures of telomeres across various species.
“This is a very competitive program, and it speaks to the quality of the research and proposals that these students have produced,” said Richard A. Dluhy, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Chemistry in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences.
Muhammad Shiraz Ahmad from the Department of Physics received $30,000 to conduct research on how plasma synthesizes special materials called high-entropy carbides, which are materials with metal atoms mixed up in a disorderly way.
“Shiraz is not just learning physics; he’s learning how to lead,” said Ilias Perakis, Ph.D., chair of the UAB Department of Physics. “This award strengthens UAB Physics’ role in building Alabama’s research capacity and enhances our ability to train students to meet the grand challenges of the 21st century.”
The Graduate Research Scholars Program was established in 2006 by the Alabama State Legislature, providing grants for the advancement of scientific research and innovation in Alabama.