John Angelos 

 Chemical Engineering 

I enjoy working on this project. It helps me become more familiar with surface phenomena, which will greatly help me through my chemical engineering curriculum. The work is challenging and provides me with an opportunity to do real research with graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and a faculty member. The research has honed my interpersonal and time management skills, and allowed me to delve deeply into areas I find interesting and challenging.  It has also helped me to develop the ability to think on my feet in a field of work in which I had no prior experience.

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Michelle Casper

Chemical Engineering

During the Research Communications Studio, my research will focus on dendrimer-stabilized catalysts. Dendrimers may be able to serve as a template for building nanoparticle catalysts. I plan to synthesize Platinum/Paladium bimetallic catalysts, changing different variables in the procedure and observing the effects of these changes. Variables such as concentrations and ratios of metals to dendrimer will be tested. In order to test these variables, procedures including CO adsorbption, IR and UV-vis spectroscopy, and others will be used. The purpose of these experiments will be to determine the effects of these variables in order to characterize and understand the catalysts.

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Jason Owens

Chemical Engineering

I have been working with Dr. Williams’ group in the USC Department of Chemical Engineering since January 2002.  Researching heterogeneous catalyst in this group has been exciting and a great learning experience; it has helped me confirm that I am in the right major.  My research is on alumina-supported palladium catalysts, and during the Research Communications Studio, the main focus will be on aldehyde chemistry on these palladium catalysts.  I will be testing mechanisms (the steps by which dissociation takes place) of aldehydes on the surface of my catalyst in situ (during the reaction) using infrared spectroscopy.  Infrared light energy causes bonds in molecules to vibrate and stretch, causing one atom or group of atoms to effectively "dance" on the adsorbed atom when the right energy is passed through it.  By measuring the energy lost from the infrared beam, we can see what molecules are on the surface of the catalyst and tell what reactions are taking place and, more importantly, how they take place.  Click on me to find out more!