Atomic and Nanoscale Phenomena in Advanced Materials
Dravid Group Research in the News
PEARL featured on Scripps
Based on the recent publication in PNAS, Prof. Dravid, Dr. Nandwana, and PhD student Stephanie Ribet were featured in a story by Scripps regarding their revolutionary nanocomposite coating. Now, a common kitchen sponge can be used to clean water of phosphate. Click the link to view full story: LEARN MORE
Vinayak Dravid is Named Among Global ‘Highly Cited Researchers’
This annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. LEARN MORE
NSF-funded researchers at Northwestern University, lead by Professor Vinayak P. Dravid, have developed a nanocomposite coating of magnetic nanostructures that attracts oil and resists water. When the coating is applied to any cheap sponge, it binds with the oil holding it in the sponge until it is squeezed out. For more information:
Chamille Lescott defended her thesis, Synthesis & Characterization of Self-assembled Polymer Nanocomposites, on June 13, 2022. Chamille has been with the VPD Group since 2017 and is co-advised by Evan A. Scott in BME, whose research focuses on synthesizing drug delivery devices for immunomodulation. In July, Chamille will start as an Assistant Professor of Instruction and First-Year Advisor in the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.
Stephanie Ribet won 1st place in the Hilliard Symposium with her talk, “The Phosphate Elimination and Recovery Lightweight (PEARL Membrane): A Sustainable Environmental Remediation Approach”. She was joined in the symposium by fellow VPD Group member Chi Zhang with her presentation, “Low Thermal Conductivity in Heteroanionic Materials with Layers of Homoleptic Polyhedra”.
Kelly Parker defended her dissertation entitled "Soft Microscopy: Enhancing Imaging for the High-Throughput Characterization of Soft Materials". Kelly has been with Northwestern University and the VPD Group since 2016 and focuses on advanced sample preparation and microscopy methods to image soft materials, particularly small biological molecules such as proteins and protein assemblies.