www.udel.edu/researchmagazine ANNUAl REPORt Volume 1 | Number 1 | Summer 2009 ResearchUNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE On the path to a new energy future cONtENtS www.udel.edu/researchmagazine From the President . 1 Q&A with the Vice Provost for Research and Strategic Initiatives . 2 Energy . 3 Economic Innovation & Partnerships . 11 15 Health . 17 Environment . 22 Business . 28 33 Research & Society . 30 The Art of Research . 33 Science & Technology . 36 In the News . 40 Student Honors . 42 Faculty Honors . 44 Books . 46 A Discovery-Oriented Campus . 48 45 Scientia sol mentis est — “Knowledge is the light of the mind” — is the University of Delaware’s motto. UD has a long history of excellence, extending to 1743. The University of Delaware’s Research he University of Delaware is classified by the carnegie Foundation for the Nearly 3,500 graduate students are in TAdvancement of teaching as a research university with very high research across the University’s seven colleges, w activity, a designation accorded to fewer than three percent of the more than resources; arts and sciences; business a 4,200 degree-granting institutions in the United States. environment; education and public policy Rich in heritage and innovation, UD traces its origins to a small school in Numerous undergrads also engage in New london, Pennsylvania, opened by the Rev. Dr. Francis Alison in 1743. graduate Research Program, Honors Pro Among its first class were three young men who would later go on to sign the they have the opportunity to work with a Declaration of Independence and one who would sign the U.S. constitution. authors, and artists including Guggenhei of the National Academy of Sciences, Na today, UD is a land Grant, Sea Grant, and Space Grant institution. In addition and Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmen to the main campus in Newark, Delaware, UD operates campuses throughout to name only a few. the state, including Wilmington, Dover, Georgetown, and lewes, and teaching facilities in london and Paris. A thriving study-abroad program and expanding international partnerships further enhance our students’ transformation as global citizens. Annual Expenditures In 2008, UD Sponsored Programs reach FY 2008 Research Expenditures by Sponsor 200 150 National Institutes of Health (NIH) 21% National Science Foundation (NSF) 24% 100 U.S. Dept. of Defense (DOD) 4% MILLIONS 19% 50 Other Federal 14% State 18% 0 1999 2000 2001 2002 200 Other F I S C A Enterprise nvolved in research and scholarship Our faculty and students are embracing the great challenges and opportunities which focus on agriculture and natural of our time, working across the arts, business, engineering, humanities, social and economics; the earth, ocean, and sciences, and natural sciences, in well-equipped labs and more than 60 research y; and the health sciences. centers on campus, as part of regional health alliances, at U.S. national laborato- ries, with international research partners, and in field research locations on every discovery at UD through the Under- continent. Over the past decade, external funding for UD research and sponsored gram, and Service learning Program. programs has more than doubled and now exceeds $162 million a year. distinguished faculty of scientists, m and Fulbright Fellows, members ational Academy of Engineering, ntal Panel on climate change, Sponsored Programs Expenditures Public Service Instruction Research Total 180 hed $162 Million (doubled in 10 years). 160 140 120 100 80 T MILLIONS 60 40 20 0 2004 2005 2006 3 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2007 2008 A L Y E A R FISCAL YEAR FROMTHEPRESIDENT Welcome to the first issue of University of Delaware Research, a semiannual magazine showcasing the University’s major research initiatives; the discoveries, inventions, and innovations of our faculty and students; and the local and global impact of UD’s growing research enterprise. This inaugural issue — an annual report of the past fiscal year — leads off with the University of Delaware Energy Institute (UDEI), a new research center marshaling UD’s considerable expertise in alternative energy science, engineering, and policy. With more than 250 researchers working on America’s renewable energy challenges, UDEI is leading the way to a new energy future. UD is also leading the way in health sciences. This spring, the University helped found the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance, an important regional partnership dedicated to transforming the latest bioscience research into clinical practice and developing cutting-edge biotechnologies. Bolstering its work are significant biomedical grants fueling Delaware’s cancer, cardiovascular, and neurosciences research. Advanced environmental research takes UD around the world — to the Delaware River Basin, where we’ve undertaken the most comprehensive evaluation of its health to date; to China, where we founded — with Xiamen University — the Joint Institute for Coastal Research and Management; and to the South Pole, where we’re helping to build the world’s largest neutrino telescope. Research is a mainstay in every college and every department. Helping these researchers tap the potential of their discoveries and inventions and bring them to the marketplace is the Office of Economic Innovation & Partnerships. The office fosters entrepreneurship campus- wide and connects faculty and students with the private sector, so that their research can be applied in new ways — in new technologies, processes, and materials. This is how UD creates new wellsprings of innovation and stimulates state and regional economic growth. High-quality, high-profile research is one of the University of Delaware’s core strengths: UD has earned the Carnegie Foundation’s highest designation for research activity, and external funding for research has fully doubled over the last decade. But the University is eager to take on new challenges, for one of the key goals in our Path to Prominence™ is to rank among the world’s very best research institutions. As UD’s scholars and researchers set about addressing the greatest challenges of our age, we look forward to the future — a future made brighter by engaging the tremendous power of the curious mind. Patrick T. Harker President, University of Delaware QAUD RESEARCH OFFICE Mark Barteau is UD’s Senior What is the UD Research Office’s mission? But it would be a mistake to focus only on these Vice Provost for Research and Q: headline grabbers. One of the best parts of my Strategic Initiatives and the The core mission is to “advance the Univer- position is the chance to see the wealth of UD re- Robert L. Pigford Chair of A: sity’s research enterprise.” Five words, but search and creative activity being pursued across Chemical Engineering. He is it is a multifaceted challenge that is integrated into the social sciences, humanities, public policy, and a member of the National much of what we do as a university, from under- other fields. And our real strength is our culture of Academy of Engineering and graduate and graduate education, to creative collaboration! Framing multidisciplinary initiatives in recently was named to the scholarship, infrastructure creation, economic the strategic plan or declaring grand challenges to American Institute of Chemical development, and partnership building. be solved isn’t much good if they do not resonate Engineers’ list of “100 Chemical with a community eager to tackle them. I believe Engineers of the Modern Era.” we have such a community here, and my most What major goals have you set since you important task is to connect, nurture, promote, push, Q: took the research helm in July 2008? cajole, inspire — in short, to enable our faculty to make bigger things happen by working together! We have set five priority initiatives for the A: Research Office, each with action items aimed at making us a top-flight research university: UD researchers have doubled the funding (1) Build research capability and capacity; from competitive research grants in the past (2) Improve the growth rate of funded research; Q: decade. Do you expect this trend to continue? (3) Advance the impact and visibility of UD research and researchers; I am very bullish for two reasons. First, (4) Effectively advocate for the UD research A: there has been a sea change in Washington enterprise; and in both the attitude toward research and the federal (5) Cultivate operational excellence. Patrick Harker investment in research. As a nation, we have been President seriously underinvesting in many fields for at least two decades. That is changing, not only with short- Tom Apple What are UD’s research strengths, and term “stimulus” funds, but in core budgets. Provost Q: what areas are targeted for growth? Second, UD has an enormously talented faculty. Mark Barteau They are the “yeast” that will make the institution rise. Senior Vice Provost for That’s always a difficult question to answer I’m confident that with the right mix of resources and Research & Strategic Initiatives without leaving something out! In the Uni- A: infrastructure, our rise will be even more dramatic. I Cordell Overby versity’s Path to Prominence,TM we tried to identify see one of my critical missions as making the case Associate Provost for Research strengths on which we could build for significant statements and connections that will help attract both impact. For example, the UD Energy Institute, Karl Steiner internal and external investments in UD research. Associate Provost for launched in 2008, is built on internationally recog- Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives nized strengths in solar photovoltaics, catalysis, and lightweight composites, as well as more recent suc- Christine Cook What inspires you in your new job? cesses in fuel cells and wind energy. Our upcoming Assistant Provost for Research environmental institute will span an even broader Q: Management & Operations It is a privilege to be part of President range of research and outreach. Both institutes will Harker’s team to help shape the Univer- also have a strong public policy component.