URI assistant professor awarded $650K research grant

MINDY LEVINE, an assistant chemistry professor at the University of Rhode Island, has been awarded a $650,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
MINDY LEVINE, an assistant chemistry professor at the University of Rhode Island, has been awarded a $650,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Mindy Levine, an assistant chemistry professor at the University of Rhode Island, has been awarded a $650,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation.
The award will support her research into “noncovalent interactions,” which she describes as “the way molecules are attracted to each other at distances that are close but not physically attached. These … interactions are responsible for how drugs act in the body and why electronic devices work so well.”
The Sharon, Mass., resident’s research could be used for medical diagnostics and toxin detection as she tries to decipher how molecules communicate and interact in proximity. The award comes through the foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program, the most prestigious NSF grant program for junior faculty members, the university said in a press release.
In her research, Levine forces different molecules close together to analyze how energy is transferred between them. She is interested in energy transfer among toxic compounds because current technology requires those seeking to detect toxicants in the environment to know in advance what toxicant they are seeking.
“We’re hoping to develop sensors that are counterintuitively less sensitive for particular exact compounds and more generally sensitive for classes of compounds,” Levine said. “That will enable us to move away from requiring knowledge that is certainly not available in all situations. It’s outrageous to me that we need an offending company to be forthcoming about what they may have spilled in the environment in order for us to clean up that spill in a way that minimizes the negative health impact to nearby residents.”
Levine’s grant also supports outreach activities designed to educate the public – especially high school girls – about chemistry and careers in science.

No posts to display