University of Richmond Faculty Receive Awards from Jeffress Trust
July 7, 2006
Three University of Richmond faculty members have received awards from the Thomas F. Jeffress and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust of Richmond.
Dr. Mirela S. Fetea, assistant professor of physics, has received a one-year award of $21,550 for her project “Dynamic Symmetries in Nuclei.” Fetea will target topics of current interest not fully explored theoretically and experimentally, such as structural evolution, dynamical symmetries, phase transition and critical points, topics that are important not only in physics but also in chemistry and biology.
The funds will provide summer support for Fetea and one of her students, travel to Yale University for research collaboration and additional computing resources.
Dr. Emma Goldman, associate professor of chemistry, has received a $10,000 renewal award for the third year of her project “Synthesis, Characterization, and Electrochemical Studies of an Electrocatalyst for the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide.” Funds will provide summer support and supplies for Goldman. The project’s long-term goal is to synthesize and study the electrocatalytic properties of a series of dicopper complexes.
Dr. Scott W. Knight, assistant professor of biology, received a $10,000 renewal award for the second year of his project “The Role of Zinc-Finger Protein in RNA Interference.” The funds will provide summer support for Knight and a student as well as some supplies for the research project. The goal is to further elucidate how double-stranded RNA triggers the potent gene silencing response known as RNA interference, one of several related pathways that have been implicated in regulating development and controlling cancerous growth.
The purpose of the Jeffress Trust is to support basic research in chemical, medical or other scientific fields through grants to educational and research institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia.