The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $113,000 grant for the acquisition of a high-resolution atomic force microscope for interdisciplinary nanoscience research. With chemistry professor Ipsita A. Banerjee, PhD, as principal investigator, a group of faculty from the departments of biological sciences, physics and engineering, and chemistry cooperated on the grant to obtain equipment which they will share.

“This award is really exciting, especially since the NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation Program only funds about one-fourth of the applications it receives, and this is the second MRI award we’ve gotten in two years.” said Kris Wolff, director of the Office of Sponsored Programs. The 2015 grant, for a liquid-handling robot, went to Jason Munshi-South’s lab in the biological sciences department.

The Russo family has provided more than $180,000 in funding towards purchasing a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Robert D. Russo, MD, FCRH ’69, is a member of the University’s President’s Council and Fordham’s Science Council, which aims to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in part by modernizing the University’s technological capabilities.

The gift honors Russo’s father, Robert D. Russo, Sr., MD, FCRH ’39, and Louis R. Del Guercio, MD, FCRH ’49. Dr. Russo refers to his two predecessors as “physicians for others.”

“A donation like this has a ripple effect,” said Robert Beer, PhD, chair of the chemistry department. “We were able to get the instrument, which attracted a new faculty member, and it shows that we’re an institution that is serious about upgrading technology and research.”

In addition, by trading in an older instrument, the University received a donation from the pharmaceutical company Roche and a $40,000 grant from TA Instruments, and was able to purchase a thermal gravimetric analyzer and rheometer. This summer the department also acquired an X-ray powder diffractometer at a cost of nearly $120,000.

Christopher Koenigsmann, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry, said that the new resources will help further distinguish Fordham’s research capabilities.

The SEM uses electrons rather than visible light. As typical wavelengths of visible light are 400 to 800 nanometers, said Koenigsmann, light microscopes cannot perceive an object, for example, that is two nanometers. The electron microscope’s much smaller wavelengths allow it to perceive objects with diameters as small as one to two nanometers—equivalent to the diameter of double helix strand of DNA.

The X-ray powder diffractometer looks at material composed of small crystallites. The instrument detects the material’s elements and how they are organized in the crystal structure.

“It’s a tremendously powerful instrument and it’s one of the essential characterization tools in chemistry,” said Koenigsmann.

He said that his lab is involved in a few projects to examine renewable energy technology. He is interested in increasing the cost-effectiveness and performance of solar cells and fuel cells in order to harness the energy of sunlight.

“In nanotechnology, synthesis is important,” he said. “But what’s equally important is being able to characterize the properties and be able figure out exactly what you have.”

Who She Is

Manager of the Office of Sponsored Programs.

What She Does

Wolff works closely with faculty members to find funding for their research. Her office oversees the completion and timely submission of grant applications and helps ease the post-award process of setting up accounts, creating budgets and submitting required status reports to funders. She has worked at Fordham for four years.

Funding Climate

“The funding climate in 2011 was slightly better than it was four years ago, when the economy took a downturn. At that time, private foundations funded by Wall Street were saying, ‘We’re not taking any new applications.’ Now they have started up again. Federal agencies were not hit quite as hard, but even those have become more competitive. So it is difficult.”

How We’re Doing

“We have had an increase in the number of grants going out every year for the past five years. We have received more money in each year (of those five years) so we are doing OK. In the last fiscal year, Fordham received more than $44 million in funding. Five years ago, it was about $30 million.

“We are trying to create more of a culture of research here than existed previously. To those ends, we work closely with the Office of Faculty Development, which funds and publicizes internal research. Often, external funding is based on pilot studies funded internally by Fordham. Together, we are slowly getting faculty more interested in doing research.”

What Faculty Members Should Know

“Leave yourself enough time to write a really good grant application. Sometimes faculty members see a deadline and think, ‘Oh, it’s months away,’ so they may put it off. But even if it is months away, start deciding what you are going to do. At the last minute, it’s too late, and it’s not the best application you could have put in.”

What’s In Our Grant Pool

“Our faculty members are researching many diverse and interesting topics. They have received awards for everything from how city lights can disrupt the migratory patterns of birds to the effect of eating grapes on age-related blindness.”

Can Faculty Call You?

“Of course. My extension is x4086. Our website is http://www.fordham.edu/osp.”

Hobbies

In her spare time, Kris designs and makes jewelry, studies hip-hop dance and practices Buddhist meditation.

Manager of the Office of Sponsored Programs.

What She Does

Wolff works closely with faculty members to find funding for their research. Her office oversees the completion and timely submission of grant applications and helps ease the post-award process of setting up accounts, creating budgets and submitting required status reports to funders. She has worked at Fordham for four years.

Funding Climate

“The funding climate in 2011 was slightly better than it was four years ago, when the economy took a downturn. At that time, private foundations funded by Wall Street were saying, ‘We’re not taking any new applications.’ Now they have started up again. Federal agencies were not hit quite as hard, but even those have become more competitive. So it is difficult.”

How We’re Doing

“We have had an increase in the number of grants going out every year for the past five years. We have received more money in each year (of those five years) so we are doing OK. In the last fiscal year, Fordham received more than $44 million in funding. Five years ago, it was about $30 million.

“We are trying to create more of a culture of research here than existed previously. To those ends, we work closely with the Office of Faculty Development, which funds and publicizes internal research. Often, external funding is based on pilot studies funded internally by Fordham. Together, we are slowly getting faculty more interested in doing research.”

What Faculty Members Should Know

“Leave yourself enough time to write a really good grant application. Sometimes faculty members see a deadline and think, ‘Oh, it’s months away,’ so they may put it off. But even if it is months away, start deciding what you are going to do. At the last minute, it’s too late, and it’s not the best application you could have put in.”

What’s In Our Grant Pool

“Our faculty members are researching many diverse and interesting topics. They have received awards for everything from how city lights can disrupt the migratory patterns of birds to the effect of eating grapes on age-related blindness.”

Can Faculty Call You?

“Of course. My extension is x4086. Our website is http://www.fordham.edu/osp.”

Hobbies

In her spare time, Kris designs and makes jewelry, studies hip-hop dance and practices Buddhist meditation.