Research Areas

Biological Systems and Food Science

Biological conversion of low cost streams to higher value products.  Present interests are aimed at manipulation of cells and bioreactor design. Critical fluid technology applications are explored for the extraction and reaction of natural/agricultural products and biomass conversion.

Dr. Ed Clausen (eclause@uark.edu)  Dr. Robert Beitle (rbeitle@uark.edu) Dr. Jerry King (jwking1@uark.edu)

Biomaterials

Design and synthesis of biomimetic materials for protein microarray technologies. Protein microarrays are used for the detection and validation of disease biomarkers, such as cancer.

Dr. Shannon Servoss (Shannon.Servoss@uark.edu)

Biomolecular Separations

Separation of biomolecules, including DNA, for applications in medicine, environmental sciences, and biosecurity using microchannel electrophoresis and affinity chromatography.  Microchannel electrophoresis uses an electric field to separate charged molecules based on differences in molecular charge and/or shape or size.  DNA manipulations are used to improve yields of desired products through affinity chromatography.

Dr. Christa Hestekin (Christa.Hestekin@uark.edu) Dr. Robert Beitle (rbeitle@uark.edu)

Chemical Hazards Research Center

Determining the consequences of atmospheric release of potentially hazardous materials; present emphasis is on liquefied natural gas (LNG) in transportation and storage operations. Computational models are used in conjunction with the wind tunnel at the CHRC which is presently the largest low-speed wind tunnel suited for such studies.

Dr. Jerry Havens (jhavens@uark.edu) Dr. Tom Spicer (tos@uark.edu)

Chemical Separations and Critical Fluid Technology

Pressurized fluid technologies are developed for extraction, fractionation, and reaction processing. These technologies coupled with chromatography and membrane separation technologies are explored particularly involving sustainable feedstocks such as agricultural materials.

Dr. Jerry King (jwking1@uark.edu) Dr. Ed Clausen (eclause@uark.edu)

Environmental Fate and Transport

We are investigating bacterial and sediment transport in fractured karst terrain as well as chemical dissipation in environmental systems using both physical and mathematical models.

We are studying the use of plants (grasses) to enhance the rate of cleanup of oil contaminated soils (phytoremediation); this work is a collaborative effort with the Departments of Biological Sciences and Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences including modeling, greenhouse, and full-scale field investigation efforts. We are also modeling the bacterial and sediment transport in karst terrain at the Savoy test site.

An investigation of a titanium dioxide based photocatalytic reactor is also underway for treatment of contaminants (both microbial and chemical) in water. We are also initiating a study of ex-situ bioreactor technology for the treatment of MtBE in groundwater. We anticipate further research in which the bioreactor substrate serves as an in-situ permeable reactive biobarrier for attenuation of MtBE and BTEX in groundwater.

Finally, we are developing a GIS based model for risk management associated with oil production in sensitive ecosystems. The model includes estimation of the extent of a spill associated with an accidental release (broken pipe, etc.) on the local topography coupled to a natural resources damage assessment module.

Dr. Greg Thoma (gthoma@uark.edu)

Space and Planetary Surfaces

Principal areas include spacecraft instrument design and numerical modeling of transport processes on Mars. Projects in instrument design include analytical and photometric equipment for landers particularly for the purpose of studying subsurface composition and structure. Numerical modeling work cover areas such as temperature modeling under the surface of Mars and simultaneous heat and mass diffusion through planetary regoliths.