UK: University of Kentucky | Commercialization & Economic Development

RESEARCH MEANS BUSINESS

1st Quarter 2009 EconDevNews

Eric Grulke's Research Brings Nanoparticles Center Stage

In the photo: As associate dean for engineering’s research and graduate studies program, students also play a critical role in Eric Grulke’s lab.

(Editor’s note: Dr. Grulke will work with UK commercialization & economic development specialists at the 2009 BIO International Convention. He is one of a dozen researchers who have their labs in the ASTeCC campus incubator.)


What do Humvees and eyeglasses have in common? Nanomaterials and Eric Grulke.

Ten years ago UK chemical and materials engineering professor, Eric Grulke, found his place in nanotechnology while working on carbon nanotubes. Grulke, who came to UK with a background in polymer and polymer applications, is now one of UK’s leading researchers in advanced carbon nanomaterials.

Grulke’s work using nanotechnology is critical in preparing nanomaterials for the marketplace. “We are seeing this technology in everyday products like sunscreen and composites for sports equipment,” says Grulke. “We are starting to scratch the surface in priority areas such as energy conversion, cleaner industrial processes and environmental applications. ”

Humvees and eyeglasses

Across the globe U.S. soldiers in Iraq may soon benefit from an area of Grulke’s research supported by Valvoline, a division of Ashland. Using nanomaterials, Grulke is developing additives for coolants, fuels and lubricants that increase heat transfer properties, leading to reduced engine overheating. The U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center is interested in this project to reduce overheating in Humvees. 

Back home, Grulke is partnering with Louisville-based Vision Dynamics to develop a system that creates eyeglass lenses quickly and efficiently in a doctor’s office. The nanoCLEAR system features nanocomposite, anti-reflective coatings and processes at atmospheric temperatures and pressures making it easily used in any location. This work is currently funded by a NSF Phase II SBIR grant.

$2 million awarded to UK for nanotoxicity research

Little is known about the biological effects of nanoparticles on the human body.

Under the leadership of Robert Yokel, professor in the department of pharmaceutical sciences at UK’s College of Pharmacy, Grulke and a team of multi-disciplinary researchers are using cerium dioxide to study the way nanoparticles travel through the blood and into other organs.  They are using cerium dioxide, which is currently used in Europe as a diesel fuel additive, as a model of nanoscale material. 

The research team, which includes expertise from UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research, chemistry, engineering, and anatomical sciences and neurobiology at the University of Louisville, recently received a $2 million EPA grant to fund this project.

Wearing many hats

Grulke admits to having a broad interest in an array of nanomaterial applications. Early this year Grulke partnered with Suzanne Smith, professor of mechanical engineering, to develop a safer, more flexible horse jump for three-day eventing. Because of current building at the Kentucky Horse Park for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Grulke and Smith are working on the project at his Limestone Ridge Farm.  

Metal Separation Technology, Grulke’s company, focuses on applying nanomaterials to polymer purification and separation as a way to absorb environmental pollutants. The company had funding from the DOE for a project at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Grulke was recently elected to the Engineering Research Council Board of Directors for the American Society of Engineering Education. He also serves as the statewide director for DOE EPSCoR.  

Despite extensive commitments, Grulke s works closely with students as the associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies and with students who play an integral role in his research. “We are addressing topics that require numerous areas of expertise. In my lab, I have an organic chemist, a polymer chemist, chemical and materials engineers, to name a few,” Grulke says. “My graduate students are the ones doing all the ‘good stuff’ in the lab.”