NEWS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

Oxane Materials, Inc. is on the move!, The City Wire, Fort Smith, AR, December 28, 2009
 
"Breakthroughs in Solar Panel Technology", with Mario Gomez of KHOU-TV, Houston, TX, November 16, 2009  
 
"Rice University-born Company to Ease Solar Panel Manufacturing", InterNano, by Mike Williams, Rice University, September 23, 2009
 
"The first publicly traded company to spring from Rice University technology is now taking stock in some of the best brains at Rice." More about Natcore Solar from the Rice News, 9/17/2009
 
From NanotechWeb: "Scaling up graphene production using organic dispersion", NanotechWeb.org, August 14, 2009
Producing high yields of graphene remains a challenge but researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, propose a new way to do just this.
 

Barron part of trans-Atlantic group seeking molecular key to stop HIV (pdf)
Rice University's Andrew Barron and his group, working with labs in Italy, Germany and Greece, have identified specific molecules that could block the means by which the deadly virus spreads by taking away its ability to bind with other proteins. Discovery, Weiss School of Natural Science, May 2009

"Top Down, Bottoms Up", Nature Nanotechnology | VOL 4 | JULY 2009 (pdf)

 
"High schoolers don lab gear for Project SEED at Rice",
Rice News, 7/8/09

 

Molecular key to combat HIV "found", The Times of India, 5/25/2009

Buckyball Computer Simulations Help Team Find Molecular Key To Combating HIV, Science Daily, 5/25/2009

 

Barron named Prince of Wales
Visiting Innovator

Rice Professor Andrew Barron has been appointed the first Prince of Wales Visiting Innovator and will bring his expertise in materials science to an ever-strengthening collaboration between Rice University and its counterparts in the United Kingdom. Rice News, 5/15/2009

 
The Simmons Family Foundation backs Texas Medical Center teams' work on hearing loss, cancer, tuberculosis - Barron Group collaboration with the Yang Group at Baylor College of Medicine results in a grant to collaborate on research for treatment of neuroblastoma. Check here for more information.
Rice Alliance and Oxane Materials garner attention in this Houston Chronicle article, 12/28/2008
 
Article in the Rice Thresher: In the Eye of the Sun - purchase solar cells by the roll at your local Home Depot?
 

Andrew Barron discusses his group's research into nanotubes for solar power in this special report on CNN - from CNN  Edge of Discovery, 12/12/2008

 
Funding for Oxane Materials OxFrac Ceramic-Proppant - in this article from the Oil and Gas Investor, 12/11/2008
 

 

Silver Nanoparticles - click the projector icon at the left to view an mp4 video of research in 2008 in the Barron lab. 
 
"Can you put the brakes on high gas prices by literally putting on the brakes?" - on Houston's KTRK-TV, Channel 13, July 8, 2008
Article: "Building the future one nanoparticle at at time" -  by Barron Group graduate student Huma Jafry in The Ismali
 

Editors' Choice: Volume 320, Number 5874, Issue of 18 April 2008 - CHEMISTRY: Epoxide Exfoliants
©2008 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Arnab Mukherjee, Christopher E. Hamilton, JungHo Kang, Soma Chakraborty, Wenhua Guo, Kevin F. Kelly, Andrew R. Barron, and W. Edward Billups*, Department of Chemistry and the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005

Professor Andrew Barron discusses the Texas - UK Research Collaborative - March, 2008          

Related articles: BP Selects Rice University ...  and  Simulated populations used to probe gene mapping

 
Article: "Reframing the Concept of Nanotechnology" (pdf) - Product applications and technology transfer issues - American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 86, No. 11
 
"New solar energy firm launches, heats competition" - Vanguard Solar's founders include former Harvard University professor and chief of the materials science department of Rice University, Andrew Barron - see the Houston Business Journal article
 
Newcyte, Inc. - The NewCyte founding team is comprised of leading scientists, successful business executives and experienced technology project managers, with over a century of combined science and management experience. Nanotech is behind new solar innovations from Georgia Tech, being commecialized by a company called NewCyte., Article: "3D solar cells boost efficiency, reduce size" - Cleantech.com
"Miracle Material Gets New Life" - "It was touted as the miracle material of the 1980s" - from the Harvard University Gazette
 
"Buckyballs Ferry Drugs into Cancer Cells Safely" - Scientists at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have developed...from nanotechwire.com , and this from EurekaAlert.com "Buckyballs used as 'passkey' into cancer cells"
 
"Rice Chemists Create, Grow Nanotube Seeds" - Study Proves Validity of Smalley's SWNT Amplification Concept - Nanotechnology Now article
 
"Nano drug delivery part of scientists' vision" - read more here on the results of ongoing collaboration, in this article from ChemLin , and this artcle from the Nanotechnology Group.  The initial funding for this research was provided by the Keck Foundation through the Keck Futures Initiative
 
November 8, 2007: Presentation: An Academic Perspecitve of Collaboration, Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering, Glasgow, Scotland
November 6-7, 2007: Presentatiion: Academic and/or Company Research? ... or How should Universities take the lead with Energy Research?
Windsor Energy Meeting in Houston, TX: Building Bridges Between The Public and Private Sector - Conference Photo
 
Barron Group graduate student Alvin Orbaek's summer job - the Space Hotel! More from Irish TV.
 
Cloning Carbon - nature nanotechnology | VOL 2 | JANUARY 2007 article
Buckyballs used as 'passkey' into cancer cells - Rice News 1/25/07
Professor  Andrew Barron named the Associate Dean for Industry and Technology Transfer in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, Rice News - Houston Business Journal article
 
Recent Publication: Journal of Materials Chemistry Hot Articles
 
"LPD silica coating of individual single walled carbon nanotubes"
Elizabeth A. Whitsitt, Valerie C. Moore, Richard E. Smalley and Andrew R. Barron, J. Mater. Chem., 2005, 15(44), 4678
 
MSCI 615 Students Enter the 2005 One Lap of America


 

Andrew R. Barron, Welch Chair of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science

Prof. Barron is the Charles W. Duncan, Jr. - Welch Chair of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science at Rice University.

Research in the Barron Group is currently aimed at the development of rational molecular design approach to materials synthesis, with an emphasis on the leap from synthesis to application of nano-based materials. Since 2002, the focus of research within the Barron Research Group has involved the functionalization of fullerenes and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Areas being investigated include: biological applications and interactions, catalysis and materials applications. Functionalization of fullerenes as amino acids allows for their inclusion into polypeptides for the development of new approaches to the treatment of flagrant diseases. The development of a catalytic approach for the amplification of SWNTs may be likened to the polymerase chain reaction for DNA and is aimed at the fabrication of specific nanotube structures for energy applications.

Prof. Barron created the first educational programs at Rice to span the Schools of Science, Engineering and Management, and is a co-director of the Rice Alliance for Entrepreneurship. He is also actively involved with educational programs in collaboration with the Rice section of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

 
 

 Current Course Information

CHEM 475 Physical Methods in Inorganic Chemistry, Spring, 2010

 

 
Miscellaneous Course Information: 
Past Course - NSCI 610/ENGI 610 Management for Science and Engineering - Fall, 2009
Past Course - CHEM 575 - Physical Methods in Inorganic Chemistry - Spring, 2009

Past Course - MSCI 616 - Automotive Engineering: Materials and Dynamics - Spring, 2009

Discussion of the engineering and materials technology that is involved in modern automotive design. Topics include: chassis design and construction; composite design and fabrication; aerodynamics and ground effects; suspension dynamics; performance technology. External expert speakers will provide a real-world perspective. Course will only be offered with sufficient demand. Check with the instructor.

Past Course - MSCI 617 - Automotive Engineering: Lab - Fall, 2008
Recommended Pre-requisite: MSCI 616
Laboratory application of engineering skills towards the materials technology and dynamics of chassis design, composite design, and fabrication, aerodynamics, and performance technology.
Past Course - NSCI 610/ENGI 610 - Management for Science and Engineering - Fall, 2008
Past Course - MSCI 617  and MSCI 616 Automotive  Engineering: Practicum - Fall, 2007 and Spring, 2008
Past Cours - NSCI 610/ENGI 610 Management for Science and Engineering - Fall, 2007
Past Course - CHEM 360 Inorganic Chemistry - Spring, 2007
Past Course - CHEM 600 Inorganic Seminar - Spring, 2007

Past Course - MSCI 616 - FALL, 2006 Automotive Engineering: Materials and Dynamics

Past Course - NSCI 610/ENGI 610/MGMT 610 - FALL, 2006:MANAGEMENT FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING - Management course for science and enghineering students.

Past Course: MGMT 750/CHEM 750/MSCI 750 Management for Science and Engineering - Fall. 2004

Past Course: MGMT 751/CHEM 751/MSCI 751 (S) New Venture Creation for Science and Engineering - Spring 2005

Past Course: MSCI 615 Automotive Engineering: Materials and Dynamics - Fall 2004

Past Course: MSCI 615 - Automotive Engineering, Materials and Dynamics - Spring 2005

MSCI615:  One Lap of America Project Cars

Past Course: CHEM 495 Transition Metal Chemistry - Fall, 2003


Current Group Members                                       
     

ACS Project SEED Program - Summer 2009

Summer, 2009 Mallam Phillips Eisenhower High School - Chemistry Instructor
Summer, 2009 Arafat (Lilian) Bodunrin Hightower High School - Student
Summer, 2009 Ryan Hamerly Hightower High School - Student

 

Past Group Members

 

Post Doctoral Researchers

 

Graduate Students

 

Undergraduate Researchers

 

Visiting Scientists and Summer Research Assistants

 

 

Group Photos

England, 1998

Italy, 1998

Florida, 1999

New Mexico, 1999

New Orleans, 2000

Welch Foundation Luncheon, 2002

New Orleans, 2003

Barron Group receives 2005 Laboratory Safety Award!

Dell Butcher Hall - Rice University Campus
Home to the Barron Group laboratories - 4th Floor

Research in the Barron Group

Research in the Barron Group focuses on the chemistry and materials science of aluminum and its related elements in the periodic table. Our initiatives encompass problems across the fields of traditional inorganic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, nanoscale science and technology, and materials science. A feature of the research in the Barron Group is the continuum from synthesis to application, especially the development of new materials and catalysts from an understanding of structure/bonding/reactivity correlation.

View this video on recent research in the lab!

For an overview and highlights from the Barron Group over the last decade click here. Current projects include: Lewis acidic compounds as catalysts, activators of main group metals and solid state sensors; the applications of nanoparticles in ceramic and organic composites; the control of ceramic and cement processing; the ambient, aqueous, growth of ceramic materials.

The Barron Group has interactions with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (of which Prof. Barron holds a joint appointment), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Jones School of Management.

Students and post-docs obtain an interdisciplinary experience, providing them a wide range of experience with tools that are available to research scientists. Group members have their own projects (rather than being just one of an army working on a single problem!), however, each Group member's research has significant overlap with others in the group.

Several programs are available to provide Graduate students with additional skills for use in academia, industry or business. The possibility for industrial internships is provided to Graduate Students at the end of the second year. To help prepare our graduate students for careers in entrepreneurial organizations (which these days includes academia!) Prof. Barron offers, in collaboration with the Jones School of Management, a course in entrepreneurial management for science and engineering.

For current research and prior results click here

  


Community Outrreach - making science accessible to area students

 

Research Funding and Corporate Support
 
Our thanks for the support and contributions of these agencies and organizations.
 
Other Personnel: Administrative and Collaborative Personnel
 
Our thanks for the contributions of these individuals.  
 
 
Information on Conferences and Seminars

    September 7-11, 1997: 214th ACS National Meeting

    March 29 - April 2, 1998: Dallas for the ACS Meeting. Here's our list of talks and posters. Group Photos here!

    June of 1998 - to Florence for CIMTEC '98 - the World Ceramics Congress and Forum on New Materials. A. R. Barron, Rhonda Callender,and Chris Jones were in attendance. And along the way, group members visited Oxford! This turned into the to Barron Group European Tour!! England Photos.Italy Photos are here.

    January 25, 1999: A. R. Barron and Rhonda Callender attended the American Ceramic Society's 23rd annual conference in Cocoa Beach. Side-trip photo here.

     August 21 -26, 1999: New Orleans for the ACS Meetings. Abstracts are posted here.

    October 21-23, 1999: El Paso for the Joint 55th Southwest/15th Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting of the ACS. Abstracts are posted here. And photos of a side trip to New Mexico!

    August 20-24, 2000: Washington, DC, for the 220th ACS National Meeting. Abstracts are posted here.

    December 6-8, 2000: The Joint Southeast-Southwest Regional Meeting of the ACS in New Orleans. Abstracts are posted here. New Orleans photos are posted here.

    April 1-5, 2001: The 221st ACS National Meeting in San Diego. Abstracts are posted here.

    October 17-20, 2001: The 57th Southwest Regional Meeting of the ACS in San Antonio, Texas. Abstracts are posted here.

    February 8, 2002: The Welch Foundation Luncheon honoring Professor Barron. Photos are posted here.

    November 3 - 6, 2002: The 58th ACS Southwest Regional Meeting, Austin, Texas. Abstracts are posted here.

    March 23- 27, 2003: The 225th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana. Abstracts are posted here. Photos are posted here.

    August 22-26, 2004: The 228th ACS National Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. Abstracts are posted here.

    March 26 - 30, 2006: The 231st ACS National Meeting, Atlanta, GA.  Abstracts are posted here.

    September 10 - 14, 2006: American Chemical Society Meeting & Exposition -San Francisco, CA. Abstracts are posted here.

    August 19-23, 2007:  American Chemical Society 234th National Meeting & Exposition - Boston, MA. Abstracts are posted here.

    October 1-4, 2008:  The 64th Regional ACS Meeting - Little Rock, AR.  Abstracts are posted here.

    March 22-26, 2009: The Spring 2009 National Meeting & Exposition - Salt Lake City, UT.  Abstracts are posted here.

     

 


Conference and Meeting Abstracts 

 


   
 
Developed to serve as a multi-institution resource for small molecule crystallographic research. We hope to serve at least sixteen universities and colleges throughout the state of Texas. Industrial collaboration is encouraged as well. Please let us know of your interest in making use of this facility.

 

 Managerial Chemistry for Executives
 
Business Implications of Chemical Processes for Executives - offered in cooperation with the Office of Executive Development, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration
 
Aimed at mid to upper level management without a strong chemistry background, including those involved with production, sales, marketing, accounting, and legal aspects of the petroleum, petrochemical and allied industries. Please check with the Jones Graduate School for information on future dates for this course.   

  
Industrial Internships
 
The possibility for industrial internships is provided by the Dean of Natural Sciences to Graduate Students at the end of the second year. These have often led to permanent job offers from the companies involved. Previous locations for internships of Group members include: Akzo Nobel Chemicals, Inc. (Deer Park, TX), SASOL North America (formerly Condea Vista Company, Austin, TX), and RFM Monolithics, Inc. (Dallas, TX), Dixie Chemical Co. (Pasadena, TX).

 
 Other Areas of Interest
 

Interested in Graduate Studies in Chemistry at Rice University? Find more information here.   
 
For additional information, please write or email:

 
 
 
Professor Andrew R. Barron
Department of Chemistry MS-60
Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston, TX 77005 USA

lovetthallRice University is consistently ranked as one of America's best teaching and research universities. It is distinguished by its size - 2,700 undergraduates and 1,500 graduate students; selectivity -10 applicants for each place in the freshman class; resources - an undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5-to-1, and the fourth largest endowment per student among private American universities; residential college system, which builds communities that are both close-knit and diverse; and collaborative culture, which crosses disciplines, integrates teaching and research, and intermingles undergraduate and graduate work.

Rice's wooded campus is located in the nation's fourth largest city , close to America's South Texas Coast.  

 


This web site is developed and maintained by Jane McNeel (janem@rice.edu). Phone: 713-348-3286
. Comments, suggestions and/or requests for additional information are always welcome. Thank you for visiting this website.