Paul J. A. Kenis
(217) 265-0523
115 Roger Adams Lab
Qualifications:
GPA: Preferably over 3.0, motivation/commitment is however more important.
Coursework Criteria:
- Serious commitment is a must.
- ChBE 421 will be helpful but is not required.
- Prefer students that are in their Junior/Senior year.
- Sophomores can be accepted for ChBE 199 after which they
may continue for ChBE 499.
Other: Most students work for two semesters
for about 12 hours per week to obtain the minimum of five
credits. Work hours are flexible especially in busy (exam)
weeks, but lost time needs to be made up (evening, weekend,
holidays). This is not an automatic "A" course. Work can also
be performed over the summer.
Students need to indicated their interest early to have a chance to join the group due to great popularity and limited openings.
Research: Microreactors, Microfuel Cells,
Microfluidic Tools
Students will be working with a graduate student or a postdoc
on a project related to the design, microfabrication, and
testing of microreactors (for organic synthesis of for fuel
reforming at high temperatures), microfuel cells (as power
soureces for portable electronics, etc.) or microfluidic tools
(for example to screenfor proper conditions for protein crystillization,
electrodeposition).
Skills that the students will acquire include: how to design
microfluidic systems (CAD on computer), how to fabricate these
(laser, micromaching, photolithography in the MRL clean room..),
and how to test and analyze their microsystems (fuel cell
test station, GC, ...).
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