“Functional Nanostructures: Synthesis and Applications”
Dr. Mary Devadas
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Towson University
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
6:00-8:00 pm
Towson University
Smith Hall Rm. 554
Schedule: Event begins at 6 pm, Dinner at 6:30 pm, Presentation by Dr. Devadas at 7 pm
Cost: $20.00 for members and non-members; $10.00 for students
Cash or check can be made payable to MD ACS and will be collected
RSVP: Dr. Louise Hellwig, Louise.Hellwig@morgan.edu
*Note – A parking code is required to park. Details on parking will be given once RSVP is received.*
Abstract: The Devadas lab works on ensemble and single particle levels to design functional nanoscale materials. The main goal is to develop multifunctional metal-based nanostructures for energy responsive applications. The specific aims are: (1) to enhance light collection efficiency using quantum clusters to increase solar cell efficiency; (2) to develop biological imaging/labelling agents with enhanced two-photon cross-sections in the near IR region; (3) to generate efficient nano-vehicles for targeted drug delivery; (4) to develop single particle optical spectroscopic techniques to study photocatalysis and sensing on the single nanoparticle scale by absorption and fluorescence measurements in conjunction with a single beam optical trap. The role of undergraduates in the PI’s research program will be highlighted.
Biosketch: Dr. Devadas grew up in India where she earned a BS, MS and Master of Philosophy in Chemistry, all from Bharathiar University and taught chemistry in two colleges in India for six years. She obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Western Michigan University with a specialization in nanoscience. Dr. Devadas then held an appointment as a postdoctoral research associate for 3 years at the University of Notre Dame with Professor Gregory V. Hartland. Dr. Devadas’ area of specialization is inorganic chemistry with an emphasis on nanomaterials and single particle linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy. She then joined Towson University in fall 2015 where she currently teaches inorganic chemistry and has established the largest research program that includes undergraduates in the college. In just over 4 years at Towson University, in research, she has mentored a total of 30 undergraduate students, many over several semesters. She has authored or co-authored 27 peer-reviewed publications, 5 of those are with students from Towson University. She has delivered 28 conference presentations and co-authored 67 additional presentations, of which 55 were given by her undergraduate, graduate, and high-school researchers. Also, in recognition of her student-centered research program, she is currently the Fisher Endowed Chair in the Physical and Biological Sciences (2017-2020), given to an early career faculty in the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.