NASA
and the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium believe in the chemistry research being
performed at Lyon College, and the agencies backed up that confidence with cold,
hard cash – twice.Dr. Floyd Beckford, assistant professor of chemistry, together with student Trey Holt, crafted a grant proposal titled “Biochemical Studies of Organometallic Compounds,” which earned a grant last year in the amount of $7,750.
After Dr. Beckford and Holt submitted a revised budget justifying the need for additional funding, their project earned a supplement in the amount of $3,411.
Dr. Beckford said two of the traditional areas of chemistry are organic and inorganic. “Inorganic chemistry is typically associated with metals and their compounds,” he explained. “Simply put, organometallic compounds contain an organic portion linked to a metal. This results in synergistic chemistry, which is quite useful. The compounds offer a new class of potential pharmaceuticals that has antimicrobial activity. It is this concept that interests the funding agencies.”
The money is being used to purchase chemicals and supplies, pay for analyses of the compounds we make and for dissemination of the results from the research, he added.
The Arkansas Space Grant Consortium is comprised of 14 colleges and universities that cooperate to facilitate space research in Arkansas.
Available for projects at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels, the grants fund research proposals in the fields of math, science and education that are of interest to NASA.