{"id":10599,"date":"2025-12-06T14:31:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T14:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10599"},"modified":"2025-12-09T15:35:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T15:35:27","slug":"chemical-two-assistant-professors-earn-nsf-career-awards-for-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10599","title":{"rendered":"Chemical: Two assistant professors earn NSF CAREER Awards for research"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10628\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10628\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10628 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/12\/dean-chem-howard-louf.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/12\/dean-chem-howard-louf.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/12\/dean-chem-howard-louf-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/12\/dean-chem-howard-louf-674x380.jpg 674w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10628\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Howard (left) and <span class=\"s1\">Jean-Francois Louf<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Two assistant professors in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Jean-Francois Louf and Michael Howard, earned National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awards for their respective research.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Louf received a three-year, $843,000 NSF grant for his study, \u201cMechanisms of Acoustic Signal Processing for Increased Nectar Sugar Concentration in Flowers,\u201d which examines how plants translate mechanical vibrations into biochemical changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Howard\u2019s project, \u201cMultiscale modeling for self-assembly of colloidal-particle coatings with gradient compositions,\u201d resulted in a five-year, $500,000 grant. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In this study, Howard offers a computer-modeling approach to engineer the drying-induced assembly of colloidal-particle coatings, such as paint. This method could streamline production, saving time and reducing resource consumption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Selen Cremaschi, chemical engineering department chair, praised her award-winning junior faculty members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe are incredibly proud of Drs. Louf and Howard for their award-winning, groundbreaking research, which exemplifies the innovative spirit of our faculty,\u201d she said. \u201cDr. Howard\u2019s work on computer modeling approaches to colloidal-particle coatings and Dr. Louf\u2019s research on acoustic signal processing are remarkable contributions that can impact industry and society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Louf\u2019s team is determined to understand how flowers detect and respond to the sound of pollinators \u2014 potentially increasing nectar sugar concentration and improving crop yields.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Declining bee populations have significantly reduced pollination, affecting both biodiversity and global food production. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Louf\u2019s research takes a novel approach to address the problem by using sound to stimulate plants and enhance their ability to attract pollinators.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">His team will study how plant cell walls and membranes respond to sound waves using advanced techniques to observe cell vibrations, track sugar movement, visualize sugar metabolism and examine molecule movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIf we can understand how plants respond to specific acoustic frequencies, we could develop new agricultural techniques that optimize nectar production and improve pollination efficiency,\u201d Louf said. \u201cThis could help breeders engineer crops to be more responsive to specific pollinators, ultimately contributing to improved global food security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Howard\u2019s team will use a modeling approach to predict the composition of colloidal-particle coatings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">For best accuracy, they will utilize a combination of 1) a physics-based continuum model with realistic particle interactions and hydrodynamics, 2) a machine-learning model, trained from particle-based simulations, to refine the physics-based model and 3) a surrogate model to relate particle properties and processing conditions to composition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cMy long-term research goal is to computationally design nanomaterials and processing strategies for making functional soft materials using my unique background in statistical thermodynamics, transport and high-performance computing,\u201d Howard said. \u201cAchieving the objective of this project will position me not only to design coatings but also to apply similar techniques to other nanomaterials and processes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Howard said he\u2019s excited and humbled to receive this award because it uniquely recognizes both research and teaching.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-11416152\"><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/267871\/episodes\/11416152-supraman.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-11416152&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-17590260\"><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/267871\/episodes\/17590260-vive-le-louf.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-17590260&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two assistant professors in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Jean-Francois Louf and Michael Howard, earned National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awards for their respective research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1057],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chemical: Two assistant professors earn NSF CAREER Awards for research &raquo; 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