UTEP Gets USDA Grant to Attract Future Environmental Chemists
With a recently awarded grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Washington DC), The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) will be promoting awareness of careers in the sciences, especially environmental chemistry, among students from kindergarten through every level of higher education.
With a recently awarded grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Washington DC), The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) will be promoting awareness of careers in the sciences, especially environmental chemistry, among students from kindergarten through every level of higher education.
The USDA announced its grant in September for the four-year plan in which UTEP and four institutions of higher education in Puerto Rico will create a Center for Education and Training in Agriculture and Related Sciences.
The center will focus on education and research, outreach and recruitment, and retention and placement in sciences tied to natural resources.
The leader of the UTEP team is Jorge Gardea-Torresday, Ph.D., chairman of the university’s Department of Chemistry and professor of chemistry and environmental science and engineering. He will be assisted by a doctoral student, a master’s student and five undergraduates. The whole grant will enlist the help of more than 70 college students from the five institutions.
The UTEP students will study the fate of nanoparticles in the food chain and share their findings with K-12 students. The graduate students will teach those same students about the importance of environmental chemistry on the environment.
Gardea-Torresdey, who recently earned global attention for his research into the study of nanoparticles on food crops, is an international expert on environmental chemistry, particularly in the applications and safety of nanotechnology on plant life.
AI and Dual-Sensor Spectroscopy Supercharge Antibiotic Fermentation
June 30th 2025Researchers from Chinese universities have developed an AI-powered platform that combines near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy for real-time monitoring and control of antibiotic production, boosting efficiency by over 30%.
Toward a Generalizable Model of Diffuse Reflectance in Particulate Systems
June 30th 2025This tutorial examines the modeling of diffuse reflectance (DR) in complex particulate samples, such as powders and granular solids. Traditional theoretical frameworks like empirical absorbance, Kubelka-Munk, radiative transfer theory (RTT), and the Hapke model are presented in standard and matrix notation where applicable. Their advantages and limitations are highlighted, particularly for heterogeneous particle size distributions and real-world variations in the optical properties of particulate samples. Hybrid and emerging computational strategies, including Monte Carlo methods, full-wave numerical solvers, and machine learning (ML) models, are evaluated for their potential to produce more generalizable prediction models.
