COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 8, 2008 - Victor M. Ugaz, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has received a grant from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation for his DNA analysis work.
Ugaz received $44,000 from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences for the project, “DNA to Go: Do-it-Yourself PCR Thermocyclers.”
Ugaz joined the Texas A&M Engineering faculty in January 2003. His research focuses on harnessing the unique characteristics of transport and flow at the microscale to enable development of advanced miniaturized chemical and biochemical analysis technologies.
Areas of investigation include manipulating electrophoretic migration of DNA and proteins in microchannels; using convective flow fields to execute thermally driven biochemical reactions such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a faster an more efficient manner; designing novel geometries to mix chemical species in microchannels by exploiting secondary flow phenomena; developing new methods that help manipulate and tailor the bulk properties of hydrogels by controlling their nanoporous morphology; and exploring new polymer materials and processes to enable rapid and inexpensive construction of microfluidic devices.
Ugaz earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences supports proposed projects that aim to advance the chemical sciences in a variety of ways. They typically originate from scientific societies, educational institutions and organizations that promote science to the public. Since its inception in 1946, the program has provided over $45,000,000 in funding.
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a leading non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of the chemical sciences. It was established in 1946 by chemist, inventor and businessman Camille Dreyfus. He directed that the foundation’s purpose be “to advance the science of chemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances.”
For more information about the program and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, see http://www.dreyfus.org.
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Story by Lesley Kriewald
