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Two Cornell faculty members are among this year’s recipients of National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Awards. The Faculty Early Career Development Program offers NSF’s most prestigious award for new faculty members. The program recognizes and supports the early career development activities of those teacher-scholars who are considered most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. Matthew DeLisa and Yong Joo, both assistant professors of chemical and biomolecular engineering, each will receive five-year grants of about $500,000.
In the project funded by the NSF award, DeLisa will develop techniques to analyze and engineer a model complex protein machine, namely the bacterial twin-arginine translocation (Tat) machinery. By exploiting the twin-arginine translocation system for protein expression that transports folded proteins across the E. coli membrane, he hopes to shed light on a poorly understood biological mechanism that could lead to the expression of commercially important proteins, the identification of correctly folded protein sequences, and the creation of novel biotechnology-based drugs.
In the project funded by the NSF award, Joo will investigate nanofiber formation directly from polymer melts, offering a novel solvent-free approach. The proposed melt electro-spinning process can overcome some of current barriers for commercializing conventional nanofiber technology. The award will also provide research experiences for middle and high school teachers and urban high school students as well as Cornell undergraduate students. Short courses on research ethics and modules on fiber science also will be developed for grades K–12. —Susan S. Lang |
DeLisa, who earned a Ph.D. in 2000 at the University of Maryland, joined the Cornell faculty in 2003. His research focuses on the molecular engineering of biological systems in which protein machines play an important role. Specifically, he aims to blend protein engineering principles with the tools of genetics and molecular biology to better understand how complex protein machines perform their given tasks. 
Joo, who received a a Ph.D. in 1993 from Stanford University, joined the Cornell faculty in July 2001. His research focuses on the integration of continuum analysis with molecular details in polymeric materials processing, specifically the microstructural rheology and processing of complex fluids, the formation of nanofibers via electrospinning, and the occurrence of purely elastic instabilities in polymer flows. 