(6go) Novel Nanomaterials for Chemical and Life Sciences

I am a Research Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Life Science Engineering Department at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA and I am running a full research lab which I inherited from Professor (Emeritus) McHugh. Before joining VCU, I worked at a global pharmaceutical company as process R&D engineer for two years, where I was responsible for active pharmaceutical ingredients process development, optimization, scale-up, and technology transfer. I have a broad range of skills that I acquired through my experiences both in academia and industry that make me confident that I can contribute to any institution’s research and teaching.

Research Interests:

My research work is at the interface of material science, nanotechnology and thermodynamics to design and develop novel multifunctional materials which find applications in wide range of industries such as pharma, automotive, and oil & gas. This research helps to create highly efficient products and processes that uses state-of-the-art experimental techniques coupled with robust mathematical models. For example, combining polymer science with supercritical fluid technology allows to create nano-porous bio aerogels for drug delivery or helps to design and formulate novel automotive lubricants.

Research Experience:

My research experience spans across many areas such as pharma crystallization, nano materials for drug delivery, and polymer solution thermodynamics. Working for two years at industry, I learned how to perform cutting-edge applied product and process research. During post-doctoral research, I have had an excellent opportunity to work on an Office of Naval Research sponsored project in collaboration with Dr. Kevin Ward (VCU Medical School), where I developed novel bio-aerogels for drug delivery, hemostats, and tissue engineering. Currently, I am running an active research program in collaboration with a chemical company on high pressure phase behavior and thermophysical properties of polymer + hydrocarbon mixtures.

Projects/proposals:

• Multi-year project with Afton Chemical Corporation, “Phase behavior and thermodynamic properties of polymer + solvent mixtures,” $98,500/year (01/2015 to 12/2018)
• One active proposal, as co-PI, submitted to DoE NETL – decision pending

Teaching Interests:

Throughout my academic career, I have had many opportunities to be involved in tutoring, mentoring. preparing examinations, and supervising laboratory courses in polymer engineering, material science, unit operations, and thermodynamics. I firmly believe that I can integrate research concepts into both basic and advanced chemical engineering courses. My education and research experience has been in core chemical engineering and pharmaceuticals. Hence, I am confident that I can teach any of the undergraduate/graduate chemical engineering courses.

Future Research:

As a faculty, I would like to continue the research on aerogels to further understand the structure-property relationships at the fundamental level to better design and engineer with tailored properties. More specifically, I intend to use my expertise of material science and engineering combining with supercritical fluid technology to create unique bio-aerogels for controlled drug release applications. The other area that I will focus on polymer solution thermodynamics, the ultimate goal of this research is, to design, develop, and evaluate alternative, cost-effective hyperbranched/star polymeric technologies for the application of petroleum additive products with improved performance characteristics especially for automate and enhanced oil recovery. My ultimate goal is to use all of this experimental knowledge and data to validate and develop simple, easy to use models for practical applications for example in computational fluid dynamics.

Education:

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany - Mar 2009

M.S. Polymer Science & Engineering, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany - Feb 2005

B.Tech. Chemical Engineering, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India - April 2002

Selected publications:

Mallepally R.R., Bamgbade B.A., Rowane A.J., Newkirk M.S., and M^cHugh M.A., “Fluid Properties at High Pressures and Temperatures: Experimental and Modelling Challenges” (in review) Journal of Supercritical Fluids (2017)

Mallepally R.R., Marin MA., and M^cHugh M.A., “CO₂-assisted synthesis of silk fibroin hydrogels and aerogels,” Acta Biomaterialia, 10, 4419-4424 (2014)