Zhutian Zhang, a Lecturer of Chemistry at Holy Cross College, has been appointed a Visiting Research Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for the summer. The project, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, allows her to conduct research on paper microfluidic analytical devices with Dr. Marya Lieberman’s research group.
“These devices are currently used to solve prevalent public health problems of counterfeit and substandard drugs in low-resource countries around the world,” notes Zhang. “They are also used for detection of illicit drugs and environmental pollution in local communities. We will design inquiry-based chemistry experiments related to counterfeit or illicit drug identification for our students at Holy Cross College. They will have opportunities to carry out investigations through an open-inquiry approach, develop authentic scientific skills in designing procedures and data analysis, and see how chemistry can be applied to solve real-world problems.”
