Jul 6, 2005 -- The US Department of Energy awarded an $900,000 grant to Dr. Anatoly Frenkel, associate professor of physics at Stern College for Women. The grant is for $300,000 per year for three years. Dr. Frenkel’s application was for the creation of a Synchrotron Catalysis Consortium. The funds will be divided among Yeshiva University and the University of Delaware and spent on upgrading the existing facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory and building new ones dedicated to catalysis and nanoscience research. Dr. Frenkel will oversee the research and education activities of the consortium jointly with the other principal investigators, Prof. J. Chen of the University of Delaware and Dr. R. Adzic of Brookhaven, beginning September, 2005. The day-to-day operations will be carried out by a scientist who will be hired by the consortium. The research opportunities at the consortium will be open to scientists from the US and abroad. “This grant will provide the resources to train a new generation of scientists who will become leaders of the research team,” said Dr. Frenkel. “This grant will afford the students an unparalleled opportunity and will, undoubtedly, influence their career decisions.” The study will examine the mechanism of catalysis, a process that helps speed up chemical reactions making them more efficient. “Catalysts are important in industrial chemistry and are used in 90% of all chemical processes, and generate 60% of today’s chemical products,” said Dr. Frenkel. “The other well defined areas of industrial catalysis are petroleum, pharmaceutical, and environmental catalysis.” The grant will fund summer research internship positions for two YU undergraduates and two at the University of Delaware. All four students will spend the summer at Brookhaven and will be in charge of research support of visiting research groups. Each student receives a $5,000 grant for three months.