News
Current News and Events
Get to know Isiah Cruz - #UTRGVJourney
https://twitter.com/utrgv/status/1091050989589655552
Spring 2019 MAO lab members
New article publication
Maya Abdou, Santosh K. Gupta, Jose Zuniga, and Yuanbing Mao, On Structure and Phase Transformation of Uranium Doped La2Hf2O7 Nanoparticles as an Efficient Nuclear Waste Host, Materials Chemistry Frontiers, 2018, 2, 2201 – 2211. http://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI=C8QM00266E.
Congrats Hector
Conference: Materials Today: Material Science for the Next Two Decades
City: Houston, Texas
Location: Rice University Campus
Dates: Thursday, September 27th – Friday, September 28th
Title of Poster: Phase purity & chemical composition of La1-xSrxCoO3 nanoparticles synthesized via halide- and nitrite-based molten salts
Dr. Yuanbing Mao with several science and engineering colleagues received a major research instrumentation grant (MRI) from the National Science Foundation to acquire a spark plasma sintering system for functional ceramics at Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
Congrats Dr. Santosh Kumar Gupta
1. Congratulations to Dr. Santosh Kumar Gupta on being selected for the 2017 Young Scientist Award, Government of India for his excellent contribution towards science and technology
2. Fullbright Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) award for Giving Talk at Prairie View A&M University, Texas
Lecture Title: "Optical Nanomaterials: Current Status and societal benefits"
Get to know Kusy
Kusy shares her story and career path on AgMag. Details on page 70 at https://issuu.com/theagmag/docs/issue_25_final .”
On High Purity Fullerenol Obtained by Combined Dialysis and Freeze-drying Method with its Morphostructural Transition and Photoluminescence is now available online
We are pleased to let you know that the final version of your article On High Purity Fullerenol Obtained by Combined Dialysis and Freeze-drying Method with its Morphostructural Transition and Photoluminescence is now available online, containing full bibliographic details.
To help you access and share this work, we have created a Share Link – a personalized URL providing 50 days' free access to your article. Anyone clicking on this link before October 28, 2018 will be taken directly to the final version of your article on ScienceDirect, which they are welcome to read or download. No sign up, registration or fees are required.
Your personalized Share Link:
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1XhZ34wbrSvhRj
Congrats Marisol, Maya, and Hisham
Congrats Marisol Valdez, Maya Abdou, and Hisham Abdou for receiving travel scholarship for 2018 SACNAS- The National Diversity in STEM Conference in San Antonio TX.
MAO Research Group's recent journal publications
Congrats to the nice recent work by the MAO group members and our collaborators:
- Jose Zuniga, Santosh K. Gupta, Madhab Pokhrel, and Yuanbing Mao, Exploring optical properties of La2Hf2O7:Pr3+ nanoparticles under UV and X-ray excitation for potential lighting and scintillating applications, New Journal of Chemistry, 2018, 42, in press. (Cover) DOI: 10.1039/c8nj00895g.
2. Lin Wei, Karen Lozano, and Yuanbing Mao, Microwave Popped Co(II)-Graphene Oxide Hybrid: Bifunctional Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Hydrogen Storage, Engineered Science, 2018, in press. DOI: 10.30919/es8d723.
3. Zichao Wei, Zhaofeng Wang, William R. T. Tait, Madhab Pokhrel, Yuanbing Mao, Jingjing Liu, Lichun Zhang, Weixing Wang, and Luyi Sun, Synthesis of green phosphors from highly active amorphous silica derived from rice husks, Journal of Materials Science, 2018, 53(3), 1824-1832.
4. Mandana Akia, Dulce Capitanachi, Misael Martinez, Carlos Hernandez, Hector de Santiago, Yuanbing Mao, Karen Lozano, Development and optimization of alumina fine fibers utilizing a centrifugal spinning process, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2018, 262, 175-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.11.039.
5. Swati Mohan and Yuanbing Mao, Hydrothermal synthesized copper gallium delafossite nanoflakes for (photo)electrocatalytic water splitting, ECS Transaction, 2017, 77, 1985-1994.
6. Jennifer L. Bravo, Hermes Chirino, and Yuanbing Mao, Heterogeneous TiO2@carbon core@shell nanostructured photocatalysts for high efficient waste water treatment, New Journal of Chemistry,2017, 41, 13600-13610. DOI: 10.1039/C7NJ02083J.
7. Mandana Akia, Lee Cremar, Mircea Chipara, Edgar Munoz, Hilario Cortez, Hector de Santiago, Fernando J. Rodriguez-Macias, Yadira I. Vega-Cantú, Hamidreza Arandiyan, Hongyu Sun, Timothy Lodge, Yuanbing Mao, and Karen Lozano, In Situ Production of Graphene-Fiber Hybrid Structures, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017, 9(30), 25474-25480. DOI:10.1021/acsami.7b07509.
8. Qiang Li, Xing Sun, Karen Lozano, and Yuanbing Mao, Dependence of Photoelectrochemical Properties on Geometry Factors of Interconnected “Caterpillar-like“ ZnO Networks,Electrochimica Acta, 2016, 222, 232-245. DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.10.162.
9. Madhab Pokhrel, Arnold Burger, Michael Groza, and Yuanbing Mao, Enhance the Photoluminescence and Radioluminescence of La2Zr2O7:Eu3+ Core Nanoparticles by Coating with a Thin Y2O3 Shell, Optical Materials, 2017, 68, 35-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2016.11.008.
10. Kareen Wahid, Madhab Pokhrel, and Yuanbing Mao, Structural, Photoluminescence and Radioluminescence Properties of Eu3+ Doped La2Hf2O7 Nanoparticles, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2017, 245, 89-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.jssc.2016.10.004.
11. Madhab Pokhrel, Mataz Alcoutlabi, and Yuanbing Mao, Optical and X-Ray Induced Luminescence from Eu3+ Doped La2Zr2O7 Nanoparticles, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017, 693, 719-729. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.09.218.
Read the latest news from the MAO Research Group at maolab.blogspot.com.
The Student Trainee (Biological Science) position with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) has opened. This position is located in McAllen, Texas. It is open to students enrolled in accredited educational institutions.
This is not a summer internship only, so students must be able to report to the duty station in McAllen on a full or part time (at least 16 hours a week) schedule year round in order to carry out work assignments.
For more information on the position and to apply, students can go to: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/494014100.
Deadline to apply is Thursday, March 22nd.
Welcome two visiting scholars!
The MAO group welcome Fulbright Scholar Dr. S.K. Gupta in September 2017 and Visiting Professor Dr. W. Luo in May 2018!
Dr. Mao received in the UTRGV Excellence Award in Research
On May 3rd, 2018, UTRGV honored achievement and performance with annual Faculty Excellence Awards:
http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2018/may-03-utrgv-honors-achievement-performance-with-annual-faculty-excellence-awards/index.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sRlWh4pd9U
Big congrats to Dr. Mao and the MAO research group!
We also appreciate all the support from everyone!
Congrats, Jennifer!
For being admitted to the Ph.D. program of the Iowa State University.
Bravo!
Welcome two visiting scholars!
The MAO group welcome Fulbright Scholar Dr. S.K. Gupta in September 2017 and Visiting Professor Dr. W. Luo in May 2018!
MAO Research Group's recent journal publications
Congrats to the nice recent work by the MAO group members and our collaborators:
|
1. Jose Zuniga, Santosh K. Gupta, Madhab Pokhrel, and Yuanbing Mao, Exploring optical properties of La2Hf2O7:Pr3+ nanoparticles under UV and X-ray excitation for potential lighting and scintillating applications, New Journal of Chemistry, 2018, 42, in press. (Cover) DOI: 10.1039/c8nj00895g. |
|
2. Lin Wei, Karen Lozano, and Yuanbing Mao, Microwave Popped Co(II)-Graphene Oxide Hybrid: Bifunctional Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Hydrogen Storage, Engineered Science, 2018, in press. DOI: 10.30919/es8d723. |
|
3. Zichao Wei, Zhaofeng Wang, William R. T. Tait, Madhab Pokhrel, Yuanbing Mao, Jingjing Liu, Lichun Zhang, Weixing Wang, and Luyi Sun, Synthesis of green phosphors from highly active amorphous silica derived from rice husks, Journal of Materials Science, 2018, 53(3), 1824-1832. |
|
4. Mandana Akia, Dulce Capitanachi, Misael Martinez, Carlos Hernandez, Hector de Santiago, Yuanbing Mao, Karen Lozano, Development and optimization of alumina fine fibers utilizing a centrifugal spinning process, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2018, 262, 175-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.11.039. |
|
5. Swati Mohan and Yuanbing Mao, Hydrothermal synthesized copper gallium delafossite nanoflakes for (photo)electrocatalytic water splitting, ECS Transaction, 2017, 77, 1985-1994. |
|
6. Jennifer L. Bravo, Hermes Chirino, and Yuanbing Mao, Heterogeneous TiO2@carbon core@shell nanostructured photocatalysts for high efficient waste water treatment, New Journal of Chemistry,2017, 41, 13600-13610. DOI: 10.1039/C7NJ02083J. |
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7. Mandana Akia, Lee Cremar, Mircea Chipara, Edgar Munoz, Hilario Cortez, Hector de Santiago, Fernando J. Rodriguez-Macias, Yadira I. Vega-Cantú, Hamidreza Arandiyan, Hongyu Sun, Timothy Lodge, Yuanbing Mao, and Karen Lozano, In Situ Production of Graphene-Fiber Hybrid Structures, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017, 9(30), 25474-25480. DOI:10.1021/acsami.7b07509. |
|
8. Qiang Li, Xing Sun, Karen Lozano, and Yuanbing Mao, Dependence of Photoelectrochemical Properties on Geometry Factors of Interconnected “Caterpillar-like“ ZnO Networks,Electrochimica Acta, 2016, 222, 232-245. DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.10.162. |
|
9. Madhab Pokhrel, Arnold Burger, Michael Groza, and Yuanbing Mao, Enhance the Photoluminescence and Radioluminescence of La2Zr2O7:Eu3+ Core Nanoparticles by Coating with a Thin Y2O3 Shell, Optical Materials, 2017, 68, 35-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2016.11.008. |
|
10. Kareen Wahid, Madhab Pokhrel, and Yuanbing Mao, Structural, Photoluminescence and Radioluminescence Properties of Eu3+ Doped La2Hf2O7 Nanoparticles, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2017, 245, 89-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.jssc.2016.10.004. |
|
11. Madhab Pokhrel, Mataz Alcoutlabi, and Yuanbing Mao, Optical and X-Ray Induced Luminescence from Eu3+ Doped La2Zr2O7 Nanoparticles, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017, 693, 719-729. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.09.218. |
2016
Kareem presented at the ES216 Engaged Scholar Symposium on April 22, 2016!
Kareem presented at ES216 Engaged Scholar Symposium and won an award as top 5% presenter. Congrats!
On April 6, the MAO group welcome our Visiting Professor, Dr. Lingbo Mao!
Welcome!
Kareem defended his Honor thesis on April 22, 2016!
Great job, Kareem, for being admitted to Medical school in Houston as well!
Lin defended her M.S. thesis on May 5th, 2016!
Congratulations, Lin, for being admitted to the Ph.D. program at Iowa State University as well!
Jahangeer's another work published on Journal of Solid State Chemistry!
Ahmed and Y. Mao, Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic properties of Delafossite CuGaO2, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2016, in press. DOI: 10.1016/j.jssc.2016.07.006. 
Jahangeer published on Electrochimica Acta!
Ahmed, and Y. Mao, Ultrafine Iridium Oxide Nanorods Synthesized by Molten Salt Method toward Electrocatalytic Oxygen and Hydrogen Evolution Reactions,Electrochimica Acta, 2016, in press. DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.06.122.
Madhab and Kareem coauthored on the Journal of Physical Chemistry C!
Pokhrel, K. Wahid, and Y. Mao, Systematic Studies on RE2Hf2O7:5%Eu3+(RE = Y, La, Pr, Gd, Er, and Lu) Nanoparticles: Effects of the A-Site RE3+Cation and Calcination on Structure and Photoluminescence, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016, in press. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b04798.
Lin defended her M.S. thesis on May 5th, 2016!
Congratulations, Lin, for being admitted to the Ph.D. program at Iowa State University as well!
Jahangeer's another work published on Journal of Solid State Chemistry!
Ahmed and Y. Mao, Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic properties of Delafossite CuGaO2, Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2016, in press. DOI: 10.1016/j.jssc.2016.07.006..
Madhab and Kareem coauthored on the Journal of Physical Chemistry C!
Pokhrel, K. Wahid, and Y. Mao, Systematic Studies on RE2Hf2O7:5%Eu3+(RE = Y, La, Pr, Gd, Er, and Lu) Nanoparticles: Effects of the A-Site RE3+Cation and Calcination on Structure and Photoluminescence, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016, in press. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b04798.
Madhab's work published on JMCC. Congrats!
Pokhrel, G. A. Kumar, C.-G. Ma, M. G. Brik, B. W. Langloss, I. N. Stanton, M. J. Therien, D. K. Sardar, and Y. Mao, Electronic and Optical Properties of Er-Doped Y2O2S Phosphors,Journal of Materials Chemistry C,2015, 3, 11486 - 11496.Jahangeer's work published as book chapter!
Ahmed and Y. Mao, Delafossite CuAlO2nanoparticles with electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen and hydrogen evolution reaction, ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 1213 “Nanomaterials for Sustainable Energy”,Chapter 4, pp 57–72(2015). 
APS March Meeting, Baltimore, MD (March 14-18, 2016)
Alejandro and Kareem each presented a poster. Kareem also received an "Undergraduate Research Presentation Award". Well done, guys!
251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA (March 15, 2016)
Dr. Mao gave two talks.
3rd International Workshop on Persistent and Photostimulable Phosphors, Arlington, TX (November 9-13, 2015)
Dr. Mao and Madhab each gave one talk!
Materials Science & Technology 2015, Columbus, OH (October 4-8, 2015)
Dr. Mao attended the conference and gave two talks.
Congrats for the newly procured USDA NIFA program!
Funded by a USDA grant, Mao is serving as the PI with $500k/yr for 4 years on a brand-new program - Integrating Food Science/Engineering & Education Network (IFSEEN).
The IFSEEN consortium comprised of the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, the University of Texas at San Antonio, New Mexico State University, and the University of New Mexico is to create an educational linkage to collaboratively enhance the presentation of underrepresented Hispanics in the food/agricultural science area by generating future Hispanic food safety/science professionals and leaders through collaboration among the four major HSIs in Texas and New Mexico. To accomplish the goal, IFSEEN team will outreach to local high schools, develop new course materials, target incoming students, train them as cohorts as they matriculate through their undergraduate education, conduct cross-disciplinary food science research, and partner with USDA agencies and Tier 1 agricultural institutions nationwide. Collectively, the IFSEEN program will increase the number of Hispanics that pursue careers in the food/agricultural science fields.
Congrats for successful renewal of the NSF PREM program!
Led by Dr. Lozano, now Mao is serving as a co-PI of the $3M funded "PREM-UTRGV/UMN-Science and Engineering of Polymeric and Nanoparticle-based Materials for Electronic and Structural Applications" for the next five years!
New semester, new university!
After early tenured and promoted to Associate Professor, Mao enjoys the evening breeze with his group members for the new semester and new UTRGV!
Bye, Dr. Tian!
Dr. Tian, after spent one year as a visiting professor at the MAO group, returned to her home institute on August 9th, 2015.
Great job, summer high school interns!
Great research experience for three summer high school interns in the MAO research group! Corbin is attending TAMU at College Station, Hector is going to TAMU Corpus Christi, and Marie is continuing on the 12th grade!
New job of alumnus Edna
Congrats, Edna, for starting to work at General Mills, Joplin, Missouri!
Spring 2015 semester ends ...
MAO group celebrated the end of semester (with part of the group) and the graduation of group members Michael Anzaldua, Jennifer Bravo, Edna Garcia and Carolina Valdes!
Research on V2O5@PPy Nanocomposites for energy storage published!
- Sun, Q. Li, and Y. Mao, The Optimal Ratio of Polypyrrole Decoration on V2O5Nanofibers as electrode materials for energy storage, Electrochimica Acta, 2015, in press.
Research on the particle size and crystal phase dependent photoluminescence of La2Zr2O7:Eu3+ nanoparticles published!
Madhab, good job!
M. Pokhrel, M. G. Brik, and Y. Mao, Particle size and crystal phase dependent photoluminescence of La2Zr2O7:Eu3+ nanoparticles, J. Amer. Ceram. Soc., 2015, in press.
Work on persistent luminescent nanoparticles published!
Congrats, Bhupendra!
B. B. Srivastava†, A. Kuang, and Y. Mao, Persistent luminescent sub-10-nm Cr doped ZnGa2O4nanoparticles by a bi-phasic synthesis route, Chemical Communications, 2015, 51, 7372 - 7375.
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/CC/c5cc00377f#!divAbstract
Dr. Mao attended the ACS meeting in Denver, CO
Four talks were given plus one POD short (http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/events/acs-multimedia-lab.html).
MAO group attended March Meeting 2015 in San Antonio, Texas
Dr. Mao, Madhab (postdoc), Lin (graduate) and Alejandra (undergraduate) attended March Meeting 2015 in San Antonio, Texas. Three oral and two poster presentations were given!
MAO group highlighted on the 2014 Annual Report from the Office of Research!
The MAO research group has been highlighted on the 2014 Annual Report from the UTPA Office of Research:http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/research/research_files/Research%20Report%20Final%202014.pdf
Congrats, Eddy on your NSF GRFP Fellowship!
On April 6, 2015, MAO group alumnus Eduardo (Eddy) Villarreal received a 2015 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowship!
Paper on Facile and Scalable Synthesis of "Caterpillar-like" ZnO Nanostructures with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water-Splitting Effect accepted by The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Congrats Qiang and Xing. The DOI assigned to this article is http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp503155c.
Paper on Morphology-tunable Synthesis of ZnO Nanoforest and its Photoelectrochemical Performance accepted by Nanoscale. Congrats Xing and Qiang.
Congratulations to Xing Sun and Qiang Li for successfully defending their Master theses. Xing is our group’s second M.S. graduate, and Qiang is our group's co-advised M.E. graduate.
Congratulations:
to Xing Sun and Qiang Li for getting accepted to the MSE Ph.D. program at the Texas A&M;
to Eduardo Villarreal for getting accepted to the Ph.D. program at the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University;
and to Kaled Diab for getting accepted to the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
We wish them the best at TAMU, Rice, and UT MedSchool at Houston, respectively.
New research equipment added
Two new pieces of equipment were added to the MAO group in April 2014: an Autolab PGSTAT302N/FRA32 Potentiostat/Galvanostat/ZRA workstation and a FLS980 spectrofluorimeter (Edinburgh Instruments Ltd.).
Plus: A brand new LAMBDA 950 UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer from Perkin-Elmer with the capability for diffuse reflectance measurement is now located at the Department of Chemistry;
And the acquisition of an X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy System for Interdisciplinary Research and Education in Multi-Scale Materials at University of Texas-Pan American has been awarded by the Army Research Office while Dr. Mao serves as a co-PI.
2014 Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
Congrats, Xing, for being selected for the University of Texas-Pan American.
Xing's 2014 Graduate Student Travel Scholarship
Congrats, Xing, for the scholarship made possible by the Blandina Cardenas Endowment to attend the ACS meeting in Dallas, TX.
2014 ACS spring meeting
Part of the MAO Group hit north and rolled all the way up to Dallas to attend the 2014 Spring ACS National Meeting. Eight presentations (6 orals and 2 posters) were given in total, and Dr. Mao chaired two sessions.
Two new postdoctor fellows joined the MAO group in March 2014.
Welcome Drs. Madhab Pokhrel and Bhupendra Srivastava!
Manuscript published by JNN!
Congrats on new article entitled "TiO2 fibers: tunable polymorphic phase transformation and electrochemical properties" just accepted by the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology!
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asp/jnn/2015/00000015/00000005/art00055?crawler=true
Edna and Qiang, great job!
Great job, Long!
On Dec. 3, 2013, Long defended his undergraduate Guerra Honors Program (GHP) thesis. Wonderful!
Great job, high schoolers for summer 2013 research!
Marissa, Sam and Phil, way to go!
Attending AIChE Annual Meeting
Dr. Mao attended the 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting in San Francisco (http://www.aiche.org/conferences/aiche-annual-meeting/2013) from Nov. 3-6 and gave two talks.
Attending Welch Conference 2013
Oct. 27-29, Dr. Mao attended the Welch Conference 2013 on Chemical Research in Houston (http://www.welch1.org/chemical-conference/summary-program).
Attending 246th ACS meeting!
Dr. Mao, Xing and Qiang attended the 246th ACS meeting held at Indianapolis, Indiana from September 8-12, 2013, and gave four oral presentations in total. Great job!
Congrats, Aleksey and Qiang for publication on novel VOx nanofibers!
Article: Mixed-Valent VOx/Polymer Nanohybrid Fibers for Flexible Energy Storage Materials
Journal: Ceramics International
DOI information: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2013.09.067
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2013.09.067
publication on pseudocapacitance dominant asymmetric supercapacitors
Title: Asymmetric Supercapacitors with Dominant Pseudocapacitance Based on Manganese Oxide Nanoflowers in Neutral Aqueous Electrolyte
Article citation: RSC Adv., 2013, 3 (47), 24886 - 24890
Link: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/RA/c3ra45140b#!divAbstract
Congrats, Suresh's 2nd paper published!
Title: Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of
La2Zr2O7:Eu3+@YBO3 core@shell nanoparticles
Journal: Nanotechnology
Link: http://iopscience.iop.org/0957-4484/25/2/025703/
Congrats, Suresh's 1st paper at the MAO group has been published!
Title: Europium Doped Lanthanum Zirconate Nanoparticles with High Concentration Quenching
Journal: Materials Research Bulletin
Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002554081300723X
New group member: 2nd Postdoc scholar
Jahangeer Joined the group in mid-April. Welcome on board!
Attending the 245th ACS National Meeting and Exposition
Dr. Mao presided a session and gave a talk in New Orleans.
New journal article on Nanoscale
Paper
Magnetic properties of double perovskite La2BMnO6 (B = Ni or Co) nanoparticles
Yuanbing Mao,*a Jason Parsonsa and John S. McCloy*b
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/NR/C3NR00825H
Attending Conference: TMS 2013 Annual Meetings and Exhibition
As a co-organizer of the Symposium of Functional Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties and Application, Dr. Mao attended the 142nd TMS Annual Meeting in San Antonio with seven research group members: Jinbo, Qiang, Xing, Edna, Qianqian, Hermes, Long. Two oral presentations and four posters were given.
New publication on ChemComm with cover
Three-dimensional ZnO@MnO2 core@shell nanostructures for electrochemical energy storage
Xing Sun, Qiang Li, Yinong Lü and Yuanbing Mao, Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 4456
37th International Conference and Expo on Advanced Ceramics and Composites
Dr. Mao attended the ICACC2013 held at the Daytona Beach, FL, and gave an invited talk at the Symposium of "Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy Generation and Rechargeable Energy Storage".
End of Year Group Party
Dec. 13, 2012
Time to celebrate!
First graduate student graduated
Big congrats, Suresh, for graduating from the MAO research group as the 1st MS student in December 2012. Enjoy your life in West VA.
Openings for graduate students
The MAO group has two openings for motivated graduate students. Please contact Prof. Mao for details.
New journal publication
A new article:
Facile Molten Salt Synthesis of Double Perovskite La2BMnO6 Nanoparticles,
RSC Adv., 2012, 2 (33), 12675 - 12678
Postdoc position for DARPA project
A Postdoctoral research position is currently available for a DARPA project. The research will focus on the development of scalable, alternate synthetic pathways, e.g. supercritical crystal growth, templated growth, and hydrothermal synthesis, for extended phases of CO2 amenable at ambient conditions, and the investigation of their novel properties.
Please respond with a CV and three names of reference to Professor Mao, Department of Chemistry, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX 78539. E-mail address: maoy at utpa dot edu.
DARPA project
Congrats! The MAO group and two other PIs have teamed up for an over $3M DARPA project to develop novel high energy density forms of extended low-Z solids, amenable to scale-up synthesis and stabilization at ambient conditions.
Welcome, new students: 1 graduate and 3 UGs!
One graduate student, two freshmen and one junior joined the MAO group and started to get their hands wet on fascinating research projects!
GRC-Solid State Chemistry
In late July, Dr. Mao attended the Gordon Research Conference-Solid State Chemistry held at Colby-Sawyer College.
Welcome and congrats, Dorothy!
Dorothy joined the group as a member of the UTPA'S CE-STEM research program this October. The Center of Excellence in STEM Education (CE-STEM) is funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense through the Army Research Office and managed by the Office of Naval Research and supported by The University of Texas-Pan American.
Prof. L. Sun's visit
Dr. Luyi Sun from Texas State University-San Marcos visited the MAO group on Sep. 24 and gave a seminar on "Valuable Materials Derived from Rice Husk Biomass".
AFOSR project
Big congrats! The Mao research group is working on a new hydrogen storage project funded by AFOSR starting from September 2012.
Best Chemistry Graduate poster!
Congrats, Xing, for winning the Best Chemistry Graduate poster award!
PREM TAB Meeting 2012
While many students from the MAO research group presented posters for the 2012 HESTEC week held on the UTPA campus, Dr. Mao gave a presentation titled "Heterogeneous Nanomaterials for Energy Storage Applications" as a co-PI for the Technical Advisory Broad meeting of the Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program, funded by the NSF.
Welcome, Jinbo!
The first postdoctoral fellow joined the MAO group at mid-September.
ACS South Texas Local Section meeting
On Sep. 7th, Dr. Mao gave a talk on "Nanochemistry at UTPA" during the dinner for the Local Section meeting held at UT-Brownsville.
244th ACS National Meeting
Dr. Mao and Edna attended the meeting in Philadephia, PA. Dr. Mao gave an oral presentation titled "Functional Complex Oxide Nanomaterials" on August 19th, 2012. As a Sophomore, Edna presented a poster on Aug. 21.
Group BBQ + Farewell to Aleksey and Andrix
Aleksey and Andrix, good job at PanAm and best wishes to your future endeavors!
At Edinburg Municipal Park, July 13, 2012.
An HS student supported by HHMI
Welcome, Kathryn, a student of Edinburg North High School, to participate into our research work, as part of the 2012 High School Summer Internship Program of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at UTPA. Thanks alos to Suresh for guiding her on research.
Two MUSE high school students
We are glad to have 2 HS students supported by the Migrant University Summer Experience (MUSE) spent some time in our research lab. Thanks to Qiang and Xing for guiding them on research.
Outreach at Jefferson Elementary School
On May 8th, Dr. Mao gave a 45-minute science demonstration to more than 40 fourth graders at the Jefferson Elementary School, Edinburg, TX.
Visit of Shandong University
On June 14th, Dr. Mao visited Shandong University and gave an invited seminar: http://www.ygb.sdu.edu.cn/html/xssk/sxjt/201206/15-7668.html.
Visit by Prof. Z. Guo
On May 28th, Professor John Zhanhu Guo, from the Integrated Composites Laboratory (ICL), Chemical Engineering Department, Lamar University, visited Prof. Mao, Multifunctional Applications of Oxides (MAO) lab, Dr. Lozano and Dr. Whelan at UTPA. Prof. Guo gave an invited talk on "Magnetic Nanocomposites for Environmental Remediation”.
Farewell party for Michelle!
Held on April 27th by Michelle.
Congrats, Yesenia!
For being accepted as part of the NSF-LSAMP Undergraduate Research Program.
Visit of Lamar University
On May 14th, Dr. Mao gave an invited talk at Lamar University: http://dept.lamar.edu/zhanhu/icl/news.htm.
Congrats to our grats!
Congrats to Alekesy, Andrix and Michelle, for your successful admission to Rice Uni. (Graduate School), TAMU-Kingsville (Pharmacy School) and UT Health Science Center (Medical School)! Well done!
Postdoc position available
With the continuous support of DTRA of DoD, another Postdoctoral position for research on the wet chemistry synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles and investigation of their luminescent properties.
Please respond with a CV and three names of reference to Professor Mao, Department of Chemistry, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX 78539. E-mail address: maoy at utpa dot edu.
New research grant
Congrats! Another two-year grant from DTRA of DoD has been procured!
Visit of TAMU
On Feb. 8th, Dr. Mao gave an invited talk on 'Metal Oxide Nanomaterials' at the Texas A&M University: http://events.chem.tamu.edu/node/1587.
New publication about ITO!
A paper entitled "Large-scale synthesis of tin-doped indium oxide nanofibers using water as solvent" has been accepted for publication in the journal of Functional Materials Letters (FML). The co-authors are A. Altecor (undergraduate student), Y. Mao and K. Lozano (Professor of Mechanical Engineering)
Congrats, Edna!
Congratulations, Edna, for being accepted into the UTPA Center for Excellence in STEM Student Research Program:
http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/coecs_home/stemgrant_home/center_activities/student_research.
Keep up the good work!
Group BBQ!
New semester just started, spring is here, so go BBQ in southern Texas (Jan. 21, 2012)!
Judge at Local Science & Engineering Fair
At the Weslaco ISD Secondary District Science and Engineering Fair: Saturday, January 21 from 8:00 am - 12 noon, Central Middle School in Weslaco.
Christmas dinner!
After one-year hard work, we enjoyed our potluck-style Christmas dinner and took a short break.
Wei and Joel missed the dinner, though.
Postdoc position available!
Postdoctoral Researcher position for research program in chemical synthesis of heterostructured nanoparticles, development of surface modification strategies for the nanoparticles to be incorporated into paints, and investigation of their photo-decontaminating effects under sun light using analytical instruments. Useful areas of expertise include inorganic chemistry, nanoscience and materials science. Other relevant duties include: writing summaries of the research background and results; developing and implementing an evaluation plan and preparing progress reports; implementing training activities for undergraduate and graduate students; publishing in peer-reviewed publications.
The ideal outstanding scientist would hold or will receive a Ph.D. degree in Physical Science or related Engineering disciplines, be interdisciplinary and have high aspirations. Evaluation of candidates will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.
Please respond with a CV and three names of reference to Professor Y. Mao, Department of Chemistry, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX 78539. E-mail address: maoy@utpa.edu.
SWRM2011
Dr. Mao and five graduate students attended the 67th Southwest Regional ACS Meeting in Austin (Nov. 7-12, 2011) and presented three posters.
New Research Grant
Dr. Mao Research group just landed the third external grant (the other two are from DTRA-DoD and ACS PRF). Congratulations! And way to go!
Welcome!
Welcome to Dr. Yuanbing Mao's research group blog.