Joel Karty, assistant professor of chemistry, has received a $35,000 grant from The American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund to study the phenomenon of periodic precipitation.
In a precipitation reaction, the product of the reaction is formed in spatial patterns. In a periodic precipitation reaction, the product is formed in horizontal or concentric discs, with no product being formed in between. Although this type of reaction has been studied for more than 100 years, no one fully understands why these patterns are formed.
Karty’s research has application to geologic formations, and also has implications in biology, with specific applications to cysts, tumors and the formation of gall stones.