Jin Kim Montclare Awarded Competitive Research Grant by Air Force

Professor Jin Kim Montclare of the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences received a $300,000 grant from The Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The award is part of the Air Force’s new Young Investigator Research Program, which awarded approximately $6.3 million in grants to 21 scientists and engineers who submitted winning research proposals.

A total of 145 proposals were received for the competitive program that is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States. Each of the 21 awards will be funded at the $100K level per year for three years.

The Young Investigator Research Program supports scientists and engineers who have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees in the last five years. Grant recipients must show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. The objective of this program is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators, and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering.

Research in the Montclare Lab explores the tolerance of biosynthetic and evolutionary pathways to the presence of new chemical substrates not provided by nature with the specific aim of designing novel biocatalysts and polymeric materials relevant to industry and medicine.