News Release

Chemistry professor named outstanding Louisiana researcher

Grant and Award Announcement

Louisiana Tech University

Dr. Yuri Lvov, a professor of chemistry at Louisiana Tech University was recognized on October 24 as the state's outstanding researcher concerning materials and emerging technologies.

Lvov was named the 2006 Outstanding Louisiana Researcher by the Awards Subcommittee of the Louisiana Materials and Emerging Technologies Conference.

"I am very happy to receive this award," Lvov said. "It is not only an award for me, but it is an award for Louisiana Tech because the school has never gotten this award before."

The honor spotlights a researcher who has made significant provisions through either progressive research over a long period of time or ground-breaking research over a shorter time.

The presentation was scheduled to be made in Baton Rouge at Louisiana State University during this year's LMET meeting. The event is sponsored by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

Since joining Tech's staff in 1999, Lvov has been leading the school's nanotechnology research and holds the Pipes Eminent Endowed Chair on Micro and Nanosystems. Nanotechnology involves engineering functional systems at atomic, molecular and super molecular levels.

Tech's nanotechnology program is one of the university's most important technological programs, Lvov said. "At [Tech] we are among the national leaders in nanotechnology and No. 3 in the nation in nanotechnology education."

Lvov has introduced a number of research areas based on nanoassembly. He is also actively developing clay nanotubes that can be used to sustain the release of drugs and protein in medication.

Among Lvov's many accomplishments is attaining the position of president of Nano Pulp and Paper LLC, a Tech spin-off company. The company's ultimate goal is to improve paper production.

Lvov has been published internationally, obtained six U.S. and Japanese patents, and produced work that has been ranked among three most cited papers on molecular self-assembly. Yet among his biggest supporters are the faculty and staff at Tech's Institute for Micromanufacturing.

Dr. Kody Varahramyan, director of the IfM, has known Lvov for six years and collaborated with him on many different research projects. Varahramyan said he is proud of the recognition Lvov is bringing to Tech by being the state's top researcher.

"I think it is a well-deserved award," Varahramyan said. "This award recognizes all of the incredible contributions he has made in scientific research and to the scientific community."

Lvov sites collaboration and teamwork as necessary tools to successful research. He also acknowledges good analytical equipment, an entrepreneurial approach and courage as important factors in successful national scientific competition.

Lvov began teaching at Tech after working at the Naval Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

"I thought (coming to Tech) would be a great opportunity," Lvov said. "The IfM had just been built, and I saw it as a great beginning. At the Naval Laboratory I worked among researchers, but this was a chance to be independent."

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