Merlin L. Bruening
        My research group's web page describes our current work.

Dept. of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
e-mail: bruening@chemistry.msu.edu

 

Education

     Postdoctoral        NIH Fellow, Texas A&M University, 1995-1997

 

     PhD                     The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel 1990-95

                                 Major: Chemistry

                                 Dissertation Subject:  Modification of Surface Electronic Properties by Organic

                                 Ligand Adsorption

 

     MS                       Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 1989-90

                                  Major:  Chemistry

                                  Thesis Subject:  Applications of Immobilized Ligands in Cation and Anion Separations

 

     BS                        Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 1983-84, 1986-89

                                  Major:  Chemical Engineering

                                 Honors: Magna Cum Laude, Am. Inst. of Chem. Eng. Outstanding Graduate, Spencer W.   Kimball Scholar

 

Research Experience

                                  Assistant Professor 1997-2002, Associate Professor 2002-present

                                  Michigan State University

                                 .Developed high-flux, high selectivity polyelectrolyte membranes for ion and gas separations

                                 .Prepared modified MALDI plates for on-probe purification of protein digests

                                            .Created polymer brush-modified membranes for protein purification

                                            .Developed a method for growing thick polymer brushes from gold

                                             .Introduced interface science experiments into undergraduate and graduate level courses

 

                                  NIH Postdoctoral Fellow

                                  Texas A&M University 1995-1997

                                 .Created hyperbranched polymer films for sensing applications

                                            .Developed  fluorinated  polymer films for corrosion protection

 

                                 Graduate Researcher

                                 Weizmann Institute of Science 1990-1995

                                 .Created a method to control semiconductor work functions with organic ligands

                                            .Characterized new surfaces by FTIR and Kelvin probe measurements

                                            .Calculated  the likely structure of a new self-assembled monolayer

 

Awards

                          Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry Young Investigator Award, 2000

                                MSU Sigma Xi Junior Meritorious Faculty, 2002

                          MSU College of Natural Science Teacher-Scholar Award, 2003

Personal Interests

                                Other than science, my family, church, reading, and Michigan State and BYU football

 

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