Awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help one University of Iowa professor investigate how tubular nanomaterials transport and store water—research that may one day advance drug delivery and promote cleaner water—and another professor better understand environmental nanoparticles and develop new water purification methods.

Tori M. Forbes and Sara E. Mason, both assistant professors of chemistry in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry, have each been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to receive a 2013 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.

Over the next five years Forbes will receive $509,244, effective July 1, and Mason will receive $525,000, effective June 1.

Forbes says information gained from her work may lead to a greater understanding of nanoconfinement (trapping on a very small scale) of water, which influences a wide variety of biological, geological, and physical systems. The award also will develop novel materials for advanced applications in separation and storage media, as well as the enhancement of undergraduate and graduate education in structural and nanomolecular chemistry.

Forbes received her CAREER award for the project titled “Development of metal-organic nanotubes with unique water transport and storage properties.”

Mason says her work will promote improved predictions about the sequestration of water-based contaminants that may lead to new water purification methods. The research will support the training of graduate and undergraduate students, and a major emphasis will be placed on engaging community college students in education and research activities in order to train them as the next generation of scientists.

Mason received her CAREER award for the project titled “Developing Quantum Nanogeochemistry for Molecular Studies and Inclusive Education.”

The CAREER award is the most prestigious NSF honor for junior faculty and recognizes research and teaching excellence, as well as scholars who are likely to become future academic leaders. The awards, presented to engineers and scientists across the country, are designed to help universities attract and retain outstanding young faculty members.