Sherine Obare facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sherine Obare
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| Alma mater | West Virginia State University University of South Carolina |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Western Michigan University University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University |
| Thesis | Optical sensing strategies for the development of novel chemical probes (2002) |
Sherine O. Obare is a leading scientist who works with tiny materials called nanomaterials. She is the dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. This school is a special place shared by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Dr. Obare uses nanomaterials to create new ways to detect things and deliver medicines.
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Sherine Obare's Early Life and Schooling
Sherine Obare grew up in Germany. She went to a British high school there. She loved studying science, including chemistry, math, and physics.
Why Did Sherine Obare Choose Chemistry?
Even though she first studied engineering, Dr. Obare decided to focus on chemistry. Her college roommate helped her discover her passion for it! She started her chemistry degree at West Virginia State University and finished in 1998.
After college, she thought about working for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. But her professor encouraged her to go to graduate school instead. She then went to the University of South Carolina for her PhD, which she earned in 2002.
What Did Sherine Obare Study in Her PhD?
For her PhD, Dr. Obare worked with Professor Catherine J. Murphy. They created a new way to make tiny, hollow tubes called nanotubes. These nanotubes were made using gold nanorods as a guide.
How Are Nanotubes Useful?
Hollow nanotubes are very helpful in many areas. They can be used to:
- Deliver medicines inside the body.
- Move cells or enzymes for medical treatments.
- Clean up polluted waste.
- Help with gene therapy.
How Did Sherine Obare Make Gold Nanorods?
To make the gold nanorods, Dr. Obare used tiny gold particles as a starting point. She put them in a special liquid mixture. This mixture helped the gold particles grow into nanorods.
Dr. Obare also showed that special gold nanoparticles could find lithium ions in a liquid. These nanoparticles would stick together when they found lithium ions. She also found other materials that would change color when they found lithium ions.
After her PhD, Dr. Obare was a special fellow at Johns Hopkins University. She continued her research there.
Sherine Obare's Career in Science
In 2004, Dr. Obare became a professor at Western Michigan University. She continued her work on nanomaterials. She focused on using them for delivering medicines and sensing chemicals.
How Does Sherine Obare Detect Harmful Chemicals?
Dr. Obare studied special sensors that glow (fluoresce) to find chemicals called organophosphorous. These chemicals can be very harmful to health and the environment. Her sensors help monitor for them.
In 2006, she received a special award called the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. This award helped her develop new ways to move electrons in chemical reactions.
What is Electron Transfer Research?
Dr. Obare is very interested in how electrons move between different materials. She studied how electrons move from a material called titanium dioxide to harmful pollutants. She showed that these pollutants could be broken down using this electron transfer process.
She also explored new ways to make and study tiny, uniform nanoparticles. These nanoparticles can be used to find bacteria that cause waterborne diseases (diseases spread through water).
Sherine Obare's Leadership Roles
In 2015, Dr. Obare became an associate dean at Western Michigan University. She helped with research, education, and making sure everyone felt included at the university. She believes it's very important for young people, especially those from groups not often seen in science, to do real research early on. This helps them understand the world better. From 2017, she also served as an Associate Vice President for Research at the university.
Dr. Obare is also an editor for the Journal of Nanomaterials, a science magazine. Later, she moved to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There, she became the dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. In October 2023, she was also named the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She also leads a committee for the American Chemical Society that focuses on teaching about sustainability in science.
Awards and Recognitions for Sherine Obare
Dr. Sherine Obare has received many awards for her important work:
- 2006 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
- 2007 American Chemical Society Dreyfus Lectureship Award
- 2009 Haenicke Institute for Global Education International Faculty Development Award
- 2009 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Young Observer Award
- 2009 National Science Foundation Materials Grant
- 2010 American Competitiveness and Innovation (ACI) Fellowship
- 2010 NOBCChE Lloyd N. Ferguson Young Scientist Award
- 2010 Science Spectrum Magazine Trailblazer Award
- 2012 National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers President’s Award
Books by Sherine Obare
- 2018 The Power and Promise of Early Research
