{"id":10383,"date":"2023-12-27T08:30:37","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T14:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&#038;p=10383"},"modified":"2023-12-27T08:30:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T14:30:37","slug":"launching-excellence-in-the-lab-warhawk-nick-barmore-earns-nasa-grant","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/launching-excellence-in-the-lab-warhawk-nick-barmore-earns-nasa-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"Launching excellence in the lab: Warhawk Nick Barmore earns NASA grant"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10386\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10386\" style=\"width: 900px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/12\/WHT_NASA-grant_102523CS_Student_NASA_research_99U1686_feature.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10386\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/12\/WHT_NASA-grant_102523CS_Student_NASA_research_99U1686_feature.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Nick Barmore, right, a chemistry student from Evansville, who is working on an undergraduate research project with Steven Girard, left, associate professor of chemistry. Barmore has been awarded $4,000 for his ongoing research on sensor materials. The grant comes from NASA and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC). He is shown in Girard's lab on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (UW-Whitewater photo\/Craig Schreiner)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/12\/WHT_NASA-grant_102523CS_Student_NASA_research_99U1686_feature.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/12\/WHT_NASA-grant_102523CS_Student_NASA_research_99U1686_feature-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/12\/WHT_NASA-grant_102523CS_Student_NASA_research_99U1686_feature-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10386\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nick Barmore, right, a chemistry student from Evansville, who is working on an undergraduate research project with Steven Girard, left, associate professor of chemistry, has been awarded $4,000 for his ongoing research on sensor materials. The grant comes from NASA and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC). He is shown in Girard&#8217;s lab on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (UW-Whitewater photo\/Craig Schreiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>From stargazing as a child in his hometown of Evansville to working as an undergraduate researcher inside the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater\u2019s Upham Hall, Nick Barmore has always had an interest in space.<\/p>\n<p>That passion, combined with the support of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/cls\/departments\/chemistry\">UW-Whitewater\u2019s chemistry department<\/a>, earned Barmore a prestigious $4,000 grant from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/spacegrant.carthage.edu\/awards\/undergraduate-research-award\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC)<\/a>\u00a0as part of the Undergraduate Research Awards Program.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/kdPQjlT_kkQ?si=rbnkd8THHdGbauDC&amp;start=3\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>According to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/spacegrant.carthage.edu\/awards\/undergraduate-research-award\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WSGC web page<\/a>, the Undergraduate Research Awards Program provides awards to qualified students from WSGC Affiliate Member colleges and universities to create and implement a small research study of their own design that is directly related to their interests and career objectives in space science, aerospace or space-related studies.<\/p>\n<p>Barmore received notification of earning the grant about one week after the anticipated date of the announcement, so the late-night email he received came as a surprise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember the email had confetti dropped down from the top, so I thought it was so fitting, so amazing,\u201d Barmore said.<\/p>\n<p>Barmore, a chemistry major, is one of nine college students in the state to earn the grant to fund his ongoing research. His research project, titled \u201cNanostructured Zinc Oxide Gas Sensors for Space Travel,\u201d studies how to create nanostructured zinc oxide gas sensors that are inexpensive, nontoxic and easily producible. The goal of the study is to increase the safety of space travel and reduce the cost and labor of creating spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>Barmore starts by dissolving a series of chemicals in water. A glass slide is added, and is heated overnight in an oven. Once the solution is pulled from the oven, Barmore analyzes the whiteish coating of nanostructured zinc oxide, conducting X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and then analyzing the data on a computer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sensors are pretty cost efficient compared to some other sensors,\u201d Barmore said. \u201cMetal oxide semiconductors sensors are pretty widely known. Those are the type we\u2019re working on. They\u2019re really cheap and they\u2019re nontoxic. They\u2019re really easy to make because it only takes about a day to make them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steven Girard, an associate professor of chemistry at UW-Whitewater, serves as Barmore\u2019s faculty advisor for the project. Girard has been a faculty member in chemistry since 2014 and is the university\u2019s campus representative to the WSGC and a member of the organization\u2019s advisory panel.<\/p>\n<p>Barmore&#8217;s undergraduate research is now embedded into the chemistry department curriculum, specifically in the department\u2019s Inorganic Chemistry course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main goal of this research is to provide really substantive, hands-on training for our undergraduates so they understand what it takes to do research, what it means to develop an experiment from scratch, to actually do a research experiment where they don\u2019t understand what the outcome is going to be, and to go through the process of doing research and the discovery,\u201d Girard said. \u201cThis is why we do science. It\u2019s the living, breathing part of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barmore and two other UW-Whitewater students have been engaged in the research topic under Girard\u2019s supervision since the Fall 2022 semester. Barmore, whose focus within the research project is specifically tied to the NASA\/WSGC grant, expressed his passion for conducting research and his gratitude for Girard\u2019s mentorship along the way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur professors and instructors are a lot smarter than we are by virtue of experience, so sometimes breaking it down into digestible bites is pretty difficult,\u201d Barmore said. \u201cI think Dr. Girard does that so well \u2014 he really helps me understand why I\u2019m doing what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Girard uses a hands-off approach as an advisor, one that allows students to work independently with limited intervention. He emphasized the ability of students to work in a small classroom environment as a key to their success \u2014 an advantage that Barmore also cited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt a larger school, you might not have the opportunity to use the high-pressure liquid chromatograph or run the powder X-ray diffractometer yourself, and you probably won\u2019t learn how these machines necessarily have to be repaired,\u201d Girard said. \u201cBut here, because of our smaller class sizes and a more direct faculty-to-student mentorship, we have the opportunity to really impart those skills with our students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/images\/mmr\/news\/2023\/11Nov\/102523CS_Student_NASA_research__99U1679.jpg\" alt=\"Barmore works on a project while wearing safety goggles.\" width=\"100%\" \/><figcaption>Nick Barmore works on an undergraduate research project in a lab on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Barmore attended\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/rock\">UW-Whitewater at Rock County<\/a>\u00a0for one year before joining the student body on the Whitewater campus. He is a third generation Warhawk as both his parents and his grandmother attended UW-Whitewater. He credits his father and grandmother for nurturing his love of science.<\/p>\n<p>Over the summer, Barmore was one of eight students to represent the university at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisys.org\/events\/wisys-spark-symposium-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 WiSys Spark Symposium<\/a>, an annual event that brings together high-level faculty, staff, students and alumni from across the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Universities of Wisconsin<\/a>\u00a0to network, collaborate and celebrate ideas. The three-day event showcases student and faculty research and brings together expert panels on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. He also recently presented his research at UW-Whitewater\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/urp\/research-day\">Undergraduate Research Program<\/a>\u00a0Undergraduate Research Day.<\/p>\n<p>Barmore, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/scholarships\">UW-Whitewater Writing Awards scholarship<\/a>\u00a0recipient, is slated to graduate in May 2025. He hopes to attend graduate school and work in the astrochemistry field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI honestly am impartial to where I work as long as I find the work fulfilling,\u201d Barmore said. \u201cIf that\u2019s with NASA, that\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Girard considers himself lucky to work with Barmore and the other talented students at UW-Whitewater through undergraduate research and his courses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComing to work every single day, I get to work with students that are excited and engaged and curious and smart,\u201d Girard said. \u201cThey will constantly push me outside of my comfort zone and provide interesting questions for me to consider in many cases that I don\u2019t know the answer to, and we can actually have a dialogue and think a little bit about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Written by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/umc\">Chris Lindeke<\/a>\u00a0| Video by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/umc\">Kyle Winter<\/a>\u00a0| Photos by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/umc\">Craig Schreiner<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Link to original story: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/news\/archive\/2023-11-nasa-grant\">https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/news\/archive\/2023-11-nasa-grant<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From stargazing as a child in his hometown of Evansville to working as an undergraduate researcher inside the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater\u2019s Upham Hall, Nick Barmore has always had an interest in space. That passion, combined with the support of\u00a0UW-Whitewater\u2019s chemistry department, earned Barmore a prestigious $4,000 grant from the\u00a0National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)\u00a0and\u00a0Wisconsin Space [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[84],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-10383","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-whitewater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/10383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=10383"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=10383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}