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Degrees Ph.D., Wisconsin, 1962, Physical Chemistry B.S., Yale, 1958, Chemistry Postdoctoral Appointments NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford, 1962-65 Assistant Professor-Professor, UCI, 1965-2005 Associate Dean of Physical Sciences, 1971-1973 Chair of Chemistry, 1980-1984 Chair/Vice-Chair Academic Senate, 1999-2001 Chair of Education, 2002-2005 NSF Biomaterials Program Director, 2006- Honors/Awards Laurea Honoris Causa, University of Trieste, 2005 Lars Onsager Medal, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, 2001 Fellow of the AAAS, 2001 Class of 2001 Outstanding Professor in Physical Sciences, 2001 School of Physical Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award, 1988 NIH-French CNRS Research Fellowship, 1986 UCI Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award, 1977 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, 1976 Research Interests Physical chemistry of biological macromolecules and biomaterials; science and mathematics education. Research Summary I retired from active chemical research in 2005 and am no longer accepting new graduate students or postdoctorals. My research sought to establish the fundamental physical chemical relationship between the primary structure of carbohydrate polymers and the conformation and functionality of these molecules. The dynamics of polysaccharide conformational change were also investigated. Methods used involved light and small angle X-ray scattering, NMR relaxation, rheology, and scanning probe microscopy. Experiments were closely coupled with computer modeling and simulations designed to help interpret the observations. Topics of recent interest include the multiply-stranded helical forms adopted in nature by many polysaccharides. These structures are stiff and asymmetric and tend to form liquid crystalline solutions at quite modest concentrations. Our work has explored the viscoelastic implications of crossing the boundaries between isotropic and anisotropic phases by varying temperature and composition. In experimental and theoretical work we have also sought to understand the stability of the multiply-stranded cyclic forms, which at first sight appear to be inconsistent with the stiff helical character of the molecules. This work has been done in conjunction with the collaborators named in the publications list below and many others not included in that list of recent papers. In my capacity as Chair of the UCI Department of Education (2002-2005), and through NSF science and math education grants on which I have been Co-Principal Investigator, I worked to encourage more science and mathematics undergraduate and graduate students to consider teaching as a career and to provide well-defined curricular pathways toward such careers. I am currently serving as Program Director for the NSF Biomaterials Program in the NSF Division of Materials Research. URLs
Current Web Address
Chemistry Department Web Address Publications
"Versatile Polysaccharides: Ropes, Rings, and Rods", David A. Brant, AIM Magazine 2005, 60, 40–49."Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Aqueous Pullulan Oligomers", Simon Jaud, Douglas J. Tobias, and David A. Brant, Biomacromolecules 2005, 6, 1239-1251. "Atomic Force Microscopy of a Hybrid High-Molecular-Weight Glutenin Subunit from a Transgenic Hexaploid Wheat," Theresa M. McIntire, Ellen Lew, Elva Adalsteins, Ann Blechl, Olin Anderson, David A. Brant, and Donald D. Kasarda, Biopolymers 2005, 78, 53-61. "Design and Single-Molecule Studies of Titin-Mimicking Modular Macromolecules Having Precise Secondary Structures Formed by Hydrogen Bonding," Zhibin Guan, Jason Roland, Sharon X. Ma, Xiangxing Kong, Theresa M. McIntire, and David A. Brant, Preprints of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry 2003, 44, 592-593. "Synthesis and Single-Molecule Studies of Modular Polymers Using Precise Hydrogen Bonding Interactions," Zhibin Guan, Jason T. Roland, Sharon X. Ma, Maianh Nguyen, Theresa M. McIntire, and David A. Brant, Preprints of the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry 2003, 44, 485-486. "Rheology of Concentrated Isotropic and Anisotropic Xanthan Solutions: 3. Temperature Dependence," Hu-Cheng Lee and David A. Brant, Biomacromolecules, 2002, 3, 742-753. "Rheology of Concentrated Isotropic and Anisotropic Xanthan Solutions: 2. A Semiflexible Wormlike Intermediate Molecular Weight Sample," Hu-Cheng Lee and David A. Brant, Macromolecules, 2002, 35, 2223-2234. "Rheology of Concentrated Isotropic and Anisotropic Xanthan Solutions: 1. A Rodlike Low Molecular Weight Sample," Hu-Cheng Lee and David A. Brant, Macromolecules 2002, 35, 2212-2222. "Conformational Analysis of Aqueous Pullulan Oligomers: An Effective Computational Approach," Jennifer H.-Y. Liu, Ken A.Brameld, David A. Brant, and William A. Goddard, III, Polymer 2002, 43, 509-516. "Novel Approaches to Analysis of Polysaccharide Structures," David A. Brant, Current Opinion in Structural Biology 1999, 9, 556-562. "The Equilibrium Spatial Distribution of Aqueous Pullulan: Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) and Realistic Computer Modeling," Jennifer H.-Y. Liu, David A. Brant, Shinichi Kitamura, Kanji Kajiwara, and Mitsuru Mimura, Macromolecules 1999, 32, 8611-8620. "Local Dynamics of Carbohydrates: I. Dynamics of Simple Glycans with Different Chain Linkages," Angelo Perico, Michele Mormino, Ranieri Urbani, Attilio Cesàro, Emmanuel Tylianakis, Photis Dais, and David A. Brant, Journal of Physical Chemistry B 1999, 103, 8162-8171. "Imaging of Carrageenan Macrocycles and Amylose Using Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy," Theresa M. McIntire and David A. Brant, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 1999, 26, 303-310. "Anharmonic Vibrational Self-Consistent Field Calculations as an Approach to Improving Force Fields for Monosaccharides," Susan K. Gregurick, Jennifer H.-Y. Liu, David A. Brant, and R. Benny Gerber, Journal of Physical Chemistry B 1999, 103, 3476-3488. Non-academic Postion
Program Director, BiomaterialsNational Science Foundation 2006—2010 Mailing Address University of California, Irvine 413 Oronoco Street Alexandria, VA 22314- Telephone (703) 548-1542 FAX (703) 548-1542 Email: dbrant@uci.edu Last updated: 01/01/2010 |
