Brown University SRP Director Prof. Robert Hurt Presented at Friday Forum Seminar Series

By Bevin P. Engelward
MIT SRP Program Director
Jul 08, 2021

On February 21, 2020, Prof. Robert Hurt (Program Director and Project 4 PI for the Brown University SRP) visited MIT to give a lecture as part of the Friday Forum seminar series. This lecture was co-sponsored by the MIT SRP and Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS). Prof. Hurt provided an overview of the Brown SRP and discussed the program’s research on graphene-based nanomaterials. In particular, Prof. Hurt’s team is developing nanomaterials for advanced barrier technologies to prevent exposure to toxic contaminants. During his talk, he emphasized the cross disciplinary work of the Brown SRP. As one example, Prof. Hurt’s engineering team works closely with Prof. Agnes Kane’s team of toxicological researchers in order to evaluate the risks associated with exposure to relevant nanomaterials. Together, these complementary engineering and biological research projects will lead to development of safer, more effective barriers against environmental toxicants. During his visit, Prof. Hurt (center) discussed graphene-based materials and their potential uses with Prof. Timothy Swager (MIT SRP Projects 1 and 2; left) and Bevin Engelward (MIT SRP Director; right).