Narayan Hosmane has received his third grant from the National Science Foundation to continue with research in boron chemistry.

Hosmane is a distinguished research professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry. He’s been awarded a $396,000 grant over a three year period, which will total about $1 million in grants.

Hosmane’s research team includes post-doctoral students, doctoral candidates, masters students and undergraduate students. They work in the field of boron chemistry, which includes such things as developing cancer treatment drugs and developing better plastics.

“Education is one of the most important parts of research,” Hosmane said. He enjoys working with undergraduates because he gets to “start from scratch.”

“It’s easier for me to mold [undergraduates] by giving them fresh ideas, and then they do [the research] exactly the way that I want them to,” Hosmane said.

Roughly 75 to 80 percent of undergraduates in the department of chemistry are on a program track requiring a minimum of one semester of research, though many do more, said Michael Spires, coordinator for recruitment and public relations.

Dan Hilby is a senior biology major and part of Hosmane’s research team. He carries out reactions with carbon cages to study 3-D structures and properties with specific compounds of interest.

“The best part [of being on a research team] is the experience of doing the research,” Hilby said. “Working in an undergrad lab is great for [gaining that] experience.”

Hosmane’s favorite part of research is making new compounds and modifying already-created compounds for new uses.

With this grant, Hosmane’s team will continue to investigate compounds, examining their composition, properties and chemical structure.

“The key when you make some compound is not for it to end up on a shelf,” Hosmane said. “It should end up consumed by the people, those who are suffering from illness and from cancer.”