Exploring the unique water properties of metal-organic nanotubes

Abstract

Finishing up graduate work and writing up a dissertation was not a smooth journey and it would not have been possible without the support of many amazing people around me. First and foremost I wish to thank my research advisor Dr. Tori Forbes for her constant guidance, patience, and encouragement. The freedom I got in the lab to think and come up with ideas, to make mistakes and learn from those, and the safe environment where I felt comfortable to voice my (smart as well as not so smart) opinions really helped me to grow as a researcher as well as a person. I am extremely grateful that I got an opportunity to work with you. Also, I would like to express my gratitude to my academic committee for sparing their valuable time, encouragements, and stimulating ideas. My special thanks should go to Dr. Leddy for collaborating and agreeing to model water uptake studies. Also, I would thank Dr. Shaw for his valuable guidance in nanotube aligning project and let me use their instruments. Further, I wish to thank all the teachers from my childhood to date, especially my research advisors from the University of Colombo Dr. Rohini de Silva and Dr. Nalin de Silva for introducing me to the research world. Also, I would express my sincere appreciations to all technical and administrative staff at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Iowa for their very friendly nature and supportiveness throughout my graduate career. I should mention Amy Charles and Sara Scheib for the great input during radiochemistry reading writing sessions. Also, I have to thank the Forbes group members making my graduate life a very colorful happy one. Daniel, if not for your awesome nanotube my thesis would have been very different and also I would like to express my gratitude for teaching me so many useful v techniques. Mo, it was great working with someone so optimistic and knowledgeable like you in the nanotube project and Madeline, thank you for letting me into your project and teaching me everything I know about the neptunium chemistry. Josh, Andrew, Becca, Eric, Taylor, Shoehel, Jennifer, Ryan, and all the above mentioned Forbes group members, you were never just colleagues, I know I found friends for life in you. I learned a great deal about chemistry and about life from each one of you and all I can say is I could not have asked for a better group. Also, I would like to thank all the smart, enthusiastic undergraduates who worked with me. Ben, Andrew, Jeremy, Rachel, and Vincent without you completing all this would have been impossible. As well, I will make this an opportunity to thank all the Sri Lankans in Iowa for being with me through thick and thin and making Iowa a home away from home. I would like to thank my friends from Sri Lanka for being with me despite the miles between us. Also, I would like to acknowledge my in-laws and relations for their heartfelt support. Special thanks go my parents and my sister for believing in me, even when I did not believe in myself, encouraging and supporting me at every point of my life. The wa...