Nancy Lape
Nancy Lape, PhD, professor of engineering, focuses her research on two areas: energy-efficient composite gas separation membranes and chemical transport across human skin.
Nanocomposite Gas Separation Membranes
To efficiently and effectively separate gas mixtures鈥搒uch as applying a filter system to trap harmful gasses from factory emissions鈥搈embranes must exhibit high gas permeability (fast transport) and high selectivity for one gas over the other. Unfortunately, these properties tend to be diametrically opposed. Lape鈥檚 lab examines the crossover between permeability enhancement and reduction with changes in particle size and polymer type. Understanding these effects will allow for the design of tunable membranes for gas separations.
Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems
Human skin provides a two-way barrier that prevents potentially harmful chemicals or diseases from entering the body while slowing water as it exits the body. Medicines applied to the skin may thus not work effectively due to the barrier of the outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum. Molecules on the skin鈥檚 surface must pass this layer to reach the bloodstream. Lape鈥檚 lab investigates the potential increase in skin permeability by mechanical extension, and the effects of hydration on rate of transport, research that could lead to improved transdermal drug delivery systems.
Media Appearances
- hmc.edu, 4/18/18听Lape Awarded Distinguished Teaching Professorship at Princeton
- Forbes, 11/15/17听
- Business Insider, 9/25/17听
- hmc.edu, 8/9/17听
- Los Angeles Times, 11/16/14听
- Forbes, 7/10/14听
- Slate, 4/25/14听
- Inside Higher Ed, 10/30/13听
- hmc.edu, 9/16/13听Harvey Mudd Professors to Study 鈥淔lipped鈥� Classroom Model
- Video:听