Quirino Research Group

Welcome to the Quirino Research Group web page. Here you will find information about our research projects and group members. Thanks for your interest and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. 

DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH INTERESTS

Vegetable oils are natural and renewable starting materials for a variety of chemical processes leading to an array of bio-based products with great environmental and economical significance, such as thermosetting plastics, bio-composites, coatings, drying oils, hydrogels, and biofuels. The Quirino Research Group in the Chemistry Department at Georgia Southern University (GSU) carries out student-driven, original research centered on the use of triglycerides and other bio-renewable resources as starting materials for the development of novel bio-based polymers and composites.

The main focus of our research is the conversion of readily available, inexpensive, nature-derived starting materials into useful and value-added chemicals and materials through an alternative pathway to the already established, mainstream, petroleum platform. More specifically, the goal is to use naturally occurring molecules and materials, such as carbohydrates, triglycerides, lignin, waste biomass, and/or available products directly derived from them, into chemical transformations and processes that yield environmentally and economically interesting products. 

Along with Georgia Southern University's tradition of continuous research growth, the Quirino Research Group has a mission of diversity and inclusion, by welcoming undergraduate and graduate students irrespective of their backgrounds. The Quirino Research Group has had the privilege of serving and training male and female students  from various ethnicities and countries, including Burkina Faso, Germany, Nigeria, and the United States.

Bio-renewable chemicals and polymer composites are research areas with concrete applications and represent a good opportunity for students to get involved with current, interesting, and interdisciplinary research topics crossing over the Chemical and Materials Sciences.