MRI: Track 3 Acquisition of Helium Recovery Equipment: Supporting Long-Term Sustainability for Baylor University's NMR Core Facility

This award is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs in response to the solicitation of proposals that promote the recovery, recycle, and/or reuse of helium initiated by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Dr. Xianzhong Xu and Professors Brian Raines and Christopher Becker at Baylor University are acquiring a helium recovery system to capture and reliquefy helium from the institution’s five NMR spectrometers to support research in the areas of organic chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, biophysics, and inorganic chemistry.

This helium recovery system provides a continuous, cost-effective supply of high-purity liquid helium to support both existing research and future expansion and growth. The Center for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (CNMRS), Baylor’s only NMR core facility supports faculty research groups and research training across a broad range of scientific disciplines and at all levels including diverse undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty users.

In particular, the proposed recovery system supports and enables ongoing, externally-funded research in the CNMRS while mitigating the risks experienced from shortages and instability in the global helium supply. The acquisition strengthens the research infrastructure at the university and within the regional. Moreover, the CNMRS serves a diverse audience through activities such as the Advanced Instrumentation Workshop held annually, and an annual science summer camp for the TRIO Upward Bound science program.

This project enables acquisition of helium collection and liquification equipment necessary for recycling approximately 90% of the 1000 liters of liquid helium purchased annually for the NMR spectrometers. The NMR spectrometers served by this helium recovery system enables numerous research projects including (1) the development of new strategies for complex molecule synthesis; (2) utility and application of unsaturated acylammonium salts in organic synthesis; (3) constructing conjugated heteroarene architectures via ring-expansion reactions; (4) catalytic stereoselective strategies for hydrocarbon functionalization; (5) functional group mapping of crude oil; (6) microbiome interactions and mechanisms; (7) exploring the dynamic interaction between pyrogenic carbon and extracellular enzymes; and (8) novel betabody-drug conjugates targeting phosphatidylserine.

This helium recovery equipment is also capable of liquifying helium recovered from satellite locations on campus and in the surrounding community.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.