Crane Receives Grant to Study Volcanic Organisms

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. E. J. Crane, assistant professor of chemistry at Salisbury State University’s Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology, recently received a $40,000 grant to help learn more about the tiny organisms that live and grow in undersea volcanic vents.  These microbes thrive at temperatures that exceed 100 degrees Celsius–the boiling point of water. 

SSU scientists will study the structural and chemical characteristics of the enzymes of these organisms in order to understand how they can survive in their extreme environment. 

The project “A Mechanistic Study of Thermophilic NADH Oxidases from Pyrococcus: Are Thermpohilic and Mesophilic Catalytic Strategies Different?” was made possible by a Cottrell College Science Award given by the Research Corporation based in Tucson, AZ.