Brown has been awarded nearly $600,000 in grants to partner with the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Hospital, and Perfuzia Medical Inc. in three projects equally funded by the Rhode Island Research Alliance. Brown and URI researchers will join forces to study biomarkers in algae that could provide a climate history of Narragansett Bay. Brown and URI will also develop practical uses for graphene, a recently discovered material with unprecedented tensile strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, optical transparency and gas impermeability. Brown will team with Rhode Island Hospital and Perfuzia Medical Inc. to test a device that uses mechanical vibration stimulation to reduce pain and heal the wounds of burn victims. These collaborative research grants are designed to advance scientific work with the potential to create valuable commercial technology.