Expertise

Professor, Chemical Engineering

Principal Investigator and Project Director, Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment, Innovation, and Modeling (RI C-AIM)

Bothun conducts research is in the area of bionanotechnology with an emphasis on membrane biophysics, molecular self-assembly, and colloidal and interfacial phenomena. Fundamental work in these areas drives the creation of new nanomaterials for therapeutic application and nanotechnologies for environmental applications, such as environmental sensing. These applications will improve the understanding of the environmental health and safety effects of emerging pollutants plaguing coastal waters including fluorinated compounds, nanomaterials, and microplastics. Bothun’s research also measures the physical and chemical properties of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and studies how these properties influence the way in which they interact with biological molecules such as proteins and lipids. These interactions play a key role in determining how pollutants travel through and are retained within the body.