Joan E. Curry, Associate Professor, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

Joan E. Curry

Associate Professor

Office: Family and Consumer Resources, Rm. 310
Tucson, AZ 85721

Phone: (520) 626-5081
Fax: (520) 621-1647

updated January 2009

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Chemistry at Interfaces Important in Lubrication and Adhesion, Biomacromolecular Interactions, Organized Molecular Assemblies, and Environmental Systems

My field of research is interfacial chemistry, which is a focus within physical chemistry. Within interfacial chemistry, I focus on chemistry of molecules at the interfaces where solids and liquids come together. The term solid here includes mineral and bacterial surfaces found in soils and sediments, metal and oxide machine surfaces and cell surfaces found in the human body. Molecules can be water and ions that bathe soil surfaces, organics that lubricate machine parts and large biomacromolecules, such as proteins and lipopolysaccharides, attached to cells that mediate cell adhesion. My specific interests are (1) determining the effect of confinement on liquids in general and lubricants in particular and (2) characterizing the adhesive properties of cell surface biomacromolecules.

EDUCATION
B.S., 1982, Chemistry, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.
Ph.D., 1992, Chemistry, University of California, Davis.

EMPLOYMENT
7/05 - present, Associate Professor, BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona
7/03 – present, Associate Professor, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona
7/95 – 6/03,     Assistant Professor, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona
11/94 – 6/95,   Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
8/92 – 6/95,     Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University.
9/88 – 9/92,     Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant, Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis.
5/82 – 5/88,     Active Duty Naval Officer, highest rank: Lieutenant

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Materials Research Society (MRS)
Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE)
Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)

PUBLICATIONS

Heo, C. H., J. G. Dorn, R. M. Maier and J. E. Curry. 2008. Unraveling bacterial adhesion: Directly measuring bacteria-surface interactions. Biophys. J., in preparation.

Chaves, L. H. G., J. E. Curry, D. Stone, and J. Chorover. 2007. Fate of nickel ion in (II-III) hydroxysulphate green rust synthesized by precipitation and coprecipitation. Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo. 31(4), 813-818.

Brown, T., C. Chang, B. Heinze, P. Hollinger, J. Kittleson, K. Macdow, D. Reavis, J. Curry and M. Riley. 2007. Development of an inducible three colour bacterial water colour system. IET Synthetic Biology, 1, 21-24.

Cheol Ho Heo, Raina M. Maier and Joan E. Curry. 2006. Directly Measuring the Adhesive and Elastic Properties of Bacteria using a Surface Force Apparatus: Effect of Desiccation. in Mechanotransduction and Engineered Cell-Surface Interactions, edited by M.P. Sheetz, J.T. Groves, D. Discher (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 925E, Warrendale, PA), BB01-07.

Kim, S., K. Cho and J. E. Curry. 2005. Measurements of Thickness Compressibility of an n-Octadecyltriethoxysilane Monolayer Self-Assembled on Mica. Langmuir, 21, 8290-8296.

Cushman, J. H. and J. E. Curry. 2004. The Complex Behavior of Simple Fluids in Nanoscale Restricted Geometries. In: Dynamics and Friction in Submicrometer Confining Systems. Ed. Y. Braiman, J.M. Drake, F. Family, and J. Klafter. Oxford University Press. pg 157-180.

Curry, J. E. and S. Kim. 2004. Adhesion Between Surfaces Coated with Self-Assembled Monolayers: Effect of Humidity. In: Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Eds. J. A. Schwarz, C. Contescu, and K. Putyera. Marcel Dekker, New York. pg. 1-9.

Kim, S., H. K. Christenson and J. E. Curry. 2003. n-Octadecyltriethoxysilane Monolayer Coated Surfaces in Humid Atmospheres: Influence of Capillary Condensation on Surface Deformation and Adhesion. J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 3774-3781.

Su, Zhen, J. H. Cushman, and J. E. Curry. 2003. Computer simulation of anisotropic diffusion in monolayer films confined between mica surfaces. J. Chem. Phys., 118, 1417-1422.

Kim, S., H. K. Christenson and J. E. Curry. 2002. The Effect of Humidity on the Stability of an Octadecyltriethoxysilane Monolayer Self-assembled on Untreated and Plasma-treated Mica. Langmuir, 18, 2125-2129.

Farrell, J., J. Luo, P. Blowers and J. E. Curry. 2002. Experimental, Molecular Mechanics, and Ab Initio Investigation of Activated Adsorption and Desorption of Trichloroethylene in Mineral Micropores. Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 1524-1531.

Kim, S. and J. E. Curry. 2002. Humidity effect on the Stability of an octadecyltriethoxysilane monolayer self-assembled on mica. Thin Films: Preparation, Characterization and Applications. Eds. M. P. Soriaga, J. L. Stickney, L. A. Bottomley, and Y. G. Kim, Kluwer, New York, NY. pg. 309-317.

Stroud, B., J. E. Curry, and J. H. Cushman. 2001. Capillary Condensation and Snapoff in Nanoscale Contacts. Langmuir., 17(3), 688-698.

Curry J. E. 2001. The Mica Slit-Pore as a Tool to Control the Orientation and Distortion of Simple Liquid Monolayers. Mol. Phys., 99(9), 745-752.

Curry J. E. 2000. Structure of a Model Lubricant in a Mica Slit Pore. J. Chem. Phys., 113, 2400-2406.

Curry J. E. 1999. Fluid Lattice Reorientation: A Mechanism for Stick-Slip Motion in Boundary Lubrication. In: Tribology on the 300th Anniversary of Amonton's Law, Materials Research Society Workshop Series Proceedings, 23-27.

Curry J. E. and J. H. Cushman. 1998. Structure in Confined Fluids: Phase Separation of Binary Simple Liquid Mixtures. Tribology Letters, 4:129-136.

Curry, J. E. and J. H. Cushman. 1997. Normal Strain Induced Change in Lattice-Type for Confined Cyclohexane Films. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol. 464, 115-120.

Curry, J. E. and H. K. Christenson. 1996. Adsorption, Wetting and Capillary Condensation in Mica Slits. Langmuir, 12:5729-5735.

Curry, J. E. and J. H. Cushman. 1995. Mixtures in Slit-Micropores with Pore-Walls Structured on both the Atomic and Nanoscale. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol. 366, 141-152.

Curry, J. E. and J. H. Cushman. 1995. Nanophase Coexistence and Sieving in Binary Mixtures Confined between Corrugated Walls. J. Chem. Phys., 103(6), 2132-2139.
Curry, J. E. and J. H. Cushman. 1995. Binary Mixtures of Simple Fluids in Structured Slit Micropores. Mol. Phys., 85(1), 173-192.

Curry, J. E. F. Zhang, J. H. Cushman, M. Schoen, and D. J. Diestler. 1993. Transiently Coexisting Nanophases in Ultrathin Films Confined between Corrugated Walls. J. Chem. Phys., 101(12), 10824-10832.

Diestler, D. J., M. Schoen, J. E. Curry, and J. H. Cushman. 1993. Thermodynamics of a Fluid Confined to a Slit Pore with Structured Walls. J. Chem. Phys., 100(12), 9140-9146.

Curry, J. E., J. H. Cushman, M. Schoen, and D. J. Diestler. 1993. Interfacial Tension in Confined Molecularly-Thin Films. Mol. Phys., 81(5), 1059-1073.
Huerta, M., J. E. Curry, and D. A. McQuarrie. 1992. The Effect of Unequal Ionic size on the Swelling Pressure in Clays. Clays and Clay Minerals, 40(5), 491-500.

Curry, J. E. and D. A. McQuarrie. 1992. On Dielectric Saturation Modeling in a Continuum Solvent. J. Colloid and Interface Science, 154(1), 289-294.

Curry, J. E. and D. A. McQuarrie. 1992. On the Effect of Dielectric Saturation on the Swelling of Clays, Langmuir, 8, 1026-1029.

Curry, J. E., S. Feller and D. A. McQuarrie. 1991. A Variational Solution to the Nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann Equation inside a Spherical Cavity. J. Colloid and Interface Science, 143(2), 527-531.