A young chemical engineer exploring new ways to change the properties of water-based solutions using light and electricity received a national show of appreciation and encouragement this week with a $500,000 fellowship from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Nicholas Abbott, an assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of California, Davis, was named one of 20 of the most promising science and engineering researchers at universities around the country by the Los Altos-based foundation. It awarded each fellow $100,000 annually for the next five years. "Many of the most important technological contributions of this century have come from university faculty members who began their research early in their careers and have worked in their areas of interest over a long period of time," said David Packard, chair of the foundation and co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Co. "We want to nurture this kind of research." Abbott and his laboratory colleagues are investigating new ways to change the properties of water-based solutions. They would like to be able to control the rate of change and produce gradients of change within these solutions. The aim is to develop molecules in these solutions that respond to external stimuli such as light or electrical fields and that change their physical structure as needed. A solution containing these molecules, for example, may be used to mobilize oils in one location and then release them in another. These solutions might be used to control the delivery of drugs, the wetting and coating of substances for cleaning processes, and the stability of emulsions. In some cases, they might be used as recyclable solutions for industrial purposes. The research is relatively new, launched within the past year. However, Abbott says his laboratory has made notable progress. So far, he said, "We've been pleasantly surprised with our results." The fellowship will allow Abbott to plan a long-term research strategy, fund graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and purchase laboratory equipment. The 1994 fellows were nominated by the heads of their universities and recommended by a committee of nationally recognized scientists and engineers, including former presidential adviser Allan Bromley and Nobel Prize-winning chemist Thomas Cech. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was created in 1964 to support and encourage organizations dependent on private funding and volunteer leadership. It provides grants for programs in the arts, community, marine biology, environment, population, education and children's health.