Faculty Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers

NSF女性科学家和工程师奖表彰 获奖者在教学方面的高质量记录， 奖学金，以及继续重大的潜力 对科学研究、学术专业、 以及未来科学家和工程师的教育。博士 威廉姆斯在该奖项下的研究是在形态学方面 固体表面。 固体表面的形态，例如，其结构在A 纳米到微米的尺度，是一个 一系列实用工艺，包括晶体生长、外延 和蚀刻。要理解这些过程，首先需要 了解表面的热力学和动力学 形态，这反过来又取决于表面的行为 步直接测量步伐行为，旨在允许 统计力学定量分析 预测，将使用衍射和成像 技术. 这笔赠款将用于促进卓越的这一点 支持的研究：1）开发和应用国家- 最先进的实验能力， 以前未探索的领域，2）直接互动 理论家，以确保实验是相关的突出 理论问题。 在上述广泛标准范围内， 研究将选择具有实际材料意义。 相关问题的例子是量子线的形成， 硅的氧化腐蚀和金属表面的刻面 在化学反应物的吸附下。

The NSF Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers recognizes the high quality of the awardee's record in teaching and scholarship, as well as potential for continued significant contributions to scientific research, the academic profession, and the education of future scientists and engineers. Dr. Williams's research under this award is in morphological aspects of solid surfaces. The morphology of solid surfaces, e.g., their structure on a scale of nanometers to microns, is the governing factor in a range of practical processes including crystal growth, epitaxy and etching. To understand these processes, it is first necessary to understand both the thermodynamics and kinetics of surface morphology, which are in turn governed by the behavior of surface steps. Direct measurements of step behavior, designed to allow quantitative analysis in terms of statistical mechanical predictions, will be performed using diffraction and imaging techniques. This grant will be used to foster excellence in this research by supporting: 1) development and application of state- of-the-art experimental capabilities to allow measurements in previously unexplored areas, and 2) direct interaction with theorists to insure that experiments are relevant to outstanding questions of theory. Within the broad criteria listed above, the systems to be studied will be chosen to have practical materials significance. Examples of relevant problems are the formation of quantum wires, the oxidative etching of Si, and the faceting of metals surfaces under adsorption of chemical reactants.