IGERT Formal Proposal: Nanophases in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology

这一综合性研究生教育和研究培训(IGERT)奖支持在材料科学和环境科学相结合的教育和研究领域建立一个多学科的研究生培训计划。纳米相是一种具有很高比表面积的小颗粒，它普遍存在，并与生物发生强烈的相互作用。纳米材料的基本特征和基础科学在任何地方都是相似的，无论这种粒子出现在哪里。该计划将在四个相互关联的领域对学生进行教育：纳米相的基础科学和技术，纳米相在环境中的传输和转化，纳米相与生物圈的相互作用，以及纳米颗粒在环境中提出的政策问题。学生将来自不同的背景，如固态物理、地质学和微生物学。一套课程、实验室轮换、实习和研究机会将使这些学生在不止一门学科中获得广泛的教育。通过加州州立学院系统、社区学院和其他教育机构，我们将招收来自广泛文化和经济背景的学生。加利福尼亚州的人口结构，特别是中央山谷农业区的人口结构，提供了来自代表性不足群体的丰富的潜在申请者池。我们将与利弗莫尔和桑迪亚国家实验室、美国地质调查局和工业合作伙伴建立强有力的互动。IGERT是一项NSF范围的计划，旨在促进建立创新的、以研究为基础的研究生课程，培养多样化的科学家和工程师群体，为充分利用广泛的职业选择做好准备。IGERT为博士机构提供了一个机会，以开发新的、重点明确的、超越组织边界的多学科研究生课程，并团结来自几个系或机构的教师，为培训和研究建立一个高度互动、协作的环境。在该计划的第二年，将向21个机构颁发奖项，这些机构的项目共同涵盖了NSF支持的所有科学和工程领域。这一具体奖项由数学和物理科学(多学科活动办公室)、科学、生物科学、工程以及教育和人力资源局资助。

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports establishment of a multidisciplinary graduate training program in education and research at the interface of materials science and environmental science. Nanophases, small particles with very high surface areas, occur ubiquitously and interact strongly with living matter. The underlying characterization and fundamental science of nanomaterials is similar wherever such particles occur. The NEAT program will educate students in four interrelated areas: the fundamental science and technology of nanophases, the transport and transformation of nanophases in the environment, the interaction of nanophases with the biosphere, and the policy issues raised by nanoparticles in the environment. Students will come from backgrounds as diverse as solid state physics, geology, and microbiology. A set of courses, lab rotations, internships, and research opportunities will educate these students broadly in more than one discipline. With the California State College system, the community colleges, and other educational institutions, we will recruit students from a wide range of cultural and economic backgrounds. The demographics of the State of California, and of the Central Valley agricultural area in particular, provides a rich pool of potential applicants from underrepresented groups. We will build strong interactions with Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, the U. S. Geological Survey, and industrial partners.IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to facilitate the establishment of innovative, research-based graduate programs that will train a diverse group of scientists and engineers to be well-prepared to take advantage of a broad spectrum of career options. IGERT provides doctoral institutions with an opportunity to develop new, well-focussed multidisciplinary graduate programs that transcend organizational boundaries and unite faculty from several departments or institutions to establish a highly interactive, collaborative environment for both training and research. In this second year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-one institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. This specific award is supported by funds from the Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Office of Multidisciplinary Activities), Sciences, for Biological Sciences, for Engineering, and for Education and Human Resources.