IGERT: Optical Biomolecular Devices: From Natural Paradigms to Practical Applications

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This IGERT brings together Arizona State University's well known basic research program in photosynthesis and photobiology with two other major research thrusts on campus: the Nanostructures Research Group in the Center for Solid State Electronics Research and the Bioengineering thrust within the Engineering College led by the newly formed Bioengineering Department. The research theme is the design and fabrication of molecular-scale devices based on the principles learned from photobiology. This effort represents a major expansion of the current NSF funded RTG training program in this area, shifting the educational and research focus towards the applied realm by including new faculty from four Engineering Departments and Physics as well as several industrial and international partners at Motorola, Lockheed/Martin, Kodak, QTL, CEA-Saclay, Max Planck-Muelheim, and the University of Glasgow. In order to form an integrated graduate education program between these different disciplines, the IGERT includes the creation of a Ph.D. emphasis program that will normalize the curriculum requirements across colleges. Industry will also play a major role through scientific collaborations, student internships and classroom discussion. The IGERT curriculum includes a series of courses that center on research and discovery based learning. Students will solve problems by drawing on an extensive dynamic resource infrastructure that includes both well-equipped instrument facilities, including a new biohybrid fabrication facility, and high level personnel. In addition, the program includes a major educational thrust in science policy, science ethics, and societal impact, culminating in a two week workshop at the Center for Science, Policy and Outcomes in Washington DC. Here students will have the opportunity to consider the impact that research and development in the molecular device area will have on society and to hear the thoughts of scholars who have considered the ethical and political aspects of this expanding area of science. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in research abroad and in the "Preparing Future Faculty" or "Preparing Future Professionals" programs run by the ASU Graduate College. Finally, the three IGERTs on the ASU campus will be coordinated within a superstructure run by the Dean of the Graduate College. This will facilitate common mechanisms for recruiting and evaluation, and provide a formal avenue for information exchange between IGERT faculty and students. This larger scale integration among the ASU IGERTs should result in a practical model of interdisciplinary graduate education that can be used in the future both at ASU and elsewhere. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing new, innovative models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In the fourth year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-two institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. The intellectual foci of this specific award reside in the Directorates for Biological Sciences; Engineering; Mathematical and Physical Sciences; and Education and Human Resources.