NUE: From Clusters to Nanoparticles: Introducing Nanoscience to Education and Student Research at Jackson State University

该纳米技术本科教育(NUE)奖由材料研究部和物理系资助，支持杰克逊州立大学为整合纳米科学研究和教育而进行的跨学科协作努力。该项目的研究部分包括团簇和纳米粒子的计算和理论研究：(A)以金属原子杂质为纳米电子元件的半导体团簇，团簇与表面的相互作用，作为生物医学成像新型造影剂的高磁矩金属原子团簇的富勒烯。(B)金属纳米粒子的尺寸相关电子和光学性质、电子-电子相互作用的修正和由于限制和表面效应而产生的屏蔽，以及光学光谱学实验中与尺寸相关的驰豫过程及其表现。计划设计一门通识教育课程和另一门更高级的课程。通识教育课程将是描述性的，将在整个大学向一年级和二年级的学生提供。更高级的课程将面向三年级或四年级的物理、化学和工程专业的学生，并将包括对纳米科学研究中使用的一些实验和理论方法的基本描述。杰克逊州立大学是密西西比州最大城区的首屈一指的教育机构。作为一所历史悠久的黑人大学，JSU主要服务于当地社区的教育需求。该项目将使大量来自代表性不足群体的学生接触到纳米科学的基本概念。

This Nanotechnology in Undergraduate Education (NUE) award, funded by the Division of Materials Research and the Division of Physics, supports a collaborative interdisciplinary effort to integrate nanoscale science research and education in Jackson State University. The research component of the project includes computational and theoretical studies of clusters and nanoparticles: (a) Semiconductor clusters with metal atom impurities as nanoelectronic elements, interaction between clusters and surfaces, fullerenes encapsulating metal atom clusters with high magnetic moments as novel contrast agents in biomedical imaging. (b) Size-dependent electronic and optical properties of metal nanoparticles, modification of electron-electron interactions andscreening due to confinement and surface effects, and size-dependent relaxation processes and their manifestation in the optical spectroscopy experiments.The education component will introduce basic notions and methods of nanoscale science into the undergraduate curriculum. The design of a general education course and another more advanced course is planned. The general education course will be descriptive in nature and will be offered to first and second year students throughout the university. The more advanced course will target third or forth year physics, chemistry and engineering majors, and will include a basic description of some experimental and theoretical methods used in nanoscience research. Jackson State University is the premier educational institution in the largest urban area of Mississippi. Being a historically black university, JSU primarily serves the educational needs of the local community. The project will expose a large number of students from underrepresented groups to the basic notions of nanoscale science.