NSEC: Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale

威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校纳米尺度的模板合成和组装纳米科学和工程中心致力于纳米尺度上复杂材料和构件的自组装，包括开发一个独特的计划来探索它们的社会影响。该中心包括来自10个系的27名教职员工。拟议中的NSEC的研究任务被组织成四个跨学科的研究推动力。重点是纳米级化学结构的定向自组装和注册解决了将纳米结构对象组装成功能纳米级系统的问题。它探索了嵌段共聚物在纳米衬底上的自组装，预制纳米级元素在纳米级图案上的聚合组装，以及纳米线和纳米棒的生物定向组装，以开发创新的生物传感器。另一个主题是序列特定杂多纳米结构的模板化化学合成。它探索了原子尺度上的化学合成和组装的指导过程。关于胶体和大分子的驱动纳米流体自组装的推力探索了非平衡过程的使用，例如使用流动和其他领域，在严格限制下对纳米颗粒和包括DNA在内的大分子进行纳米级组装和操纵。最后，纳米尺度模板合成和组装的社会影响研究的重点是利用与霍尔茨科学和技术研究中心和威斯康星大学拉福莱特公共事务学院的合作伙伴关系，在纳米科学和工程走出实验室和进入社会的过程中，发展对其综合的、多学科的理解，并建立关于其社会、伦理、法律和政策影响的公共对话。除了这些努力外，该中心还使用种子基金来支持在纳米科学和工程及其社会影响的新兴领域有前途的个人或个人团体。该中心的教育和推广计划建立在华盛顿大学在科学教育方面的经验基础上，并受益于化学教育研究所、化学教育杂志和国家科学数字图书馆提供的基础设施。与华盛顿大学商学院的另一项合作将评估NSEC正在开发的技术的商业潜力和可能的商业化途径。NSEC的活动包括建立研究生奖学金计划，以招募最有才华的年轻科学家和工程师进入纳米科学和工程的跨学科领域，并培养一个多元化的社区。与三大洲的国际实验室的联系使学生能够参与实质性的、合作的、共同监督的研究项目。拟议中的NSEC的共享实验设施包括材料的纳米刻蚀和表面敏感表征，并利用NSF赞助的同步辐射中心(SRC)、NSF赞助的MRSEC和纳米技术中心(CNTech)现有的最先进的仪器和基础设施。支持基础设施也将由威斯康星州应用微电子中心(WCAM)和威斯康星州材料科学中心(MSC)提供。

The Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center on Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale at the University of Wisconsin-Madison addresses the self-assembly of complex materials and building blocks at the nanoscale, including development of a unique program to explore their societal implications. The Center includes 27 faculty participants from 10 departments. The research mission of the proposed NSEC is organized into four interdisciplinary research thrusts.The thrust on the Directed Self-Assembly and Registration of Nanoscale Chemical Architectures addresses the question of assembling nano-structured objects into functional nanoscale systems. It explores the self-assembly of block copolymers on nanopatterned substrates, the convergent assembly of pre-fabricated nanoscale elements on nanoscale patterns, and the biologically-directed assembly of nanowires and nanorods for development of innovative biosensors. Another thrust is entitled Templated Chemical Synthesis of Sequence Specific Heteropolymeric Nanostructures. It explores guided processes of chemical synthesis and assembly on the on the scale of atomic dimensions. The thrust on Driven Nano-Fluidic Self Assembly of Colloids and Macromolecules explores the use of non-equilibrium processes, such as the use of flow and other fields, for nanoscale assembly and manipulation of nanoparticles and macromolecules, including DNA, under severe confinement. Finally, the thrust on the Research in the Societal Implications of Template Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale uses a partnership with the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin to develop an integrated, multidisciplinary understanding of nanoscale science and engineering as it moves out of the laboratory and into society and to build a public dialog about its societal, ethical, legal, and policy implications. In addition to these thrusts, the center uses seed funds to support promising individuals or groups of individuals in emerging areas of nanoscale science and engineering and its societal implications. The education and outreach program of the Center builds on the UW's experience in scientific education and benefit from infrastructure provided by the Institute for Chemical Education, the Journal of Chemical Education, and the National Science Digital Library. An additional partnership with the UW's Business School will assess the commercial potential and possible pathways to commercialization of technologies under development in the NSEC.The NSEC activities include the establishment of a Graduate Fellowship Program to recruit the most talented young scientists and engineers to the interdisciplinary field of nanoscale science and engineering and to foster a community of diversity. Links to international laboratories on three continents allow students to participate in substantive collaborative co-supervised research projects. The shared experimental facilities of the proposed NSEC include nanopatterning and surface sensitive characterization of materials, and leverage existing state-of-the-art instrumentation and infrastructure at the NSF sponsored Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC), the NSF sponsored MRSEC, and the Center for NanoTechnology (CNTech). Supporting infrastructure will also be provided by the Wisconsin Center for Applied Microelectronics (WCAM) and the UW Materials Science Center (MSC).