REU Site: Nanotechnology and Materials Systems

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Abstract for Davis, EEC-0453578: This REU award for a Site on Nanotechnology and Materials Systems supports 12 engineering and science students each year for three years in a 10-week summer research experience at the Texas A&M University (TAMU), College Station, TX. The REU Site offers projects with foci on nanoscience and nanotechnology, materials science, and engineering systems. Projects are selected to span the physical scales from nano through macroscopic systems. The primary goal of this REU Site in Nanotechnology and Materials Systems is to present a model program for increasing the number of U.S. science and engineering students entering graduate studies and pursuing research and academic careers. The REU Site pursues this goal through four (4) coordinated components: 1) A challenging research experience in exciting science and engineering fields of nanotechnology and materials; 2) A close and personal mentoring relationships with by senior faculty and researchers, administrators, graduate student role models and peer groups of other undergraduate students; 3) Exposure to the research communities at regional universities, industries and government agencies involved in nanotechnology and materials research to further foster interest in research careers and graduate studies; and 4) Information on graduate school including seminars on GRE preparation, application procedures, and funding a graduate education. Additionally, the program sponsors weekly educational field trips to industrial and governmental agencies such as NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX), Lockheed-Martin Corporation (Fort Worth, TX) and Zyvex Corporation (Richardson, TX). These field trips provide some real-world context to the broad multidisciplinary nanotechnology and materials research the REU students experience in the laboratory. Also, the REU-Site students participate in an annual regional research conference on the multidisciplinary areas of functionalized nanomaterials, multifunctional materials systems, biomaterials and devices, multiscale modeling, novel design concepts, and intelligent systems. Participant recruiting places a strong emphasis on recruiting students from minority-serving institutions. The Intellectual Merit of this proposal lies in the advanced research content concerning novel materials and materials systems that span the physical scales from nanometers and microns to mesoscale and macroscopic systems and in illustrations of the need to consider the nano-level in engineering-system design. The Broader Impacts of this REU Site arise from the participation of undergraduate students who are women and underrepresented minorities. The involvement of these students in exciting research in nanotechnology and materials systems as applied to aerospace technologies enhanced the likelihood that they will consider post-graduate study and broaden the base of our technical manpower.This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.