PREM - Multidisciplinary Research and Education in Computational Materials Science

该项目的总体目标是扩大和加强加州州立大学北岭分校(CSUN)的多学科W·M·凯克计算材料理论中心(CMTC)的研究和教育活动，该中心是一家为拉美裔服务的机构，通过材料研究和教育伙伴关系(PREM)与普林斯顿大学的普林斯顿复合材料中心(PCCM)、美国国家科学基金会资助的材料科学与工程中心(MRSEC)建立正式和长期的合作关系。教育和研究工作将集中在：(1)促进计算材料科学的多学科和创新研究；(2)教育和培训尖端计算材料科学的学生；(3)鼓励和发展强有力的产学研合作伙伴关系；(4)增加材料研究中代表性不足的小组成员的招聘、留住和学位获得。材料研究的重点将是开发物理模型、数值算法和稳健的模拟技术，用于研究：(1)金属系统的机械性质；(2)二维相互作用电子系统中的电荷和自旋输运；以及(3)磁隧道结中的自旋输运。其中一些发展涉及将多个长度和时间尺度联系起来，以及结合在传统上分开的学科中研究的各种构件。需要消除这些学科界限，以便无缝地整合互补的计算方法，从而便利调查过于复杂而不能用单一技术解决的问题。我们已经组建了一个由一群拥有协调和互补技能的科学家组成的多学科团队。该项目将直接应用于未来的纳米技术；提案中概述的理论/计算努力可能会指导用于纳米应用的新型材料和器件的开发。CMTC及其PCCM合作伙伴将扩大和加强其教育和推广计划，以促进在材料研究/教育方面的合作，并通过以下方式加强更广泛的社区的基础设施：(1)组织暑期学校、教程和讲习班，旨在传播材料科学的最新发展，特别是涉及创新计算算法和工具的信息；(2)为当地高中教师举办材料科学夏令营；(3)杰出的讲座系列；以及(4)工业/国家实验室的推广。NSF-PREM的建立将大大提高CSUN的研究和教育质量，以实现国家竞争力，并促进来自代表性不足群体的学生获得材料研究方面的前沿研究/教育经验。教学和研究的结合将帮助我们的学生做出明智的职业选择，并提高他们对研究生教育的参与度。

The broad goal of this project is to expand and strengthen the research and educational activities of the multidisciplinary W. M. Keck Computational Materials Theory Center (CMTC) at California State University Northridge (CSUN), a Hispanic-serving institution, by forming a formal and long-term collaborative relationship with the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), the NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Princeton University, through the Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM). The educational and research efforts will focus on: (1) fostering multidisciplinary and innovative research in computational materials science; (2) educating and training students in cutting-edge computational materials science; (3) stimulating and developing strong industry-university-national laboratory partnerships; and (4) increasing recruitment, retention, and degree attainment by members of groups underrepresented in materials research.The materials research emphasis will be on the development of physical models, numerical algorithms and robust simulation techniques for the study of: (1) mechanical properties of metallic systems; (2) charge and spin transport in two-dimensional interacting electron systems; and (3) spin transport in magnetic tunneling junctions. Some of these developments involve linking multiple length and time scales, as well as combining various building blocks that have been studied in the traditionally separated disciplines. These disciplinary boundaries need to be eliminated in order to seamlessly integrate complementary computational methodologies and thereby facilitate the investigation of problems too complex to be tackled by a single technique. We have assembled a multidisciplinary team consisting of a tightly knit group of scientists with coordinated and complementary skills.The project will have direct applications to future nanotechnology; the theoretical/computational efforts outlined in the proposal may guide the development of novel materials and devices for nano-applications. The CMTC with its PCCM partner will expand and strengthen its educational and outreach programs to nurture collaborations in materials research/education, and to enhance infrastructure for the broader community through the following: (1) organization of summer schools, tutorials and workshops designed to disseminate information on the latest developments in materials science, especially those involving innovative computational algorithms and tools; (2) summer Materials Science Camp for local high school teachers; (3) distinguished lecture series; and (4) industrial/national laboratories outreach. The establishment of an NSF-PREM will significantly advance the quality of research and education at CSUN to achieve national competitiveness and promote accessibility of frontier research/education experience in materials research to students from underrepresented groups. Integration of teaching and research will assist our students in making informed career choices and improve their participation in post-graduate education.