North Dakota: Research Infrastructure and Partnerships for Discovery

目标：北达科他州的RII提案将汇集人员、工具和想法，为持久、有竞争力和前沿的研究基础设施奠定基础，主要关注可再生能源和柔性电子和材料的竞争性研究？对北达科他州（ND）至关重要的两个地区。智力优势：这项工作产生的新知识将导致对能源和微电子核心问题的更好理解。柔性电子材料（FlexEM）计划有三个主要目标：1）柔性电子器件的屏障; 2）柔性电子器件的共轭有机聚合物; 3）液体硅烷的电子材料。拟议的研究旨在设计，制备，表征，建模，（并最终预测行为）的薄膜和分层结构，这将使灵活的电子技术，如电子纸，光电子学和健康监测设备。SUPENENergy研究基础设施和支持教育（日出）计划将阐明多相催化的基本方面，特别是在纳米级，这与开发替代运输燃料和化学原料有关。将研究非均相催化剂，以获得有关电子结构，表面形态和缺陷，掺杂和功能化的影响，氧化还原性能和有限尺寸效应的知识。显示出合成可用于生产燃料、化学品和聚合物单体原料的优选有机化合物的潜力的催化剂将是特别感兴趣的。重点将放在过渡金属的研究（例如，Co、Pd、Pt）催化剂。更广泛的影响：北达科他州代表性不足的主要群体是美洲原住民和妇女。培育美国部落本科研究和教育（自然）是一个多方面的计划，大大增加了我们的五个部落学院在干教育和研究的参与。ND EPSCoR计划还管理科学与工程领域的女性（WISE），为女性教师提供补充资金，用于实验室升级和额外的研究人员。ND EPSCoR还为科学、数学、工程和技术领域的妇女（WISMET）拨款，这是一个为女本科生/研究生和女教师提供指导的网络小组。在研究型大学校园的参与继续在拟议的计划与承诺，四个新的终身教职轨道教师插槽的Flexem和日出倡议。北达科他州大学和NDSU将在更广泛的STEM领域聘用至少50名新教师。

Goals: North Dakota RII proposal will bring together people, tools, and ideas to lay the foundation for a durable, competitive and cutting edge research infrastructure with the primary focus on competitive research in renewable energy and flexible electronics and materials ? two areas of critical importance to North Dakota (ND). Intellectual Merit: New knowledge generated by this work will lead to greater understanding of issues at the core of problems in energy and microelectronics. The Flexible Electronic Materials (FlexEM) program has three major thrusts: 1) Barriers for Flexible Electronics; 2) Conjugated Organic Polymers for Flexible Electronics; and 3) Electronic Materials from Liquid Silanes. The proposed research aims at design, preparation, characterization, modeling, (and ultimately, prediction of behavior) of thin films and layered structures, which will enable flexible electronic technologies such as e-paper, photovoltaics, and health monitoring devices. SUstainable eNergy Research Infrastructure and Supporting Education (SUNRISE) program will elucidate fundamental aspects of heterogeneous catalysis, especially at the nanoscale, that are relevant to developing alternative transportation fuels and chemical feedstocks. Heterogeneous catalysts will be studied to gain knowledge about the electronic structure, surface morphology and defects, effects of doping and functionalization, redox properties, and finite size effects. Catalysts that show potential for the synthesis of preferred organic compounds that can be exploited to produce fuels, chemicals, and polymer monomeric feedstocks will be of particular interest. Emphasis will be placed on studies of transition metal (e.g., Co, Pd, Pt) catalysts. Broader Impacts: The major underrepresented groups in North Dakota are Native Americans and women. Nurturing American Tribal Undergraduate Research and Education (NATURE) is a multifaceted program that greatly increases the involvement of our five Tribal Colleges in STEM education and research. The ND EPSCoR program also administers Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) to provide supplemental funding to women faculty for lab upgrades and additional research staff. ND EPSCoR also appropriates funding for Women in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (WISMET) a networking group that provides mentoring for women undergraduate/graduate students and women faculty. The involvement on the research university campus continues in the proposed program with commitments to four new tenure track faculty slots for the Flexem and SUNRISE initiatives. At least 50 new faculty will be hired in the broader STEM areas at University of North Dakota and NDSU.