REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

REU 网站：纳米技术环境影响本科生研究经验

• 批准号: 1004985
• 负责人: Patrick Ferguson
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-15 至 2014-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1004985&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Research; Experiences; Undergraduates

This three-year REU Site program will be part of the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT) headquartered at Duke University. It will be hosted by three CEINT partner universities; Duke, Virginia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon as well as the European Center for Research and Education in Geosciences and the Environment (CEREGE) in Aix-en-Provence, France. An Orientation will be held at Duke in week one prior to participants transitioning to their respective research site. In order for students to gain optimal benefits from the multiple research disciplines and research available through such a Center, participants will continue their communications initiated during Orientation through weekly cross-site videoconferencing and via the online collaboratory offered by the REU Site. The REU program will leverage training activities established within CEINT such as seminars, ongoing colloquia and weekly research team meetings and provide in-depth training in the scientific method, data analysis, and professional presentations. The program objectives include: (1) encouraging a diverse group of students towards careers in emerging fields in science and engineering related to nanotechnology research; (2 ) increasing student awareness of the ethical context of nanotechnology research and the importance of developing nanotechnology in an environmentally responsible manner; and (3) facilitation a comprehensive understanding of the complex, evolving parameters emerging as factors mitigating environmental impacts of nanomaterials at the cellular, organismic and ecosystem levels. In addition students will have the opportunity to learn to use cutting-edge lab and imaging technologies for identifying nanoparticle fate, transport, and structural behaviors through the rich array of lab facilities and field sites available through CEINT.It will also feature a unique, interdisciplinary team approach to mentoring students on research projects across themes designed to link fundamental physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials at the nanoscale with their observed biological and ecosystem effects. Student opportunities will be available across six nanoscale research themes: Exposure: Transport & Transformation; Cellular and Organismal Responses; Impacts on Ecosystems; Manufactured Nanomaterials; Natural and Incidental Nanoparticles; and Risk Assessment and Modeling. REU students will learn how risk assessment provides feedback to guide future research and will learn about evolving parameters considered important for comparative international studies in nanotechnology.This program will expand CEINT's programs for undergraduates across three US universities and in France, creating trans-university and international opportunities for undergraduate students in the sciences and engineering. Recruitment efforts will be targeted to students from underrepresented groups, particularly females and minorities and from institutions with limited research opportunities. The REU program seeks to inspire undergraduate students to pursue graduate education and future careers in emerging fields in environmental science and engineering as well as nanotechnology research.

这个为期三年的 REU 站点项目将成为总部位于杜克大学的纳米技术环境影响中心 (CEINT) 的一部分。 它将由三所 CEINT 合作大学主办；杜克大学、弗吉尼亚理工大学、卡内基梅隆大学以及位于法国普罗旺斯地区艾克斯的欧洲地球科学与环境研究与教育中心 (CEREGE)。 第一周，在参与者转移到各自的研究地点之前，杜克大学将举行迎新活动。为了让学生从该中心提供的多个研究学科和研究中获得最佳收益，参与者将通过每周跨站点视频会议以及 REU 站点提供的在线合作，继续在迎新期间发起的沟通。 REU 计划将利用 CEINT 内建立的培训活动，例如研讨会、持续的座谈会和每周研究团队会议，并提供科学方法、数据分析和专业演示方面的深入培训。 该计划的目标包括：（1）鼓励多元化的学生群体从事与纳米技术研究相关的科学和工程新兴领域的职业； (2) 提高学生对纳米技术研究的伦理背景以及以对环境负责的方式开发纳米技术的重要性的认识； (3) 促进对作为减轻纳米材料在细胞、有机体和生态系统层面的环境影响的因素而出现的复杂、不断变化的参数的全面理解。此外，学生将有机会学习使用尖端实验室和成像技术，通过 CEINT 提供的丰富的实验室设施和现场站点来识别纳米粒子的命运、运输和结构行为。 它还将采用独特的跨学科团队方法来指导学生跨主题的研究项目，旨在将纳米尺度纳米材料的基本物理和化学特性与其观察到的生物和生态系统联系起来 影响。学生将获得六个纳米级研究主题的机会：暴露：运输与转化；细胞和有机体反应；对生态系统的影响；人造纳米材料；天然和偶然的纳米颗粒；以及风险评估和建模。 REU 学生将学习风险评估如何提供反馈来指导未来的研究，并将了解对纳米技术国际比较研究重要的不断变化的参数。该项目将扩大 CEINT 在美国三所大学和法国的本科生项目，为科学和工程专业的本科生创造跨大学和国际机会。 招聘工作将针对来自代表性不足群体的学生，特别是女性和少数族裔以及来自研究机会有限的机构的学生。 REU 项目旨在激励本科生在环境科学与工程以及纳米技术研究等新兴领域追求研究生教育和未来职业。