BRIGE: Integrated Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Interactive Engineered Atomic-Scale Systems

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This Broadening Participation Research Initiation Grants in Engineering (BRIGE) grant provides funding for the development of new capabilities of an existing interactive virtual reality environment that will be used for research and teaching materials science. The enhanced tool will include speedy molecular dynamics simulations using well-validated mathematical expressions resulting in realistic models and the ability to immediately visualize and analyze data in the developed environment. This low-cost environment involves a display, sensors, computers and immersive technology. The improved interactive environment and its visualization and modeling applications will be integrated into undergraduate materials science courses and summer research opportunities. In addition, the developed tool will be adaptable to larger interactive facilities to promote collaborative projects via existing partnerships and research programs at UC Merced and associate universities.The expected benefits of this research will be improvements in materials science research and teaching, and strengthening of learning outcomes. Specifically, the results of this project will lead to approximately 100x faster computing using graphical processors over conventional processors at a relatively low cost. This will help build a computational materials science infrastructure that will allow problems to be solved more efficiently and encourage intellectual inquiry. The adaptability component of this research will help facilitate interdisciplinary projects and develop interactive learning tools for science and engineering, as well as assist future investigators to address leading research priorities that will benefit society. As a teaching tool, the enhanced environment will be used in lower- and upper-division materials science courses. This will lead to enhancement of the materials science curriculum with new kinesthetic methods that promote "learning by doing". This work will also help to expand the population of undergraduate role models, and to retain and engage them in engineering research because materials science will become more accessible.