CNM/INL Nano Materials Collaboration Exploration

这项规划访问赠款将使研究和教育合作的发展在葡萄牙布拉加的国际伊比利亚纳米技术实验室（INL）和得克萨斯大学纳米和分子科学与技术中心（CNM）之间。CNM是国家认可的纳米技术研究机构。 INL是西班牙和葡萄牙政府支持的一个重要的新国际研究实验室，旨在促进欧洲合作。 通过该赠款提供的支持，CNM的一个教职员工和学生团队将前往葡萄牙开展研究合作，重点是合成生物相容性和无毒的磁铁矿和相关材料的纳米颗粒。 这两组研究人员在这一领域都有显著的成就记录，并且在葡萄牙和德克萨斯州有互补的实验设施，在开发用于低温治疗的纳米颗粒方面有很大的潜力，这些纳米颗粒具有（1）受控的形状（球形，立方体，针状）和（2）不同二氧化硅壳厚度的涂层。全国妇女委员会和国家法律研究所之间的合作产生了广泛的影响。 由于国家自然科学研究所是一个新成立的机构，该项目将使全国妇女委员会能够发展联合研究项目，并与世界一流的基层实验室建立联系。 研究生是此次访问的重要组成部分，他们将有机会利用葡萄牙独特的设施进行初步研究，并开始建立国际合作者网络。 规划访问的结果将用于向NSF、葡萄牙资金来源和欧洲委员会提出未来建议。 最后，CNM和INL将在技术转让和建立学术-工业伙伴关系方面进行合作，以UT参与者和欧洲网络的专业知识为基础。

This Planning Visit grant will enable the development of research and education collaborations between the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Braga, Portugal and the University of Texas Center for Nano and Molecular Science and Technology (CNM). CNM is a nationally recognized facility for research in the nanotechnology field. The INL is a major new international research laboratory supported by the Spanish and Portuguese governments and structured to foster European cooperation. Through the support provided under this grant, a team of CNM faculty members and students will travel to Portugal to develop research collaborations focused on the synthesis of biocompatible and nontoxic nanoparticles of magnetite and related materials. Both groups of investigators have significant records of achievement in this field, and with the complementary experimental facilities available in Portugal and Texas, there is great potential for advances in developing nanoparticles for hypothermic therapies with (1) controlled shapes (spherical, cubic, needles) and (2) coatings of different silica shell thickness. The broader impacts of a collaboration between CNM and INL are substantial. Because INL is a newly established institution, the project will enable CNM to develop joint research projects and linkages with a world-class laboratory at the ground level. Graduate students are a key part of the visit, and will have the opportunity to conduct preliminary research using the unique facilities available in Portugal and to start building an international network of collaborators. Results from the Planning Visit will be used in the development of future proposals to NSF, Portuguese funding sources, and the European Commission. Finally, CNM and INL will collaborate on technology transfer and establishing academic-industrial partnerships, building on the expertise of UT participants and European networks.