CNM/INL Nano Materials Collaboration Exploration

这项计划访问赠款将促进位于葡萄牙布拉加的国际伊比利亚纳米技术实验室(INL)和德克萨斯大学纳米与分子科学与技术中心(CNM)之间的研究和教育合作。CNM是国家认可的纳米技术领域的研究机构。INL是一个重要的新的国际研究实验室，由西班牙和葡萄牙政府支持，旨在促进欧洲合作。通过这笔赠款提供的支持，一个由CNM教职员工和学生组成的团队将前往葡萄牙，开展研究合作，重点是合成生物兼容的无毒磁铁矿纳米颗粒和相关材料。这两组研究人员在这一领域都取得了显著的成就，在葡萄牙和得克萨斯州拥有互补的实验设施，在开发用于低温治疗的纳米颗粒方面具有巨大的潜力，这些纳米颗粒具有(1)受控形状(球形、立方体、针状)和(2)不同硅壳厚度的涂层。CNM和INL之间的合作产生了更广泛的影响。由于INL是一个新成立的机构，该项目将使CNM能够开发联合研究项目，并与地面一级的世界级实验室建立联系。研究生是此次访问的关键部分，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制定未来向国家科学基金会、葡萄牙资金来源和欧盟委员会提出的建议。最后，CNM和INL将在UT参与者和欧洲网络的专业知识的基础上，在技术转让和建立学术-产业伙伴关系方面进行合作。

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.