CAREER: Nanomanufacturing Process Modeling and Control - A Foundation for Large-Scale Production

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The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award is to establish Integrated Nanomanufacturing and Nanoinformatics (INN) as a core academic discipline for quality improvement in nanomanufacturing (NM). This CAREER project will create (i) a body of knowledge regarding the system-level modeling and control of multiscale process variations in NM; and (ii) an INN program and curricula to educate a new generation of NM engineers with a concentration on quality control. The multiscale process variations present unique modeling and control challenges for NM. The research will address these challenges by defining the system-level modeling and control issues and developing multiscale physical-statistical modeling approaches to couple the process models across scales for consistent prediction and control. The methodology will be validated by improving the manufacturing processes of nanowire-based solar photovoltaics and polymer nanocomposites. The integrated education efforts will lead to the creation of an INN program and curricula. A national and international INN collaboration network will be established to achieve excellence in education and to train a globally engaged NM workforce. If successful, the results of this research will provide technologies and tools to transform the quality and productivity in NM so as to broaden nanotechnology's impact on the society. Specifically, the research will assist to overcome the NM bottleneck by improving nanostructure (nanowire and nanocomposites) uniformity and process yield with energy applications in photovoltaics and polymer nanocomposites. The results will be disseminated to allow quality control in cost-effective NM. The educational activities aim to enhance the U.S.' competitive edge in NM. Graduate and undergraduate engineering students will benefit through the new INN curriculum and involvement in the research. Research and educational infrastructure for INN program will be enhanced and developed. K-12 outreach and involvement of underrepresented groups will promote the engineering career in NM for broader impact.