IGERT: REN@WVU - Research and Education in Nanotoxicology at West Virginia University

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This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) award supports the interdisciplinary training of Ph.D. students to pursue research and innovation in the growing and critical field of nanotoxicity. The program, which is individualized for each student?s personal and career goals, ensures that scientific understanding of the interaction of nanomaterials with people and the environment keeps pace with the development of new nanomaterials and their applications in consumer products.Intellectual Merit: The promise of nanomaterials to revolutionize everything from energy efficiency to health cannot be realized without detailed understanding of the interactions between these innovative materials, the people who use them, and the environments in which they are used. This IGERT project, in collaboration with researchers from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, facilitates an interdisciplinary perspective via collaborative research projects that link physical scientists and engineers with biological/biomedical scientists and engineers. Research will address nanomaterials already used in consumer products, those in development for future applications, and developing new methods for rapid nanotoxicity evaluation. Trainees will acquire entrepreneurial skills through workshops, internships, and a multidisciplinary team business plan competition.Broader Impacts: Students acquire a broad-based understanding of the field of nanotoxicity from multiple perspectives: varied scientific and engineering disciplines; industrial, academic and national laboratory contexts; and from an international perspective. Participants learn to work effectively with their counterparts in other scientific and engineering fields, as well as develop the skills to communicate the nuances of this important and potentially controversial field to the public and to policy makers. Special focus is placed on digital communications tools that allow scientists and engineers to interact directly with the public. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to establish new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries, and to engage students in understanding the processes by which research is translated to innovations for societal benefit