REU Site: Soft Materials at Penn State

技术摘要：该奖项支持宾夕法尼亚州立大学软材料REU的续签。提出了一个以项目为中心、以团队为导向的教育和研究计划，以补充对能够跨越传统学术界限的新一代跨学科科学家和工程师的培训。软材料REU将继续培养具有知识、洞察力和团队合作经验的本科生，以激励他们成为工程和科学领域的博士候选人。材料科学、化学工程、能源工程和化学的本科生将接受围绕三个主题组织的研究领域的培训：离子聚合物中的离子传导，生物材料，包括生物大分子的功能和自组装生物结构，以及热力学和聚合物混合物中的传输。本届REU的首要主题是研究和开发新型软材料。具体目标是：1)在以项目为中心的协作研究环境中，为学生提供各种复杂的分析、(纳米)制造和计算技术的实践经验。2)培养一支未来的科学家和工程师队伍，他们有能力为传统学科做出贡献，并了解与软材料相关的广泛的科学和工程问题。REU学生将参加一般活动，如职业发展研讨会、几个社会活动和期末研讨会。REU计划被设想为在软材料领域形成“本科生研究的卓越中心”，同时大大加强我们未来材料领导者的教育和研究经验。我们预计在三年的课程中将有超过50名本科生参与。REU网站由美国国家科学基金会材料研究部资助。非-技术概述：宾夕法尼亚州立大学软材料领域的REU将为有能力跨越传统学术边界的跨学科科学家和工程师提供科学培训。将特别重视与代表性不足群体(如妇女、西班牙裔和非裔美国人)和残疾人的接触，目的是吸引他们投身科学/工程事业。该计划将培养具有知识、洞察力和团队合作经验的本科生，以激励他们成为工程和科学领域的博士候选人。研究围绕聚合物、生物大分子和自组装生物结构展开，这些生物结构在制药、农业和其他工业中具有潜在的用途。此外，REU的学生还将参加一般活动，如职业发展研讨会、几项社会活动和期末研讨会。最后，研究生(作为导师)和本科生将积极参与实验(包括虚拟实验)的设计和执行，他们将受益于与国际同行的互动和沉浸在全球协作研究中，这是对他们在美国本土机构接受的理论、模拟和/或实验的强化培训的补充。REU计划被设想为在软材料领域形成“本科生研究的卓越中心”，同时大大加强我们未来材料领导者的教育和研究经验。我们预计将有50多名本科生参加该项目的三年时间。该REU网站由美国国家科学基金会材料研究部资助。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This award supports the renewal of the Soft Materials REU at Penn State. A project-centered and team-oriented educational and research program is proposed to complement the training of a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers capable of crossing traditional academic boundaries. This REU in Soft Materials will continue to train undergraduate students with knowledge, perspective, and teamwork experience to inspire them to become Ph.D. candidates in Engineering and Sciences. Undergraduate students across Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Energy Engineering and Chemistry will be trained in research areas organized around three themes: ion conduction in ion-containing polymers, biomaterials including function of biomacromolecules and self-assembled bio-structures, and thermodynamics and transport in polymer mixtures. The overarching theme of this REU is the study and development of novel soft materials. Specific objectives are to: 1) Provide students with hands-on experience on a variety of sophisticated analytical, (nano) fabrication, and computational techniques, while working in a project-centered collaborative research environment. 2) Produce a cadre of future scientists and engineers who have the ability to contribute across traditional disciplines and appreciate the wide-ranging scientific and engineering issues related to soft materials. REU students will participate in general activities, such as career development seminars, several social activities, and the final symposium. The REU program is envisioned as nucleating a "center-of-excellence for undergraduate research" in the field of soft materials, while considerably strengthening the education and research experience of our future materials leaders. We anticipate that more than 50 undergraduate students will participate over the three years of the program.This REU Site is funded by the NSF Division of Materials Research.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The REU in Soft Materials at Penn State will provide the scientific training for the generation of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers capable of crossing traditional academic boundaries. A special emphasis on outreach to individuals from under represented groups (such as women, Hispanics and African Americans) and persons with disabilities will be pursued, with the intent of attracting them to scientific/engineering careers. The program will train undergraduate students with knowledge, perspective, and teamwork experience to inspire them to become Ph.D. candidates in Engineering and Sciences. Research is organized around polymers, biological macromolecules and self-assembled bio-structures which have potential use in pharmaceutical, agricultural and other industries. Additionally, REU students will participate in general activities, such as career development seminars, several social activities, and the final symposium. Finally, graduate (as mentors) and undergraduate students will actively participate in the design and performance of experiments (including virtual experiments), and they will benefit from the interaction and immersion in a global collaborative research with international peers that complement the intensive training in theory, simulation, and/or experiment that they receive at their US home institutions. The REU program is envisioned as nucleating a "center-of-excellence for undergraduate research" in the field of soft materials, while considerably strengthening the education and research experience of our future materials leaders. We anticipate that more than 50 undergraduate students will participate over the three years of the program. This REU Site is funded by the NSF Division of Materials Research.