IRES: Nanofibrous Materials Challenge

该项目将为捷克利伯莱克工业大学(CXI&amp；TU-Liberec)纳米材料、先进技术和创新研究所的至少18名美国学生提供国际研究经验。它是中欧一流的机构，主要从事纳米纤维电纺技术的研究和商业化。纳米纤维可以表现出优异的力学、光学和传输性能，为各种应用提供了关键的优势。高表面积与体积比提供了多种沿纤维相互作用的方式？长度和相应的机械灵活性，以在纳米级弯曲成许多不同的配置。纳米纤维材料由于具有纳米级的独特性能，在高性能过滤、能量生成、转换和存储、伤口愈合和组织工程等领域有着广泛的应用。然而，NFMS市场的增长潜力仍然受到有限的能力的限制，无法创造出具有可预测的复杂宏观结构以及理想的电子、机械和生理性能的材料和结构。在该计划期间，来自伯明翰阿拉巴马大学的IRES学员将能够参与欧洲最大的纳米纤维材料企业的运营。它们将通过：(I)促进我们对纳米纤维特性和制造工艺的所有方面的基本了解，以指导将NFMS组装成所需的配置；以及(Ii)开发用于组装NFMS网络和分层体系结构的新工艺，以满足要求苛刻的应用的需要，从而解决纳米纤维科学和技术领域当前的挑战。预计IRES项目的成果将有助于培养新一代训练有素的全球劳动力，以显著推进NFMS的知识库。从长远来看，IRES计划将通过引入新的合作者并促进相关领域研究人员和学生之间的多种国际联系，促进NFMS领域内国内外研究和工业团体之间更广泛的协同耦合。非技术性IRES计划的主题是新兴的纳米纤维材料(NFMS)领域。这一大类纳米材料表现出优异的机械、电子和生理性能，可以在各种能源、生物医学和环境应用中提供关键优势。预计到2017年，全球NFMS市场规模将超过40亿美元。目前在NFMS业务中有100多家公司，最近NFMS的突破正在改变许多科学和工程领域(例如，基于NFM的组织工程气管植入物的第一个成功演示)。然而，NFMS市场的增长潜力仍然受到有限的能力的限制，使这些材料具有可预测的复杂的宏观结构和理想的一套性能。该IRES项目将为捷克共和国利伯莱克技术大学(CXI&amp；TU-Liberec)纳米材料、先进技术和创新研究所的不同群体的美国本科生和研究生提供独特的NFMS国际实践体验。它是中欧首屈一指的机构和最大的纳米纤维材料企业。来自阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校(UAB)的IRES实习生将探索绿色？可用于制造NFMS的工艺。这里的主要挑战不仅是获得正确的配方，而且是开发环境安全和经济上可行的过程，这些过程可以从简单的实验室系统转移到东道国机构提供的商业NFMS设备上。IRES学员还将通过社交活动和与CXI&TU-Liberec不同的国际学生群体的互动，获得重要的国际文化敏感度经验，超越每个参与者？S学院。IRES的本科生学员还将为拥有科学和工程硕士或博士学位的人开阔他们的全球视野。通过通过体验式国际模式为IRES学员提供此类培训，我们将增强他们在具有战略重要性的技术领域的全面能力。

Technical This program will provide the international research experience to a group of at least 18 U.S. students at the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technology and Innovation at the Technical University of Liberec (CxI&TU-Liberec), Czech Republic. It is a premier institution in Central Europe heavily involved in nanofibrous materials (NFMs) research and commercialization of nanofiber electrospinning technologies. Nanofibers can demonstrate superior mechanical, optical and transport properties providing critical advantages to a variety of applications. The high surface area to volume ratio provides both a multitude of ways to interact along the fibers? length and the corresponding mechanical flexibility to bend into many different configurations at nanoscale. As a result of their nano-enabled unique properties, nanofiber-based materials have a wide range of applications in areas such as high performance filtration, energy generation, conversion and storage, wound healing and tissue engineering, and others. However, the potential for growth of the NFMs market is still hindered by limited ability to create the materials and structures with predictable complex, macroscopic architectures and desirable electronic, mechanical, and physiological properties.During the program, the IRES trainees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham will be able to participate in the operations of a largest nanofibrous materials enterprise in Europe. They will address the current challenges in nanofiber science and technology through: (I) the advancement of our basic understanding of all aspects of nanofiber properties and fabrication processes in order to direct the assembly of NFMs into desired configurations; and (II) the development of new processes for assembling NFMs networks and hierarchical architectures for demanding applications. It is expected that the outcomes of this IRES program will help to create a new generation of highly trained global workforce to significantly advance the knowledge base in NFMs. In a long-term, this IRES program will facilitate a broader synergistic coupling between domestic and international research and industrial groups within the NFMs domain by bringing new collaborators and facilitating multiple international links between the researchers and students in related areas.Non-technicalThe main theme of this IRES program is the emerging area of nanofibrous materials (NFMs). This large class of nanomaterials shows superior mechanical, electronic, and physiological properties that can provide critical advantages in a variety of energy, biomedical and environmental applications. The global market for NFMs is expected to rise above $4 billion by year 2017. There are currently over a hundred of companies in the NFMs business, and recent breakthroughs in NFMs are transforming many areas of science and engineering (for example, the first successful demonstration of NFM-based tissue engineered tracheal implant). However, the potential for growth of the NFMs market is still hindered by limited ability to make these materials with predictable complex, macroscopic architectures and desirable set of properties.This IRES program will provide the unique international hands-on experience in NFMs to a diverse group of U.S. undergraduate and graduate students at the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technology and Innovation at the Technical University of Liberec (CxI&TU-Liberec), Czech Republic. It is a premier institution and a largest nanofibrous materials enterprise in Central Europe. The IRES trainees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will explore the approaches to ?green? processes that can be used for the NFMs fabrication. The major challenge here is not only obtaining right formulations, but to develop the environmentally safe and economically feasible processes that can be transferred from a simple laboratory system to commercial NFMs equipment available at the host institution. The IRES trainees will also gain important international cultural sensitivity experience expanding beyond the each participant?s institution through the social activities and interactions with a diverse international student population at CxI&TU-Liberec. IRES undergraduate participants will also broaden their vision of global perspectives for a person with Masters or PhD degree in science and engineering. By providing IRES trainees with such training via experiential international modalities, we will empower them with a comprehensive set of capabilities in strategically important technological areas.