REU Site: Research Experiences and Exploration in Materials Science (REEMS) for Houston Community College Science and Engineering Students

REU 网站：休斯顿社区学院科学与工程专业学生的材料科学 (REEMS) 研究经验和探索

• 批准号: 1460564
• 负责人: John Vasselli
• 金额: $ 72.93万
• 依托单位: Houston Community College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-05-01 至 2019-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1460564&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Research; Experiences; Exploration

NON-TECHNICAL PART: This REU Site will provide an umbrella under which seventy-five community college students will participate in a wide array of educational activities that provide a broad view of science and engineering education and career opportunities through materials science perspectives. These activities will include: (1) an innovative lower division course that describes the historical and societal impacts of materials, (2) tours of university materials research labs, (3) identification of a STEM advisor over the duration of the project who will work with each of the seventy-five student participants, (4) meetings with materials scientists and engineers from academia, industry, professional societies, and federal laboratories, (5) training of faculty on mentoring practices, and (6) a competitive process to select thirty-six students for summer research experiences in the laboratories of faculty at nearby research universities. The project has significant potential to attract and retain freshman and sophomore community college students in the STEM disciplines and to facilitate their transfer to a four-year institution to continue their STEM education. The inter-related advising, educational, and research activities will be subject to ongoing evaluation designed to validate, or suggest changes in, the project approach. Recruiting activities will focus on females, veterans, and students from minority groups who are underrepresented in STEM.TECHNICAL PART: The students who are selected to participate in pairs in a research opportunity in a university materials research laboratory will begin communicating with their research mentors in the spring term in preparation for a ten-week research project during the summer. Research opportunities have been arranged with faculty at research universities in the Houston area. Student projects will include such topics as: (1) polymer-based organic photovoltaics (OPVs) where the student team will fabricate and test polymer-based OPVs and analyze the effect of block copolymer additives on active layer structure and performance, (2) high temperature superconductors where the student team will determine the migration of ternary invariant liquids and the change in composition of other components as the liquid migrates, (3) new epoxy resins where the student team will develop new resins that incorporate sustainable and biodegradable components while maintaining the desirable properties of these epoxy resins, (4) study of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites where the student team will examine FRP composite samples taken from retired lifeboats and characterize the types of environmental damage suffered by these lifeboats, (5) organic polymeric materials where the student team will test the hypothesis that an n-type conjugated redox polymer can simultaneously enable high doping level and high electrical conductivity, and (6) organic compounds that mimic key reactions in photosynthesis where the student team will examine computational methods, using basic concepts in quantum chemistry, statistical physics, and molecular dynamics, to learn about a covalently linked carotenoid-porphrin-C60 compound that has the ability to absorb light and generate charge-separation states that convert solar energy into chemical fuel.This project fulfills the mutual objectives of the Division of Materials Research and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the NSF Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences and the Advanced Technological Education program of the Division of Undergraduate Education in the NSF Directorate for Education and Human Resources. Each of these units is providing a significant fraction of the funding.

非技术部分：这个REU网站将为75名社区大学生提供一个保护伞，在这个保护伞下，他们将参与一系列广泛的教育活动，这些活动将通过材料科学的角度提供科学和工程教育的广阔视野和职业机会。这些活动将包括：(1)创新的低年级课程，描述材料的历史和社会影响；(2)参观大学材料研究实验室；(3)在项目期间确定一名STEM顾问，该顾问将与75名学生参与者中的每一位合作；(4)与来自学术界、工业界、专业协会和联邦实验室的材料科学家和工程师会面；(5)对教师进行指导实践培训；(6)通过竞争性程序，选择36名学生到附近研究型大学的教师实验室进行暑期研究。该项目具有巨大的潜力，可以吸引和留住STEM学科的大一和大二社区大学学生，并促进他们转入四年制大学继续接受STEM教育。相互关联的咨询、教育和研究活动将受到持续评估的影响，旨在验证或建议项目方法的变化。招聘活动将重点关注女性、退伍军人和在STEM领域代表性不足的少数族裔学生。技术部分：被选中参加大学材料研究实验室的研究机会的学生将在春季学期开始与他们的研究导师交流，为夏季为期十周的研究项目做准备。与休斯敦地区研究型大学的教师安排了研究机会。学生项目将包括以下主题：(1)基于聚合物的有机光伏（opv），学生团队将制造和测试基于聚合物的opv，并分析嵌段共聚物添加剂对活性层结构和性能的影响；(2)高温超导体，学生团队将确定三元不变液体的迁移以及液体迁移时其他成分的组成变化；(3)新型环氧树脂，学生团队将开发包含可持续和可生物降解成分的新型树脂，同时保持这些环氧树脂的理想性能；(4)纤维增强聚合物（FRP）复合材料的研究，学生团队将检查从退役救生艇上采集的FRP复合材料样本，并描述这些救生艇遭受的环境破坏类型；(5)有机聚合物材料，学生团队将测试n型共轭氧化还原聚合物可以同时实现高掺杂水平和高导电性的假设；(6)模拟光合作用关键反应的有机化合物，学生团队将研究计算方法，使用量子化学、统计物理和分子动力学的基本概念；了解一种共价连接的类胡萝卜素-卟啉- c60化合物，这种化合物能够吸收光线并产生电荷分离状态，将太阳能转化为化学燃料。本项目实现了美国国家科学基金会数学与物理科学理事会材料研究部和多学科活动办公室的共同目标，以及美国国家科学基金会教育与人力资源理事会本科教育部的先进技术教育计划。这些单位都提供了很大一部分资金。