REU: INFEWS: N/P/H2O: MATERIALS INNOVATION AT THE INTERSECTION OF FOOD-ENERGY-WATER SYSTEMS (MII-FEWS)

在这个由本科生化学研究经验部（REU）项目资助的项目中，弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学的蒂莫西·朗教授和苏珊·邓肯教授领导了一个夏季研究项目，旨在培养未来的科学家和工程师在食品、能源和水系统（INFEWS）的联系方面进行创新。这种跨学科的界面要求材料化学的基础研究和发展。随着全球人口达到90亿，科学更广泛的影响解决了迅速出现的挑战。从“智能农业”到水管理和能源利用等技术都需要具有纳米级定制结构的多相材料。该项目对社区大学学生、少数族裔学生和女学生有特定的招生目标。与意大利特伦托大学合作，培养学生在全球科学界脱颖而出。该研究项目为食品分配、节水作物生产、实时监控设备和先进制造制造提供高分子材料，用于打印用于水净化的下一代膜，以及用于理解可预测的材料运输和扩散的新型合成方法。对不同分子通过纳米结构聚合物膜和包装的扩散和运输的分子基础的基本理解仍然是至关重要的。该团队研究了多相形态的制备，其中带电基团位于低玻璃化过渡相中，与机械耐用的高玻璃化过渡相共连续，以确保材料的延展性，并结合能源，水和食品应用中的增强运输。REU教师团队共同假设，在纳米尺度上对大分子结构和形态进行精确的裁剪，可以预测物理特性和技术性能，从而影响未来充足的食物、能源和水的可用性。诺福克州立大学和特伦托大学的本科生积极参与这些研究项目。

In this project funded by The Division of Chemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program, Professors Timothy Long and Susan Duncan at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University lead a summer research program to train future scientists and engineers in innovations at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems (INFEWS). This interdisciplinary interface demands fundamental studies and developments in the chemistry of materials. The scientific broader impacts address the challenges that are rapidly emerging as our global population reaches 9 billion. Technologies ranging from "smart farming" to water management and energy utility demand multiphase materials with tailored structure at the nanoscale. The program has specific recruitment goals for community college students, students from underrepresented minorities, and female students. Training students to excel within a global scientific community occurs in partnership with the University of Trento in Italy.This research program produces enabling polymeric materials for food distribution, water-efficient crop production, real-time monitoring devices, and advanced manufacturing to print the next generation of membranes for water purification and novel synthetic methods to understand predictable transport and diffusion through materials. Fundamental understanding of the molecular basis for diffusion and transport of diverse molecules through nanostructured polymeric membranes and packaging remains paramount. The team investigates the preparation of multiphase morphologies wherein charged groups are located in a low glass transition phase in a co-continuous fashion with a mechanically-durable high glass transition phase to ensure material ductility in combination with enhanced transport in energy, water, and food applications. The REU faculty team collectively hypothesizes that the precise tailoring of macromolecular structure and morphology at the nanoscale enables the predictability of physical properties and performance of technologies that influence future availability of sufficient food, energy, and water. Undergraduate students from Norfolk State University and the University of Trento are actively involved in these research projects.