REU Site: Polymer Science and Engineering at The University of Akron

REU 站点：阿克伦大学高分子科学与工程

• 批准号: 1659531
• 负责人: Mesfin Tsige
• 金额: $ 34.47万
• 依托单位: University of Akron
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-04-01 至 2022-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1659531&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Polymer; Science; Engineering

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe vision of the REU site at the University of Akron (UA-REU), which was initiated in 2004, is to be a nurturing academic environment for undergraduate exploration, education and research. It will focus on the training of 12 NSF-supported undergraduate students each summer in the area of Polymer Science and Engineering. The site will expose students to exciting cutting edge polymer education and research, thus initiating the training of the next generation of the scientific workforce needed to fuel innovation in the United States. The faculty participants mentor the REU students through a multidimensional approach involving fundamentals of polymers, professional development, and development of research skillsets. First, instruction in the fundamentals of Polymer Science and Engineering will be provided to the students. Second, the faculty participants will impart to the REU students the scientific and engineering skills required for research and innovation. Third, the students will be exposed to a wide variety of educational, research and career opportunities through a professional development series featuring four panel discussions on career directions and ethics, as well as industrial visits to NASA, Goodyear and other local companies, government laboratories, and hospitals. All research activities will be integrated with career panels, seminars, and industrial visits aligned with the overarching goals of the site. The educational components include an intensive one-week series of lectures delineating the fundamentals of Polymer Science and Engineering and a faculty research seminar series. The multiple student-led presentations are designed to develop solid communication skills for the effective oral dissemination of their research results. This experience is expected to stir enthusiasm for STEM disciplines, and increase the retention and promotion of traditional, underrepresented and low-income students in Mathematics, Engineering and Science, and in particular Polymer Science and Engineering. TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe REU site at the University of Akron will focus on the training of 12 NSF-supported and also several industrial supported undergraduate students for 11 weeks each summer in the general area of Polymer Science and Engineering. The site will be a nurturing interdisciplinary academic environment for undergraduate research and professional development designed towards enabling student excellence in graduate studies and future research careers in STEM disciplines. The REU students will be exposed to interdisciplinary research projects that emphasize problems at the frontiers of polymer science and engineering and that are specifically designed for undergraduate students with limited research experience. Activities associated with the UA-REU are designed to broaden the students' knowledge of polymers and comprehension of the societal implications of their research. Research projects involving REU students will cover the breadth of Polymer Science and Engineering in four generalized cluster areas: Chemistry, Physics, Engineering and Biomaterials. Such projects include, but are not limited to, synthesis of advanced polymer materials (such as biodegradable nanofiber scaffolds, ionically crosslinked polymers, antimicrobial polymers, multi-functional hydrogels); materials fabrication for energy storage and water purification (such as solid electrolyte membranes, hybrid hierarchical noble metals, composite nanofibers); structural and dynamic characterization (through solid- and solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), mass spectroscopy, small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)); computer-based design of materials through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations). At the conclusion of the program, students will present their research work at a joint symposium with Case Western Reserve University, NASA, and Kent State University.

非技术性总结阿克伦大学(UA-REU)成立于2004年的REU网站的愿景是为本科生的探索、教育和研究提供一个培养学生的学术环境。它将集中于每年夏天对12名NSF资助的本科生进行聚合物科学与工程领域的培训。该网站将使学生接触到令人兴奋的尖端聚合物教育和研究，从而启动对推动美国创新所需的下一代科学劳动力的培训。教师学员通过多维方法指导REU学生，包括聚合物基础知识、专业发展和研究技能的发展。首先，将向学生提供聚合物科学和工程基础的指导。其次，教职员工将向REU的学生传授研究和创新所需的科学和工程技能。第三，学生将通过职业发展系列接触到各种各样的教育、研究和职业机会，包括四个关于职业方向和道德的小组讨论，以及对NASA、固特异和其他当地公司、政府实验室和医院的工业访问。所有研究活动将与职业小组讨论、研讨会和行业访问相结合，与网站的总体目标保持一致。教学部分包括为期一周的密集系列讲座，描述聚合物科学和工程的基础，以及教师研究研讨会系列。由多名学生主导的演讲旨在培养扎实的沟通技能，以便有效地口头传播他们的研究成果。这一经历预计将激发人们对STEM学科的热情，并增加数学、工程和科学，特别是聚合物科学和工程专业的传统、代表性不足和低收入学生的留住和晋升。技术总结阿克伦大学的REU站点将重点培训12名NSF资助的本科生和几名工业支持的本科生，每年夏天在聚合物科学和工程的一般领域进行为期11周的培训。该网站将成为培养本科生研究和专业发展的跨学科学术环境，旨在使学生在STEM学科的研究生学习和未来的研究生涯中脱颖而出。REU的学生将接触到跨学科的研究项目，这些项目强调聚合物科学和工程的前沿问题，并且是专门为研究经验有限的本科生设计的。与UA-REU相关的活动旨在扩大学生对聚合物的知识，并理解他们研究的社会影响。涉及REU学生的研究项目将涵盖四个广义集群领域的聚合物科学和工程的广度：化学、物理、工程和生物材料。这些项目包括但不限于合成先进的聚合物材料(如可生物降解的纳米纤维支架、离子交联聚合物、抗菌聚合物、多功能水凝胶)、用于储能和水净化的材料制造(如固体电解质薄膜、杂化多层贵金属、复合纳米纤维)、结构和动态表征(通过固体和溶液核磁共振波谱、质谱仪、小角X射线散射谱、原子力显微镜、扫描电子显微镜等)，以及通过分子动力学(MD)模拟进行计算机辅助材料设计。在项目结束时，学生们将在与凯斯西储大学、NASA和肯特州立大学的联合研讨会上展示他们的研究成果。

项目成果

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Surface and Interfacial Tension of Graft Polymer Melts

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02876
• 发表时间: 2018-10-30
• 期刊: LANGMUIR
• 影响因子: 3.9
• 作者: Jacobs, Michael;Liang, Heyi;Dobrynin, Andrey, V
• 通讯作者: Dobrynin, Andrey, V

Modification of narrow‐spectrum peptidomimetic polyurethanes with fatty acid chains confers broad‐spectrum antibacterial activity

用脂肪酸链修饰窄谱拟肽聚氨酯可赋予广谱抗菌活性

• DOI: 10.1002/pi.5773
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Polymer International
• 影响因子: 3.2
• 作者: Peng, Chao;Zhang, Tian;Ortiz‐Ortiz, Deliris N.;Vishwakarma, Apoorva;Barton, Hazel A.;Joy, Abraham
• 通讯作者: Joy, Abraham

Subtle End Group Functionalization of Polymer Chains Drives Surface Depletion of Entire Polymer Chains

聚合物链的微妙端基官能化驱动整个聚合物链的表面损耗

• DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.8b00394
• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: ACS Macro Letters
• 影响因子: 7.015
• 作者: Hill, Jacob A.;Endres, Kevin J.;Meyerhofer, John;He, Qiming;Wesdemiotis, Chrys;Foster, Mark D.
• 通讯作者: Foster, Mark D.

Soft Templating of Water Aggregates Disrupts π–π Stacking in Crystalline Poly(3-hexylthiophene)

水聚集体的软模板化破坏了结晶聚（3-己基噻吩）中的堆积

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b09191
• 发表时间: 2017
• 期刊: The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
• 作者: Jha, Kshitij C.;Weber, Alexander;Yimer, Yeneneh Y.;Tsige, Mesfin
• 通讯作者: Tsige, Mesfin

Hierarchical Organization of Single Crystal Polymorphs of Azobenzene Chromophore in Anisotropic Media Subjected to Local Thermal Gradients upon Cold Spraying

冷喷涂局部热梯度各向异性介质中偶氮苯发色团单晶多晶型的分级组织

• DOI: 10.1002/marc.202200044
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Macromolecular Rapid Communications
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Sutter, Thomas M.;Riley, Grant V.;Quasney, Kaitlin E.;Kyu, Thein;Golovaty, Dmitry;Wright, Bryan;Youngs, Wiley
• 通讯作者: Youngs, Wiley