REU Site: Creative Approaches to Materials Design and Processing

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NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTIONThe future of materials research demands achieving predictable material responses, from materials creation to application, at increasingly reduced length scales. This requires a workforce whose interdisciplinary academic and research training extends from materials design, to manufacturing, and to characterization. Such a global challenge necessitates workforce training beyond the rigid, traditional approaches of materials science and engineering educational programs, into truly creative spaces where innovation is allowed to occur. While many universities have enthusiastically adopted curricular improvements focused on innovation / entrepreneurship, the most fundamental and foundational elements of creativity, creative thinking and creative expression, have been bypassed. Given that the creative process is critical for an innovative workforce, it is important to consider how creativity is nurtured and promoted in not only classroom experiences, but also in research and mentoring experiences. This REU Site, centered on materials design and processing, is designed to address the urgent need for innovation in materials research in the U.S. by interweaving a proven creativity training program into the framework of the traditional research and professional development activities. The project will establish evidence-based creativity trainings that can be used in the engineering classroom and in research training experiences, the results of which will be disseminated widely. This REU Site will fill a critical gap in workforce development in materials design and manufacture, and address a national need for researchers who can solve complex, interconnected problems by training researchers to think creatively from an early stage. Lastly, while creativity is the foundation of innovation, diverse perspectives on problem solving are also necessary to efficiently and effectively addressing global challenges in materials research. This project will increase the number of underrepresented students participating in research and moving towards advanced degrees and research careers. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTIONThe future of materials research demands achieving predictable material responses, from materials creation to application, at increasingly reduced length scales, requiring a workforce whose interdisciplinary academic and research training extends from materials design, to manufacturing, and to characterization. Moreover, such a workforce must also be trained to be innovators capable of thinking of creative approaches to materials design and processing. To address these needs, this REU Site program is centered on creative approaches to materials design and processing. This program is unique in that it includes proven, theatre-based creativity training interwoven into the framework of the research training and professional development activities. This REU Site will enable undergraduates to expand upon their traditional training to explore new avenues in 21st century materials innovation. Beyond creativity, innovation in materials design and processing requires a fundamental understanding of the interrelationships among structure, composition, processing, and properties. This is particularly critical for advanced functional materials, which are often micro- or nano-structured, and built through either self-assembly or complex fabrication processes, due to their unique and complex structure-function relationships, and their potential use in applications critical to human health and security. The REU Site focuses on understanding and predicting these relationships for micro- and nano-structured materials across a wide spectrum of applications, including sensors, batteries, reactors, and implantable devices. Students in this program will learn cutting-edge materials research approaches that include atomistic simulation, coarse-grain modeling, and a suite of materials design / fabrication / characterization techniques. This research will not only advance the science in each unique area, but will provide students with unique, measurable skills in computational modeling, materials science design, processing, characterization, and creative thinking.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.