Hampton-Brandeis Partnership for Research and Education in Materials

非技术性摘要：汉普顿大学是一所私立的历史上黑人学院和大学（HBCU），成立于1868年，其使命是教育非洲裔美国人，他们会走出去，在社区内教书和领导人们。该大学是一所综合性高等教育机构，致力于促进学习，塑造性格，为有前途的学生提供领导和服务职位。汉普顿大学和布兰代斯大学材料研究科学工程中心（MRSEC）之间的汉普顿-布兰代斯材料研究教育合作伙伴关系（PREM）包括加强和扩大这两个机构之间的合作研究和教育。汉普顿-布兰迪斯PREM的总体目标是提高材料科学和工程相关领域有才华的少数民族学生的招聘，保留和毕业率。此外，一个重要的辅助目标是提高汉普顿的研究能力和生产力。PREM将增加非裔美国人和女性学生在材料科学和工程研究职业的数量，并显着扩大科学家和工程师的供应，为创新和发现做出贡献，以推动美国经济的增长。这将通过以下方式实现：（1）增加参与材料科学研究活动的本科生和研究生的数量，（2）实施PREM教授（PtP）博士后奖学金计划，为HBCU准备一批新的早期职业教师，（3）为汉普顿路地区的初中和高中学生制定材料科学和工程方面的可持续推广计划，以及（4）通过所有汉普顿PREM的参与者，增加材料科学和工程与整个连续体的观众的沟通，从同行到普通公众。汉普顿-布兰代斯PREM的总体目标是作为一个催化剂，招聘和留住有才华的学生追求材料科学和工程领域的研究事业。Hampton-Brandeis PREM研究旨在研究用于微流体和光流体应用的光子材料的光响应，光活性和光电特性。Thrust 1的拟议研究旨在通过整合已知为通用自组装基序的二肽衍生物，与具有金属结合功能的基于芳基偶氮吡唑的分子光开关的新家族，开发一种新型的光开关低分子量胶凝剂。在Thrust 2中，将设计光活性生物材料，并研究它们与细胞的相互作用，以通过降解、生长因子释放和适应性/可调机械特性等指标评估它们作为细胞外基质替代物的能力。将开发荧光蛋白酶敏感肽（FPSP）序列，随后将确定聚氨酯铸件中FPSP的临界交联密度，以实时可视化/定量细胞蛋白水解活性。推力3，重点是光电材料，将研究混合卤化物钙钛矿和半导体。关于混合卤化物钙钛矿开发的拟议研究将包括商业前体的纯化研究、基于溶液的合成、固态机械化学合成和从熔体中结晶。将进行使用稀土和过渡金属离子的掺杂研究，以探索改进的长期稳定性以及紫外可见和红外光谱区域的扩展发射波长覆盖范围。此外，该研究将重点关注硅，化合物半导体和混合卤化物钙钛矿材料的表征，用于光流体应用。该研究旨在确定光学性质（发射，吸收，透明度等），支持微流体制造工艺的机械性能，以及用于材料的电路和异质界面的电性能。最后，将进行研究，以探讨少数民族材料科学本科生的身份（科学，种族和性别）和他们在PREM的参与如何影响他们的招聘，保留和材料science.This奖项的成就反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响力审查标准进行评估的支持。

Non-technical Summary:Hampton University is a private Historically Black College and University (HBCU) founded in 1868 with the mission to educate African-Americans who would go out and teach and lead people within their community. The university is a comprehensive institution of higher education, dedicated to the promotion of learning, building of character and preparation of promising students for positions of leadership and service. The Hampton-Brandeis Partnership for Research & Education in Materials (PREM) between Hampton University and Brandeis University Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC) includes the strengthening and expansion of collaborative research and education between these two institutions. The overall goal of the Hampton-Brandeis PREM is to increase recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of talented minority students in materials science and engineering related fields. In addition, an important ancillary goal is to increase the research capacity and productivity at Hampton. The PREM will increase the number of African-American and women students in materials science and engineering research careers and markedly expand the supply of scientists and engineers contributing to innovation and discovery to fuel the growth of the American economy. This will be accomplished by: (1) increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate students participating in materials science research activities, (2) implementing the PREM Path-to-Professorship (PtP) Post-doctoral Fellowship Program to prepare a new cohort of early career faculty for HBCUs, (3) developing a sustainable outreach program in materials science and engineering for middle and high school students in the Hampton Roads region and (4) increasing communication of materials science and engineering to audiences across the continuum, from peers to general public, by all Hampton PREM participants. The Hampton-Brandeis PREM's overall goal is to serve as a catalyst for the recruitment and retention of talented students pursuing research careers in materials science and engineering fields. Technical Summary:The Hampton-Brandeis PREM research seeks to study the photo-responsive, opto-active, and optoelectric properties of photonic materials for microfluidic and optofluidic applications. The proposed research for Thrust 1 aims to develop a new type of photoswitchable low-molecular-weight-gelators by integrating dipeptide derivatives which are known to be versatile self-assembly motifs, with a novel family of arylazopyrazole based molecular photoswitches possessing metal binding functionality. In Thrust 2, opto-active biomaterials will be designed and their interactions with cells will be studied to assess their capabilities of being extracellular matrix surrogates, through metrics such as degradation, growth factor release and adaptable/tunable mechanical properties. Fluorogenic protease-sensitive peptide (FPSP) sequences will be developed, and subsequently, the critical cross link density of FPSPs in polyurethane casts will be determined to visualize/quantify cellular proteolytic activity in real-time. Thrust 3, which focuses on opto-electronic materials, will investigate mixed halide perovskites and semiconductors. The proposed research on the development of mixed halide perovskites will include purification studies of commercial precursors, solution-based synthesis, solid-state mechano-chemical synthesis, and crystallization from the melt. Doping studies using rare earth and transition metal ions will be performed to explore improved long-term stability as well as extended emission wavelength coverage in the UV-VIS and IR spectral region. In addition, the research will focus on the characterization of silicon, compound semiconductors, and mixed halide perovskite materials for optofluidic applications. The study aims to determine the optical properties (emission, absorption, transparency, etc.), mechanical properties to support microfluidic fabrication processes, and the electrical properties for circuitry and heterogeneous interfacing of materials. Lastly, research will be conducted to explore how the identities (science, racial and gender) of minority materials science undergraduates and their participation in PREM impact their recruitment, retention and achievement in materials science.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.