IRES Track 1: Sustainable Materials Development

可持续材料开发国际学生研究经验(IRES)旨在培养本科生和研究生在可持续材料开发和制造的环境、技术和立法方面的知识。该项目的总体目标是提高学生对材料生命周期的环境和社会影响的认识，同时让他们参与旨在改善和量化材料可持续性的具体研究活动。在为期三年的时间里，来自北卡罗来纳州立大学和北卡罗来纳中央大学的18名学生将在谢菲尔德大学度过10周，在多学科环境中进行指导性研究。学生的研究项目一般分为三个领域：i)低能量材料加工，ii)关键元素替代材料设计和iii)材料生命周期分析。在国际场合开展这些活动将为材料的可持续性提供广泛的全球背景，因为与这些问题相关的立法和研究环境可高度针对具体国家。该项目旨在培养具有全球意识并积极参与的学生，他们在可持续发展和环境影响的全球背景下思考材料科学、工程和制造。该项目将利用谢菲尔德大学替代与可持续发展(SUBST)中心独特的跨学科环境，该中心将把开发新材料合成和加工策略的跨学科科学家与材料制造生命周期分析(LCA)模型开发和应用的领导者聚集在一起。这些学生将由参与的美国和英国院校的教师共同指导，并将在三个技术领域开展研究：低能量材料加工(例如，通过冷烧结工艺实现陶瓷的近室温烧结)、关键元素替代材料设计(例如，开发用于能量收集和存储应用的无铅BaTiO3和BiFeO3基陶瓷)以及材料生命周期分析(例如，无铅压电体的混合生命周期分析)。为材料生命周期评价提供关键的输入数据，该计划将帮助评估新发现的材料和工艺的潜力，以提高关键电子陶瓷技术的可持续性。该项目由材料研究部(DMR/MPS)、多学科活动办公室(OMA/MPS)和OISE的交叉活动共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) in Sustainable Materials Development aims to educate undergraduate and graduate students in the environmental, technical and legislative aspects of sustainable materials development and manufacturing. The overall goal of the program is to increase students' awareness of the environmental and societal impacts of the materials lifecycle, while involving them in specific research activities aimed at improving and quantifying materials sustainability. Over a three-year period, eighteen students from North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University will spend ten weeks at The University of Sheffield conducting mentored research in a multidisciplinary environment. Student research projects will fall into three general areas: i) Low-energy Materials Processing, ii) Design of Materials for Critical Element Substitution and iii) Materials Lifecycle Analysis. Pursing these activities in an international venue will provide a broad, global context for materials sustainability, as the legislative and research environments associated with these issues can be highly country-specific. The program intends to develop globally aware and engaged students, who think about materials science, engineering and manufacturing within the global context of sustainability and environmental impact.The program will leverage the unique interdisciplinary environment of the Substitution and Sustainability in Functional Materials and Devices (SUBST) center at the University of Sheffield, which brings together interdisciplinary scientists developing new materials synthesis and processing strategies alongside leaders in the development and application of life-cycle analysis (LCA) models for materials manufacturing. The students will be co-mentored by faculty within the participating US and UK institutions and will conduct research within three technical areas: Low-Energy Materials Processing (e.g. near-room temperature sintering of ceramics via cold-sintering processing), Design of Materials for Critical-Element Substitution (e.g. development of Pb-free BaTiO3- and BiFeO3 based ceramics for energy harvesting and storage applications), and Materials Lifecycle Analysis (e.g. hybrid life-cycle analysis of lead-free piezoelectrics). Providing critical input data for materials LCA, the program will help assess the potential of newly discovered materials and processes to improve the sustainability of key electronic-ceramic technologies.This project is co-funded by Cross-Cutting Activities in the Division of Materials Research (DMR/MPS), the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA/MPS), and OISE.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.