HBCU-RISE: Enhancement of Research Infrastructure for Advanced Functional Materials for Biotechnology Applications

传统黑人学院和大学-科学和工程研究基础设施（HBCU-RISE）计划支持传统黑人学院和大学的研究能力发展，提供科学和工程学科的博士学位。支持的项目在美国国家科学基金会支持的研究领域中有一个统一的研究重点，与主办部门的长期计划，机构战略计划和使命，扩大机构研究能力的计划直接联系，以及增加博士生的生产，特别是那些在科学，技术，工程和数学方面代表性不足的博士生。在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，田纳西州立大学将开展一项名为“加强生物技术应用的先进功能材料的研究基础设施”的项目。该项目的愿景是将田纳西州立大学定位为生物技术应用的先进功能材料多学科领域的领导者。由天然产物制成的先进材料有可能为生物相容性、生物降解性和环境问题提供新的解决方案，如食品保护、时间控释药物、靶向农药输送、生物激励土壤改良和自密封结构。此外，结合传统的合成聚合物，如铁电聚合物和可生物降解聚合物，可以通过设计实现新的和独特的功能材料，用于感官和设备的开发。该项目的研究部分包括五个多学科的重点：(a)静电纺单聚合物纤维和组装的二维和三维介观结构的功能的制造和表征；(b)基于聚偏氟乙烯纳米材料的压电声质量传感装置的研制；(c)使用天然聚合物基电喷涂增强功能材料；(d)利用农业副产品生产聚羟基丁酸酯聚合物；(e)开发仿生智能基础设施材料。该项目利用现有资源，为田纳西州立大学的学生提供参与高影响力研究的新途径。该项目将扩大现有博士项目的范围，使来自更广泛学科的学生能够获得这些项目，并将该项目转变为一个更全面的多学科研究项目，使学生为竞争日益激烈的国内和国际研究环境做好准备。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE) program supports the development of research capability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities that offer doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines. Supported projects have a unifying research focus in one of the research areas supported by the National Science Foundation, a direct connection to the long-term plans of the host department, institutional strategic plan and mission, and plans for expanding institutional research capacity, as well as increasing the production of doctoral students, especially those underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With National Science Foundation support, Tennessee State University will conduct a project entitled "Enhancement of Research Infrastructure for Advanced Functional Materials for Biotechnology Applications". The vision of this project is to position Tennessee State University as a leader in the multidisciplinary field of advanced functional materials for biotechnology applications.Advanced materials fabricated from natural products have the potential for providing novel solutions pertaining to biocompatibility, biodegradability, and environmental issues, such as food protection, time-controlled release drugs, targeted pesticide delivery, bio-inspired soil improvements, and self-sealing structures. Further, with the combination of traditional synthetic polymers, such as ferroelectric and biodegradable polymers, new and unique functional materials by design can be realized for sensory and device development. The research component of this project consists of five multidisciplinary thrusts: (a) fabrication and characterization of the functionality of electrospun single polymer fibers and assembled 2D and 3D meso-structures; (b) development of piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride nanomaterial-based acoustic mass sensing devices; (c) enhancement of functional materials using natural polymer based electrospraying; (d) production of polyhydroxybutyrate polymers from agricultural byproducts; and (e) development of bio-inspired smart infrastructure materials.This project leverages existing resources to provide new pathways for Tennessee State University students to participate in high impact research. The project will broaden the scope of existing doctoral programs, making them accessible to students from a wider range of disciplines, and transform the program into a more comprehensive multidisciplinary research program that will prepare students for an increasingly competitive domestic and international research environment.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.