MsRI-EW: Enabling Transformative Advances in Materials Engineering through Development of Novel Approaches to Electron Microscopy

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The project supports a workshop bringing together experts from the engineering, materials science, and data science communities to identify electron microscopy (EM) infrastructure needs for advancing materials engineering across a broad range of technological applications including construction, manufacturing, catalysis, structures, communication, energy conversion/storage, and biomedical devices. The workshop will 1) summarize the state of the art in current and near-future instrumentation for electron microscope imaging, spectroscopy, and diffraction characterization of materials, 2) elucidate key science drivers in the areas of catalysis and separations, quantum technology, data science, and the human/machine interface, and 3) identify optimal project management practices facilitating instrumentation and related infrastructure enabling transformative discoveries of engineered materials. The workshop will be held virtually in August of 2020 and will include 80-100 participants representing academic institutions, industry, and national laboratories. The workshop participants will include a diverse group of attendees representing expertise in materials science and engineering, microscopy, instrumentation, data science, and research project management. Materials have evolved to play a critical and ubiquitous role in science and engineering. Many aspects of interfacial effects in materials-related technologies such as catalysis, separations, energy storage/conversion, environmental technologies, optoelectronic devices, communication, and quantum systems remain unknown or poorly understood. Extreme conditions, weak interactions or rapid dynamics present overwhelming challenges to interfacial structure characterization with current instrumentation – not only in resolution and sensitivity, but also in data acquisition and analysis. Such limitations present roadblocks to addressing fundamental knowledge gaps that may be addressed through advanced nanoscale and atomic resolution probing of materials. Electron microscopy (EM) imaging, spectroscopy and diffraction – when effectively integrated - provide a primary tool for probing materials structures and properties at the nanometer and atomic level. Tremendous advances have taken place over the last ten years that have strengthened our ability to probe materials structure, chemistry, and function at the sub-Angstrom level. Nevertheless, continuous improvements in EM instruments, data acquisition and analysis, and supporting facilities are needed to address the knowledge gaps that currently limit further advances in materials engineering. To this end, the workshop will 1) conceive novel approaches to microscopy infrastructure, 2) establish a framework for on-going interactions between microscopists, detector/data science experts, and the engineering and materials science research communities to develop and promote strategic long-term EM infrastructure goals, 3) nucleate collaborative teams capable of developing and exploiting advanced EM infrastructure towards critical materials engineering needs, 4) provide guidance to funding agencies for supporting excellence and leadership in electron microscopy infrastructure, and 5) cultivate an EM community that promotes broader participation of females and other underrepresented groups in the materials science and engineering research communities.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.