IRES Track I: RUI: Involving US undergraduates in interdisciplinary research at specialized EU nanotechnology and glass science sites on development of novel amorphous materials

每年，6名美国IRES本科生将参加田纳西州克拉克斯维尔的奥斯汀佩伊州立大学与非晶态材料的开发、性能和应用相关的研究和培训项目。学员将从APSU物理、工程物理、化学、生物和地质专业的全日制学生中挑选出来。这一学生机会将在法国、捷克和波兰的公认欧洲大学进行为期七周的暑期研究体验。非晶态材料是从激光和光纤到航空航天和汽车工业等领域未来进步的关键。基于这些材料的设备可以在构成我们现代电信基础设施的主干的硬件中找到，包括互联网。它们被用于许多先进的STEM领域，包括线性和非线性红外光学和光子学、化学和生物传感、相变存储器件、纳米光刻以及纳米和生物工程。对材料科学和技术领域的职业感兴趣的美国本科生将在拥有世界级专业知识的教职员工的指导下接受全面的理论和实验培训。像这样的高级专业准备对像APSU这样的公立本科大学的学生来说至关重要。这些国际合作将产生联合出版物和会议报告。此外，受训人员将有新的文化和社会体验，因为他们与东道国机构的国际学生群体进行了互动。将大力鼓励来自少数群体和代表性不足群体的学生、第一代学生和低收入学生以及与军队有关联的学生(占APSU学生总数的近25%)参加。该项目对田纳西州中部的STEM教育的推广和推广也至关重要。它将支持APSU多样化的知识和研究环境，并将有助于培养面向全球和创新的未来科学家、工程师和教育工作者。该项目资助了一项国际跨学科本科暑期研究计划，重点是由APSU的一群不同的学生与三所欧洲机构(法国雷恩大学、捷克共和国帕杜比斯大学和波兰Rzeszow大学)的合作者合作开发新型非晶态材料；每个研究小组都专门从事玻璃科学和技术的不同方面。这些小组结合在一起，涵盖了整个材料研究和开发周期，从合成开始，然后是表征，最后是应用。该项目将扩大目前APSU和这些欧洲机构之间的长期国际科学合作。学生的研究将包括高级主题，如纳米颗粒掺杂的非晶态材料的新功能，非晶态薄膜的纳米结构，生物玻璃的优化，以及对非晶态固体分子结构的纳米级洞察。硫化物玻璃的纳米工程特别耐人寻味，可能会使混合材料的设计在一个功能介质中结合两种或两种以上有用的特性。本科生将在建模、合成、宏观和纳米尺度表征以及用于尖端应用的新型非晶态材料的结构和功能修改方面培养创新的研究技能。这项工作的结果将影响新型非晶态材料以及新型杂化纳米改性介质在光子学、电子学甚至量子计算中的应用。这些努力将有助于更深入地了解非晶态固体中的纳米级现象。这一奖项反映了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。

Every year, six U.S. undergraduate IRES trainees will participate in research and training programs at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, related to the development, properties and application of amorphous materials. Trainees will be chosen from the full-time students in the Physics, Engineering Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology programs at APSU. This student opportunity will culminate in a seven week summer research experience at recognized European universities in France, Czech Republic and Poland. Amorphous materials are key to future advancements in fields from lasers and fiber optics to the aerospace and automobile industries. Devices based on these materials can be found in the hardware that forms the backbone of our modern telecommunication infrastructure, including the internet. They are used in numerous advanced STEM areas including linear and non-linear infrared optics and photonics, chemical and bio-sensing, phase-change memory devices, nanolithography, and nano- and bio-engineering. US undergraduate students interested in careers in the science and technology of materials will acquire comprehensive theoretical and experimental training under faculty and staff with world-class expertise. Advanced professional preparation such as this is critical for students at public primarily undergraduate universities like APSU. These international collaborations will result in joint publications and conference presentations. Additionally, trainees will have new cultural and social experiences because of the interaction with the international student population at the host institutions. Students from minority and underrepresented groups, first generation and low-income students, as well as military-affiliated students (near 25% of the APSU student body) will be strongly encouraged to participate. The project is also of vital importance to the outreach and promotion of STEM education in Middle Tennessee. It will support the diverse intellectual and research environment at APSU and will help to train globally oriented and innovative future scientists, engineers, and educators. The Project funds an international interdisciplinary undergraduate summer research program focused on development of novel amorphous materials by a diverse group of APSU students in partnership with collaborators at three European institutions (University of Rennes I, France; University of Pardubice, Czech Republic; University of Rzeszow, Poland); each research group specializing in a distinct aspect of glass science and technology. These groups, when taken together, cover the complete material research and development cycle, starting with synthesis, followed by characterization, and ending with application. The project will expand upon the current long-term international scientific collaboration between APSU and these European institutions. The students' research will include advanced topics such as new functionality of amorphous materials doped with nanoparticles, nanostructuring of amorphous thin films, optimization of bioglasses, and developing a nanoscale insight into the molecular structure of amorphous solids. Nano-engineering of chalcogenide glasses is especially intriguing and may allow for the design of hybrid materials combining two or more useful properties in one functional medium. Undergraduate students will develop innovative research skills in modeling, synthesis, macro- and nanoscale characterization, and structural and functional modification of novel amorphous materials for cutting-edge applications. Results from this work will impact the development of novel amorphous materials as well as new hybrid nano-modified media for applications in photonics, electronics, even quantum computing. These efforts will contribute to deeper understanding of nanoscale phenomena in amorphous solids.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.