NCCU-PSU Partnership for Research and Education in Nanoscale Materials

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North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is a historically black, primarily undergraduate institution with a 70% female and 80% underrepresented minority student population. This Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) between NCCU and Penn State Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) seeks to advance materials research and strengthen the pipeline for the advancement of women and underrepresented minorities in materials science and related disciplines at NCCU by leveraging expertise and resources available through the Penn State Center for Nanoscale Science. This project will engage 10 undergraduate and 5 graduate students per year in highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary research on advanced nanoscale materials. Selected students will also participate in a summer research experience at Penn State with combined peer mentoring focused on overcoming barriers to graduate study encountered by minority students. Increased recruitment, curricular enhancement, peer tutoring, career guidance and professional development activities with extensive Penn State contributions will be offered to expand the pool of students engaged in materials research at NCCU and provide them with the academic, research and professional skills required for success in post-NCCU careers. A broad range of outreach activities, including summer research experiences for students and teachers, and development of home-based science activities in collaboration with science museums will be established to impact the local K-12 community. This project is partially supported with co-funding from the HBCU-UP program in the Division of Human Resource Development of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. The goal of this project is to increase understanding of the fundamental principles underlying the properties of heterogeneous nanoscale systems, and to engineer new materials with novel functionalities based on these insights. The partnership is organized around two research thrusts that leverage the resources at both institutions to extend the scope and depth of research beyond those accessible at either individual institution. Thrust 1 focuses on the synthesis of mixed-dimensional heterostructures integrating zero- and one-dimensional materials with two-dimensional (2D) materials, and characterization of charge transfer and enhanced chemical reactivity at the nanoscale interfaces in these systems. This research thrust addresses key scientific challenges including control of the physical and chemical properties of the constituent materials by tuning compositions and dimensionalities of component nanostructures, and large-area growth of novel 2D materials. Thrust 2 encompasses research into hybrid nanocomposites combining different classes of materials. This research thrust focuses on engineering strong light-matter coupling in semiconductor-metal systems to control carrier dynamics and long-range transport, the effects of compositional heterogeneities in organic-inorganic perovskite on charge transport, and control of the multiferroic properties of polymer-ceramic nanocomposites through matrix-nanoparticle interactions. Research from the two thrusts will broadly benefit the fields of optoelectronics, photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and sensors.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.