Participation Support for Students to Attend the 22nd American Conference on Crystal Growth and Epitaxy, Virtual, August 2-4, 2021

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This award provides participant support for attendees of the 22nd American Conference on Crystal Growth and Epitaxy to be held virtually from August 2-4, 2021. The symposium focuses on new research and development activities in bulk crystal and epitaxial thin film growth. The students and faculty present through oral and poster sessions their latest research results to the crystal growth and epitaxy, advanced manufacturing and broader engineering communities. Priority is given to student and young faculty participants who are women or who come from underrepresented minority groups. This approach promotes diverse participation at the conference, in the short term, and in STEM fields, in the long term. This award benefits the nation through the education of a skilled and diverse manufacturing workforce, which is better prepared to provide transformative solutions the challenges in their chosen fields. The conference plays an important role in supporting and sustaining the important field of crystal growth and epitaxy, which is an important component of semiconductor research. This conference is timely because of renewed interest in the revitalization of semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.This participant support is expected to benefit the students' professional, scientific and technical development. Attendance at the conference gives the students and faculty a broader view of crystal growth and thin film epitaxy, its fundamentals, advanced manufacturing, advanced characterization, and applications. Symposium topics include fundamentals of materials synthesis, crystal structure analysis, deposition and crystal growth techniques and processes, high throughput manufacturing, process modeling, monitoring and control, and specialized topics, such as 2D nanomaterials. Attendees will learn about state-of-the-art research in their technical areas via access to several technical and professional development talks by leading domestic and international speakers. Students and young faculty enhance their communication skills through oral and poster presentations and in-depth discussions of their work with peers in their technical areas. This interactive experience significantly broadens student education, increases their enthusiasm for their research topic, acquaints them with expectations for scientific careers, and exposes them to new approaches for innovative research.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.