REU Site: Creative Approaches to Materials Design and Processing

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。这个位于密苏里-哥伦比亚大学的REU网站专注于材料设计和加工，其独特之处在于它包括经过验证的、基于戏剧的创造力培训，这些培训与更传统的研究和专业发展活动的框架交织在一起。该计划旨在解决美国材料研究创新的迫切需求。创造力训练是培养科学家和工程师创新能力的必要和基本组成部分，但很少是传统课程的一部分。这个REU网站填补了材料设计和制造劳动力发展的关键空白，并解决了国家对能够解决复杂，相互关联问题的研究人员的需求。该网站有意通过全国招生来促进包容性，重点是非博士学位。-资助机构，支持弱势群体学生的机构，以及支持失聪/听障学生的机构。学生在团队中工作，并在他们选择的研究领域由附属教师共同指导。该项目利用现有的校园资源，包括专业发展培训，以及社会和学术支持。将这种围绕式编程与材料设计/加工和创造力培训的跨学科研究相结合，REU网站使本科生能够探索21世纪材料创新的新途径。技术总结材料设计和加工的创新需要对结构、成分、加工和性能之间的相互关系有基本的了解。由于其独特而复杂的结构-功能关系及其在对人类健康和安全至关重要的应用中的潜在用途，这对于先进功能材料尤其重要，这些材料通常是微或纳米结构，并通过自组装或复杂的制造工艺构建。这个位于密苏里大学哥伦比亚分校的REU站点专注于理解和预测微纳米结构材料在广泛应用中的关系，包括传感器、电池、反应堆和可植入设备。这些方法包括原子模拟、粗粒建模和材料设计/制造/表征技术。这项研究不仅旨在推进每个独特领域的科学，而且为学生提供在计算建模、材料科学设计、加工、表征和创造性思维方面独特的、可测量的技能。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Non-Technical SummaryThis REU Site at the University of Missouri-Columbia that focuses on materials design and processing is unique in that it includes proven, theatre-based creativity training interwoven into the framework of the more traditional research and professional development activities. This program is deliberately designed to address the urgent need for innovation in materials research in the United States. Creativity training is a necessary and fundamental component to building innovative capabilities in scientists and engineers but is rarely part of traditional curricula. This REU Site fills a critical gap in workforce development in materials design and manufacturing and addresses a national need for researchers who can solve complex, interconnected problems. The site purposefully promotes inclusivity through national recruitment of students, with an emphasis on non-Ph.D.-granting institutions, institutions that support under-represented minority students, and institutions that support deaf/hard-of-hearing students. Students work in teams and are co-mentored by affiliated faculty in the research area of their choice. The program leverages existing campus resources that include professional development training, and both social and academic support. Combining this wrap-around programming with interdisciplinary research in materials design/processing and creativity training, this REU Site enables undergraduate students to explore new avenues to materials innovation in the 21st century.Technical SummaryInnovation in materials design and processing requires a fundamental understanding of the interrelationships among structure, composition, processing, and properties. This is particularly critical for advanced functional materials, which are often micro- or nano-structured, and built through either self-assembly or complex fabrication processes, due to their unique and complex structure-function relationships, and their potential use in applications critical to human health and security. This REU Site at the University of Missouri-Columbia focuses on understanding and predicting these relationships for micro- and nano-structured materials across a wide spectrum of applications, including sensors, batteries, reactors, and implantable devices. The approaches include atomistic simulation, coarse-grain modeling, and materials design/fabrication/characterization techniques. This research intends to not only advance the science in each unique area, but provide students with unique, measurable skills in computational modeling, materials science design, processing, characterization, and creative thinking.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.