MRI: Acquisition of a Nanoindenter for Materials Science and Biomaterials Research

这项重大研究仪器（MRI）奖支持收购纳米压头，用于先进工程材料和生物材料的基础研究。 材料的机械性能与它们的功能密切相关。了解这些特性如何影响材料行为对于先进工程材料的设计和生物组织对疾病的反应都至关重要。 该仪器将能够对影响多个科学学科的材料进行定量力学表征，并提供对工程，建筑和生物材料的基本了解。 此外，有针对性的K-12教育推广活动将允许学生和教师参与实践实验并探索STEM职业。这些机会将影响阿肯色州三角洲的低社会经济地位社区。 该纳米压痕仪的获得将为定量测量材料的弹性模量、硬度、变形/磨损、疲劳强度和摩擦提供全面的纳米力学平台。 该工具的独特功能将影响以下研究项目：1）研究新型高强度核壳纳米结构中的强化机制和位错动力学作用; 2）评估受龋齿影响的牙齿的硬度，以了解病原体变形链球菌如何导致蛀牙; 3）生理条件下心血管组织的体外力学表征; 4）通过弹性模量、硬度和复合剪切模量的高分辨率空间映射来理解聚合物沥青粘合剂的纳米力学性质; 5）精密纳米制造研究，以改善通过薄膜去湿和脉冲电波产生产生的均匀性金属纳米图案化表面;和6）在蓝宝石上生长的III-V族半导体量子点威尔斯的界面应变测量。 这些项目共同代表了跨工程和生物科学的多学科研究合作。该项目由土木、机械和制造创新部（CMMI）、激励竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）和主要仪器研究计划（MRI）共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF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 Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of a nanoindenter for fundamental investigations of advanced engineering materials and biomaterials. The mechanical properties of materials are intricately linked to how they function. Understanding how these properties influence material behavior is critical for both the design of advanced engineered materials and the response of biological tissues to disease. This instrument will enable quantitative mechanical characterization of materials impacting several scientific disciplines and provide foundational understanding of engineering, construction, and biological materials. Additionally, targeted K-12 educational outreach activities will allow students and teachers to participate in hands-on experiments and explore STEM careers. These opportunities will impacting low socioeconomic status communities in the Arkansas Delta. This nanoindenter acquisition will provide a comprehensive nanomechanics platform for quantitatively measuring elastic modulus, hardness, deformation/wear, fatigue strength, and friction of materials. The unique capabilities of the tool will impact the following research projects: 1) Investigating strengthening mechanisms and the role dislocation dynamics in novel high-strength core-shell nanostructures; 2) Assessing the hardness of caries-affected teeth to understand how the pathogen Streptococcus mutans causes tooth decay; 3) in vitro mechanical characterization of cardiovascular tissues at physiological conditions; 4) Understanding the nanomechanistic properties of polymeric asphalt binders with high-resolution spatial mapping of elastic modulus, hardness, and complex shear modulus; 5) Precision nanomanufacturing research to improve the uniformity metallic nanopatterned surfaces produced by thin film dewetting and pulsed electric wave generation; and 6) interfacial strain measurements of III-V semiconductor quantum dot wells grown on sapphire. Together, these projects represent multi-disciplinary research collaborations across engineering and biological sciences. This project is jointly funded by the division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI), the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Major Instrumentation Research Program (MRI).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.