REU Site: Nanoscale Science and Engineering at Vanderbilt University

REU 站点：范德比尔特大学纳米科学与工程

• 批准号: 2244050
• 负责人: Joshua Caldwell
• 金额: $ 51.66万
• 依托单位: Vanderbilt University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-04-01 至 2026-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2244050&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Nanoscale; Science; Engineering

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site that offers science and engineering undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with faculty on forefront research projects in the field of nanoscale science and engineering. The overarching theme of the research projects are nanomaterials growth, innovation, fabrication, and characterization. The projects are designed and chosen to build a sense of community among the students and the participating faculty and to expose the REU students broadly to research at the cutting edge of nanoscale science and engineering. The students are offered training opportunities in the integration of research with education and outreach through the Vanderbilt Summer Academy for high school students. Additionally, to facilitate the continued mentoring of the REU students after the research experience is completed and enhance the probability of the students continuing in STEM research, 'home mentors' are invited to visit Vanderbilt to participate in the capstone events and VINSE REU alumni will be invited to meet and talk with the students about their experiences and how this led to their careers in STEM fields. Historical data shows that students have a heightened desire for graduate studies, with 97% remaining in STEM and 72% entering graduate school at institutions beyond their undergraduate institution, ensuring students obtain the richest experience. Long term, the REU site contributes to building a workforce educated in and motivated towards STEM disciplines and specifically, interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The program places strong emphasis on recruiting students from underrepresented minority groups and schools with limited research opportunities; the REU program and the VINSE faculty have collaborators at several institutions, including nearby HBCU Fisk University that are committed to helping us identify potential REU students. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The promise of nanoscience and nanotechnology to revolutionize our lives in multiple ways has captured the imagination of scientists, the attention of the media, and the general public. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are based on the ability to synthesize, organize, characterize, and manipulate matter systematically and precisely at the nanoscale, creating uniquely functional materials that can be inorganic, organic or biological, or a hybrid of any two or more of these. Thus, nanoscience and nanotechnology pose formidable challenges that cut across traditionally distinct disciplines; to meet these challenges, interdisciplinary training of future scientists and engineers in the broad field of nanotechnology is of paramount importance. This is especially pertinent in light of the recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act. To achieve this goal the VINSE summer REU site offers STEM undergraduates the opportunity to work closely with faculty on state-of-the-art research projects in the field of nanoscale science and engineering. VINSE faculty provide REU students with a true interdisciplinary research experience in an environment where physicists, chemists, biologists, and engineers of all disciplines collaboratively solve problems and create new scientific understanding.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.

非技术描述：范德比尔特纳米科学与工程研究所 (VINSE) 将主办本科生研究体验 (REU) 网站，为科学与工程本科生提供与教师在纳米科学与工程领域前沿研究项目密切合作的机会。研究项目的首要主题是纳米材料的生长、创新、制造和表征。这些项目的设计和选择是为了在学生和参与的教师之间建立一种社区意识，并使 REU 学生广泛接触纳米科学和工程的前沿研究。通过范德比尔特暑期学院为高中生提供研究与教育和推广相结合的培训机会。此外，为了促进REU学生在研究经历完成后继续接受指导，并提高学生继续从事STEM研究的可能性，“家庭导师”将被邀请访问范德比尔特大学参加顶点活动，VINSE REU校友将被邀请与学生会面并谈论他们的经历以及这如何引导他们在STEM领域的职业生涯。历史数据显示，学生对研究生学习的渴望不断增强，97%的学生继续学习STEM，72%的学生进入本科院校以外的院校攻读研究生，确保学生获得最丰富的经历。从长远来看，REU 网站有助于培养一支受过 STEM 学科教育和激励的劳动力队伍，特别是纳米科学和纳米技术的跨学科研究。该计划非常重视从代表性不足的少数群体和研究机会有限的学校招收学生； REU 项目和 VINSE 教师在多个机构都有合作者，包括附近的 HBCU Fisk 大学，致力于帮助我们识别潜在的 REU 学生。技术描述：纳米科学和纳米技术有望以多种方式彻底改变我们的生活，吸引了科学家的想象力、媒体和公众的关注。纳米科学和纳米技术基于在纳米尺度上系统地、精确地合成、组织、表征和操纵物质的能力，创造出独特的功能材料，可以是无机、有机或生物材料，或其中任何两种或多种的混合体。因此，纳米科学和纳米技术提出了跨越传统不同学科的巨大挑战。为了应对这些挑战，对未来科学家和工程师在纳米技术广泛领域进行跨学科培训至关重要。鉴于最近通过的《芯片和科学法案》，这一点尤其重要。为了实现这一目标，VINSE 夏季 REU 网站为 STEM 本科生提供了与教师密切合作开展纳米科学与工程领域最先进研究项目的机会。 VINSE 教师为 REU 学生提供真正的跨学科研究经验，在这个环境中，物理学家、化学家、生物学家和各学科的工程师共同解决问题并创造新的科学理解。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。