Equipment: MRI: Track #1 Acquisition of a Differential Scanning Calorimeter to Support Modern Materials Research and Teaching at Western Washington University

非技术概述这一重大研究仪器项目为购买西华盛顿大学的差示扫描量热仪(DSC)提供了资金。DSC是一种基于进出样品的热量随时间和温度的变化来分析材料热转变的技术。这些数据可以很容易地转化为材料的基本性质，因此它是材料研究的重要工具。DSC和其他先进仪器由先进材料科学和工程中心(AMSEC)管理的WWU仪器群内维护，AMSEC为广泛领域的研究人员提供核心资源，包括聚合物合成、聚合物和复合材料工程、材料化学、生物化学、生物材料科学和环境科学。DSC还将在本科生STEM课程中广泛使用，并支持实践中的本科生研究。该仪器将作为WWU的重要资源，支持10多个研究项目的热表征，并成为多样化教育环境的组成部分。DSC还支持与工业合作伙伴的应用研究，以提高制造商的国际竞争力，并加快能源和可持续发展等关键领域的材料开发。技术综述差示扫描量热仪(DSC)是一种基本的表征方法，用于测量各种材料的玻璃化转变、结晶、熔化、材料热稳定性、反应和相变动力学以及氧化/热稳定性等热转变。与老式仪器相比，新的DSC提供了更多可重复性的数据、更高的信噪比和保真度、更高的分辨率和灵敏度，以及高达三倍的样品吞吐量。在用途方面，最大的需求来自以下研究领域：聚合物科学和工程、材料表征、纳米材料和化学合成以及环境科学。将立即使用DSC的具体研究项目包括玻璃体和共价自适应网络材料开发、新型聚合物和树脂的化学合成、航空航天复合材料的表征(热塑性和热固性材料)、材料回收和可持续性努力、生物医学材料应用、具有纳米复合材料的半导体材料开发、添加剂制造材料开发，以及微塑料的环境命运和处置。该奖项通过支持基础材料研究以及符合国家利益的应用工业研究来强化NSF的使命，并为研究人员和实验班的本科生提供实践研究培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY This major research instrumentation project funds the acquisition of a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at Western Washington University. DSC is a technique for analysis of thermal transitions in materials based on changes in heat into and out of samples as a function of time and temperature. The data can be readily translated into fundamental properties of materials, and thus it is a vital tool for materials research. The DSC and other advanced instruments are maintained within the WWU instrumentation cluster managed by the Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Center (AMSEC) which provides core resources for investigators in a wide range of fields, including polymer synthesis, polymer and composites engineering, materials chemistry, biochemistry, biomaterial science, and environmental science. The DSC will also find widespread use in the undergraduate STEM curriculum and to support hands-on undergraduate research. This instrument will serve as a critical resource at WWU, enabling thermal characterization in support of more than 10 research programs, as well as becoming an integral part of a diverse educational environment. The DSC also supports applied research with industrial partners that promotes international competitiveness for manufacturers and speeds development of materials in critical areas such as energy and sustainability. TECHNICAL SUMMARYDifferential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a fundamental characterization method used to measure thermal transitions such as glass transitions, crystallization, melting, material thermal stability, reaction and phase-change kinetics, and oxidative/thermal stability of a wide spectrum of materials. Compared to older instruments, the new DSC delivers more reproducible data, with improved signal-to-noise ratio and fidelity, with enhanced resolution and sensitivity, and with increased sample throughput of up to a factor of three. In terms of usage, the greatest demand comes from the following fields of research: polymer science and engineering, materials characterization, nanomaterial and chemical synthesis, and environmental science. Specific research projects that will immediately use the DSC include vitrimer and covalent adaptive network materials development, chemical synthesis of novel polymers and resins, aerospace composites characterization (both thermoplastic and thermoset materials), materials recycling and sustainability efforts, biomedical materials applications, semiconductor materials with nanocomposites development, materials development for additive manufacturing, and environmental fate and disposition of micro-plastics. This award reinforces the mission of the NSF by supporting fundamental materials research as well as applied industrial research in the national interest, and it provides hands-on research training for researchers and for undergraduates in lab classes.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.