SPECIALIZED MATERIALS SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER

该中心的目的是进行研究和开发新材料， 在牙科和健康科学中使用多学科 牙科材料科学家、材料工程师 科学家和生物科学家。研究将集中在四个方面 主要领域：（1）用于口腔颌面部外的新型弹性体 修复体和永久性软质全口义齿衬垫，（2）新型刚性 用于牙齿修复应用的聚合物-陶瓷复合材料 长期耐磨性和体外方法来模拟和评估 这些复合材料在口腔环境中的老化，（3）高级陶瓷 用于美观的牙冠和牙桥，主要增加韧性， 抗断裂性，和（4）有效的体外和动物试验，以预测 牙科材料的短期和长期生物相容性 应用范围从植入物到修复材料。研究 该中心的项目将由五名教师从指导 牙科生物材料领域，4名来自材料科学与工程 一个来自实验口腔病理学，四个来自口腔生物学。 这些教师将协助研究人员，博士后 研究人员和研究生研究助理，因此该中心将 作为未来生物材料主要研究人员的培训领域。 中心将由主任和联合主任管理， 内部审查委员会的建议，具有广泛的科学和 工业前景。该中心将作为 生物材料在大学以及国内和国际 作为与研究生课程，研讨会， 会议，以及访问教授和学者计划。

The Center is designed to conduct research and develop new materials for use in dentistry and the health sciences using a multidisciplinary approach by dental materials scientists, materials engineering scientists, and biological scientists. The research will focus on four main areas: (1) novel elastomers to be used for extra oral maxillofacial prostheses and permanently soft complete denture liners, (2) new rigid polymer-ceramic composites for tooth restorative applications having long term wear resistance and in vitro methods to simulate and evaluate the aging of these composites in the oral environment, (3) advanced ceramics for esthetic crowns and bridges with major increases in toughness and fracture resistance, and (4) valid in vitro and animal tests to predict the short and long term biocompatibility of dental materials used for applications ranging from implants to restorative materials. The research projects of the Center will be directed by five faculty members from the dental biomaterials area, four from the materials science and engineering area, one from experimental oral pathology and four from oral biology. These faculty will be assisted by research staff, postdoctoral researchers and graduate research assistants and thus the Center will serve as a training area for future primary researchers in biomaterials. The Center will be administered by the Director and Co-Director with advice from an Internal Review Board having a broad scientific and industrial perspective. The Center will serve as the focus of biomaterials at the University as well as nationally and internationally as a result of interactions with graduate programs, seminars, conferences, and visiting professor and scholar programs.