Acquisition of Scanning Probe Microscopy and Nanoindentation Instrumentation for Nanomaterials and Biomaterials Research and Education

这笔赠款用于购买扫描探针显微镜(SPM)和纳米压痕设备。主要研究人员在纳米材料、生物材料、纳米复合材料和多尺度建模领域有几个研究项目，这些项目将从设备中受益。例如，五家私人投资机构与梅奥诊所的研究人员合作，组成了一个生物材料研究合作团队，利用专利快速成型技术探索组织工程应用，收购SPM和纳米压痕系统将在这项研究工作中发挥作用。获得SPM能力还将增强本科生和研究生的教育体验。该仪器将在私人投资促进机构教授的几门课程中用于演示目的，并在“纳米技术和纳米材料基础”课程和“生物材料：生物医学应用材料”课程中作为实践学习工具。这对学生将新奇和尖端的研究引入教育体验将是非常有益的。该仪器还将在几门研究生课程中使用，包括由合作PIS教授的“复合材料、生物力学和组织工程学”。此外，该团队正在积极努力在南洋理工大学建立一个生物医学工程项目。将向该区域的工业提供材料表征和纳米机械测试仪器的使用。PIS机构提供了一个专用的实验室空间，将在那里放置仪器。

This grant is for acquisition of a scanning probe microscope (SPM) and nano-indentation equipment. The principal investigators have several research projects in the areas of nanomaterials, biomaterials, nanocomposites and multiscale modeling that will benefit from the equipment. For example, the five PIs have formed a collaborative team for biomaterials research in collaboration with Mayo Clinic researchers to pursue tissue engineering applications using patented rapid prototyping technology and the acquisition of the SPM and nanoindentation system will be useful in this research effort. Acquisition of SPM capabilities will also enhance the educational experience of undergraduate and graduate students. The instrument will be used for demonstrative purposes in several courses taught by the PIs and as a hands-on learning tool in the "Fundamentals of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials" course and in the "Biomaterials: Materials for Biomedical Applications" course. It will be extremely beneficial for students in introducing novel and cutting edge research into the educational experience. This instrument will also be used in several graduate courses including "Composites, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering" taught by the co-PIs. In addition the team is actively working to establish a program in biomedical engineering at NDSU. Use of the instruments for materials characterization and nanomechanical testing will be made available to industry in the region. The PIs institution has provided a dedicated laboratory space where the instrumentation will be housed.