IGERT: Interdisciplinary Materials Program to Accelerate the Transition from Student to Scientist

这个综合研究生教育和研究培训（IGERT）计划提供了一个全国独特的，全面的一揽子新的和经过测试的方法，在材料化学和物理研究生教育。 它旨在为下一代研究生准备日益跨学科和快速发展的研究和发展竞技场的挑战。 该IGERT计划的研究和教育活动通过研究日益重要的材料类别中的结构/性能关系来统一，这些材料具有由位于散装材料和分子物种之间的临界长度尺度主导的性能。 三个既定的研究重点旨在开发和理解此类材料：（1）纳米层压材料和功能梯度材料的合成和性能;（2）电子和光学介观和纳米结构的制备和研究;（3）分子工程组装和材料的设计和研究。 这些正在进行的研究课题中的每一个都为跨学科的研究生培训提供了出色的机会，因为短尺度系统的化学，物理和工程紧密交织在一起。来自俄勒冈州大学、俄勒冈州州立大学、太平洋西北国家实验室、波特兰州立大学和一系列其他工业和学术合作伙伴的学生和科学家组成的多元化团体聚集在一起，努力加强研究生培训和材料研究。 穿插在研究生课程中的五个关键计划要素旨在加速从学生到科学家的转变。 其中包括暑期沉浸式课程，参与机构的化学和物理实验室轮换，IGERT学员与MBA和法律学生合作的技术企业家研究员计划，定期研究研讨会以及工业，学术界或国家实验室的实习。 这些程序元素旨在通过培训学生在基于小组的问题解决，帮助学生获得技术和时间管理技能，并挑战他们完成与研究重点领域相关的项目，加速从被动学习者到科学家的转变。 上述计划要素预计将减少获得学位的时间，通过与参与机构的合作扩大研究机会，并加强对优秀学生的招聘，包括科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体成员。该计划建立的联系将对太平洋西北地区产生重大影响，特别是通过教育与其高科技产业高度集中的劳动力。形成的研究和教育合作将加强科学基础，以建立在全州俄勒冈州纳米科学和微技术研究所的框架内，学术和工业合作伙伴可以使用的纳米科学基础设施。IGERT教育计划与其他NSF计划（如GK-12和REU）相结合。 IGERT是一个NSF范围内的计划，旨在满足教育美国博士的挑战。具有跨学科背景的科学家和工程师，在所选学科的深厚知识，以及未来职业需求所需的技术，专业和个人技能。该计划旨在通过建立创新的研究生教育和培训新模式，在超越传统学科界限的合作研究的肥沃环境中促进研究生教育的文化变革。

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program offers a nationally unique, comprehensive package of new and tested approaches to graduate education in materials chemistry and physics. It is designed to prepare the next generation of graduate students for the challenges of an increasingly interdisciplinary and rapidly evolving research and development arena. The research and education activities of this IGERT program are unified by the study of structure/property relations in the increasingly important class of materials that have properties dominated by critical length scales that lie between those of bulk materials and molecular species. Three established research thrusts are aimed at developing and understanding such materials: (1) the synthesis and properties of nanolaminates and functionally graded materials; (2) the preparation and study of electronic and optical meso- and nano- structures; and (3) the design and investigation of molecularly engineered assemblies and materials. Each of these on-going research topics provides outstanding opportunities for interdisciplinary graduate training because the chemistry, physics, and engineering of short length scale systems are closely intertwined. A diverse group of students and scientists from the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Portland State University and a range of other industrial and academic partners are brought together in an effort to enhance graduate training and materials research. Five key program elements interspersed in the graduate program are designed to accelerate the transition from student to scientist. These include summer immersion programs, laboratory rotations in chemistry and physics at the participating institutions, a Technology Entrepreneur Fellows program teaming IGERT trainees with MBA and law students, regular research thrust seminars, and internships in industry, academia, or a national laboratory. These program elements are designed to accelerate the transition from passive learner to scientist by training students in group-based problem solving, helping students acquire technical and time management skills and challenging them to complete a project related to a research thrust area. The program elements described above are expected to decrease time to degree, expand research opportunities through collaborations with the participating institutions, and enhance recruitment of excellent students including members of groups underrepresented in science and engineering. The connections established by the program will have a substantial impact on the Pacific Northwest region in particular, through the education of a workforce commensurate with its large concentration of high-technology industry. The research and education collaborations formed will strengthen the scientific basis to build nanoscience infrastructure accessible to academic and industrial partners within the framework of the statewide Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute. The IGERT educational program is integrated with other NSF program such as GK-12 and REU. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.