NSEC on Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale

威斯康星州大学纳米科学与工程中心（UW NSEC）通过使用自组装，化学图案化和外部场来解决与纳米材料定向组装成功能系统和架构相关的重大挑战。 为了实现这一使命，NSEC包括跨学科的研究团队，以1）探索和开发用于先进光刻的新材料和工艺，其中自组装嵌段共聚物被定向采用提高纳米制造工艺性能的形态，2）通过合成生物启发的有机纳米结构探索纳米级的定向组装，其中功能性侧链显示独特的有序性，在序列沿着一个骨干和三维安排在空间方面，和3）探索和利用非平衡过程，包括使用外部领域，操纵组装纳米级物体，包括粒子和大分子在简单和复杂的流体。 NSEC的结果？的变革和跨学科的活动是革命性的纳米制造和新材料和材料结构的发现和控制。NSEC的应用实例？的基础研究包括用于数据存储的位图案化介质，用于半导体工业的潜在制造技术，以跟上摩尔？s定律，具有抗真菌特性的新材料，用于整个基因的高通量分析的光学映射平台的开发，以及用于毒物和生物分子的基于液晶等离子体的传感器的开发。UW NSEC研究团队还积极参与1）调查工程纳米颗粒的生物效应和环境命运，特别强调了解表面化学如何影响斑马鱼胚胎模型中的吸收和生物活性，并受到环境风化的影响，以及2）关于传播效应和公众舆论的基础研究，这将有助于我们建立一个深入的，对非专业观众理解互联网上复杂信息的心理过程的经验性理解。 共享设施支持这些努力，并为来自学术界和工业界的内部和外部用户提供最先进的基础设施。 研究计划和相关调查人员的广度和范围为与公司，特别是半导体行业和支持NSEC的UW先进材料工业联盟的成员进行广泛的互动奠定了基础。 最后，NSEC经营着一个雄心勃勃的和独特的教育和推广计划，旨在培养下一代具有不同和跨学科背景的纳米科学和工程专家。主要项目包括本科生的研究经验，教师的研究经验，NSEC奖学金计划，与五大洲合作的研究生国际研究计划，SCI ENCountErs，一个非常成功的试点课后计划，涉及戴恩县的男孩和女孩俱乐部，主要是来自代表性不足的群体的中学生，通过创新的实践科学活动，并与盲人独立实验室项目建立伙伴关系，以增加盲人和视力受损者获得科学职业的机会。

The University of Wisconsin Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (UW NSEC) addresses grand challenges associated with directed assembly of nanoscale materials into functional systems and architectures through the use of self-assembly, chemical patterning, and external fields. To realize that mission, the NSEC includes interdisciplinary research teams to 1) explore and develop new materials and processes for advanced lithography in which self-assembling block copolymers are directed to adopt morphologies that advance the performance of nanomanufacturing processes, 2) explore directed assembly at the nanoscale through the synthesis of biologically-inspired organic nanostructures in which functional side-chains display unique ordering, in terms of both sequence along a backbone and three-dimensional arrangement in space, and 3) explore and harness non-equilibrium processes, including the use of external fields, to manipulate the assemble nanoscale objects, including particles and macromolecules in simple and complex fluids. The outcomes of the NSEC?s transformative and interdisciplinary activities are to revolutionize nanomanufacturing and the discovery and control of new materials and material architectures. Examples of applications of the NSEC?s fundamental research include bit patterned media for data storage, potential manufacturing techniques for the semiconductor industry to keep pace with Moore?s Law, new materials with antifungal properties, development of optical mapping platforms for high-throughput analysis of entire genes, and development of liquid-crystal plasmonic based sensors for toxicants and biomolecules. UW NSEC research teams are also proactively engaged in 1) investigating the biological effects and environmental fate of engineered nanoparticles, with a particular emphasis on understanding how surface chemistry impacts uptake and biological activity in a zebrafish embryo model and is influenced by environmental weathering, and 2) basic research on communication effects and public opinion that will help us build an in-depth, empirical understanding of the psychological processes through which lay audiences make sense of complex information conveyed through the Internet. Shared facilities support these efforts as well as provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for internal and external users from academia and industry alike. The breadth and scope of the research programs and associated investigators provide the foundation for extensive interactions with companies, particularly the semiconductor industry and members of the NSEC-enabled UW Advanced Materials Industrial Consortium. Finally, the NSEC operates an ambitious and unique education and outreach program aimed at cultivating the next generation of nanoscale science and engineering experts with diverse and interdisciplinary backgrounds. Key programs include research experiences for undergraduates, research experiences for teachers, an NSEC fellowship program, an international research program for graduate students with collaborators on five continents, SCI ENCountErs, a highly successful pilot after-school program involving the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County that excites predominantly middle school students from underrepresented groups with innovative hands-on science activities, and a partnership with the Independent Laboratory Access for the Blind project to increase access to scientific careers for those who are blind and visually impaired.