CAREER: Modeling Nanostructured Systems Outside of Equilibrium

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该职业奖支持与教育相结合的理论和计算研究，研究非平衡纳米结构系统，为本科生以及当前和未来的K-12科学教师提供教育活动。该研究计划通过建模、分析和跨多个尺度的模拟，解决了理解软和固体复杂系统中纳米模式自组装的基本挑战，特别是在应变半导体脱膜和嵌段共聚物薄膜中。总的研究目标是提高我们对复杂材料系统中纳米级相的非平衡和非线性动态过程的理解。研究将重点放在纳米制造的两个有前途的领域：应变薄膜外延，特别是控制表面/界面纳米结构和成分特征的机制；以及自组装嵌段共聚物薄膜，特别是在软模板纳米光刻中使用的纳米结构但有缺陷的共聚物模式中实现长程有序。所有这些理论成果将通过PI与实验组的合作与实验结果进行比较和联系。本职业建议的教育部分将整合PI？美国的研究专长在建模和仿真方面投入了教育和推广两大努力。第一项努力将通过提供跨学科研究机会，促进底特律地区K-12教师的科学教育。该项目将通过建立一对一的研究小组，为职前教师和有经验的在职教师之间的直接互动提供一个独特的机会。该项目的评估将基于教师课堂应用的效果和对他们的高中学生的影响，这些学生大多是代表性不足的少数民族。第二项努力将通过开发新的本科课程来加强韦恩州立大学的物理教育，目的是鼓励更多样化的学生学习物理。该职业奖支持与教育相结合的理论和计算研究，以研究材料在比人类头发小10万倍的尺度上生长和组织的过程。该研究将整合到本科学生以及当前和未来K-12科学教师的教育活动中。制造现代设备的主要挑战之一是原子和分子嵌入结构的生长或组装。这项研究解决了一个基本的挑战，即理解这些纳米结构如何？可以使用多种长度尺度的建模、分析和仿真组合自组装成复杂的系统。该研究计划将重点研究这些效应在半导体和由具有重复分子亚基的大链状分子制成的薄膜的自组装中，以及开发更有效的理论方法来在这些领域进行模拟。将理论与实验结果通过PI？S与实验小组合作。本职业建议的教育部分将整合PI？美国的研究专长在建模和仿真方面投入了教育和推广两大努力。第一项努力将通过提供跨学科研究机会，促进底特律地区K-12教师的科学教育。该项目将通过建立一对一的研究小组，为职前教师和有经验的在职教师之间的直接互动提供一个独特的机会。该项目的评估将基于教师课堂应用的效果和对他们的高中学生的影响，这些学生大多是代表性不足的少数民族。第二项努力将通过开发新的本科课程来加强韦恩州立大学的物理教育，目的是鼓励更多样化的学生学习物理。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).TECHNICAL SUMMARY This CAREER award supports theoretical and computational research integrated with education to study nonequilibrium nanostructured systems with educational activities for undergraduate students as well as for current and future K-12 science teachers. The research program addresses a fundamental challenge of understanding nanopattern self-assembly in both soft and solid complex systems, particularly in strained semiconductor epilayers and block copolymer thin films, through modeling, analysis, and simulation across multiple scales. The overall research goal is to improve our understanding of the nonequilibrium and nonlinear dynamic processes that occur in nanoscale phases in complex material systems. The research will emphasize two promising areas in nanofabrication: strained film epitaxy, particularly the mechanisms controlling properties of surface/interface nanostructures and compositional profiles; and self-assembling block copolymer thin films, particularly the achieving of long range order in nanostructured but defected copolymer patterns used in soft-template nanolithography. All of these theoretical efforts will be compared and connected with experimental results through the PI's collaboration with experimental groups. The educational component of this CAREER proposal will integrate the PI?s research expertise in modeling and simulation into educational and outreach efforts in two major efforts. The first effort will promote science education for K-12 teachers in the Detroit area by providing interdisciplinary research opportunities. This project will provide a unique opportunity for direct interaction between pre-service teachers and experienced in-service teachers through establishing one-to-one research subgroups. The evaluation of this project will be based on the effects of teachers' classroom applications and the impact on their high school students who are mostly underrepresented minorities. The second effort will enhance physics education at Wayne State University by developing new undergraduate curricula with the aim of encouraging a more diverse body of students to study physics. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARY This CAREER award supports theoretical and computational research integrated with education to study the process by which materials grow and organize themselves on length scales down to one hundred thousand times smaller than a human hair. The research will be integrated into educational activities for undergraduate students as well as for current and future K-12 science teachers. One of the major challenges in manufacturing of modern devices is the growth or assembly of embedded structures of atoms and molecules. This research addresses a fundamental challenge of understanding how these ?nanostructure? can self assemble into complex systems using a combination of modeling, analysis, and simulation across multiple length scales. The research plan will focus on study these effects in semiconductors and in the self-assembly of thin films made from large chain-like molecules with repeating molecular subunits, as well as developing more efficient theoretical approaches for carrying out simulations in these areas. Theory will be compared and connected with experimental results through the PI?s collaborations with experimental groups. The educational component of this CAREER proposal will integrate the PI?s research expertise in modeling and simulation into educational and outreach efforts in two major efforts. The first effort will promote science education for K-12 teachers in the Detroit area by providing interdisciplinary research opportunities. This project will provide a unique opportunity for direct interaction between pre-service teachers and experienced in-service teachers through establishing one-to-one research subgroups. The evaluation of this project will be based on the effects of teachers' classroom applications and the impact on their high school students who are mostly underrepresented minorities. The second effort will enhance physics education at Wayne State University by developing new undergraduate curricula with the aim of encouraging a more diverse body of students to study physics.