Center of Excellence for Materials Research and Innovation

材料研究与创新卓越中心(CEMRI)*由宾夕法尼亚大学物质结构研究实验室(LRSM)主办，该项目为来自不同学科的教师、博士后和研究生提供关键支持，以解决复杂的基础材料问题，这些问题只能以真正的合作模式解决，并可能成为未来技术和社会经济需求的基础。四个跨学科研究小组(IRGS)是该中心的核心。第一组探索了曲率和弹性在液晶、胶体和界面上诱导的相互作用；因此，新的发现将产生利用表面结构和膜几何来操纵软物质的新能力。第二组利用新型合成大分子，如自组装的Janus树枝状大分子和设计蛋白质，创造出受病毒学启发的材料；新材料具有类似病毒的结构和功能，将用于传感、通信和驱动。第三组研究原子、胶体和颗粒的无序堆积，以了解成分在载荷下的局部重排如何组织；产生的新概念将为预测材料是否即将失效以及合成坚韧材料提供途径。第四个小组以世界一流的纳米晶体合成和组装技术为基础，利用这些粒子构建新型的维度间材料，并测量新出现的电子、光学、声学和磁性。在每个IRG中，理论和模拟促进实验，反之亦然，对基本问题的回答对应用和创造迄今未合成的具有独特性能的先进材料具有重要意义。CEMRI还支持共享实验设施(SEF)，以实现研究目标、学生/博士后培训以及与我们社区的接触。宾夕法尼亚大学CEMRI为当地K-12学校的学生和教师、全国各地的本科生、宾夕法尼亚大学的研究生和博士后，以及来自该地区和全球的合作机构的教职员工、科学家和学生/博士后提供创造性的教育和推广计划。LRSM教育和人力资源开发努力的一个主要目标是吸引更多的美国人进入STEM领域，并将他们带到尽可能高的教育水平，重点是代表性不足的少数族裔、妇女和残疾人。除了标准的外展项目，如本科生/教师研究经验(REU/RET)，不太常见的项目，如我们与波多黎各大学的材料研究和教育伙伴关系(PREM)，以及独特的项目，如我们为期4周的高中-PSSI和南部非洲倡议，CEMRI的外展将扩大到包括：面向少数族裔中学生的吉拉德学校七年级科学夏令营，为高中高年级学生开设的为期一年的材料科学选修课和为教师举办的相关研讨会，年度材料展览(与NOVA、费城科学节有关)，以及面向公众的科学咖啡馆S。当地社区也通过富有想象力的远程呈现方式受到欢迎，例如有线电视节目和高中(HS)的MagPI视频会议。CEMRI奉行一项多方面的战略，以接触行业、国家实验室和国际社会。目前，约有25家公司(小型、中型和大型)直接参与CEMRI，我们的共享实验设施被当地行业广泛使用(每年约100人日)。COMPASS(软物质的复杂装配)实验室已经启动，并将继续作为LRSM、罗地亚和法国CNRS的合资企业。CEMRI还继续在开发国家同步加速器X射线和中子散射设施方面发挥作用；CEMRI的教职员工中有超过25%的人目前作为用户或合作项目参与了国家实验室；其他人在咨询小组中服务。CEMRI与南部非洲、德国、日本、台湾、法国、罗马尼亚等机构的国际联系(即联合讲习班、教师/博士后/学生互访)在世界范围内巩固了真正的研究联系。*美国国家科学基金会材料研究科学与工程中心(MRSEC)

The Center of Excellence for Materials Research and Innovation (CEMRI)*, hosted by the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), pursues a program that provides crucial support for faculty, post-docs, and graduate students drawn from different disciplines to tackle complex fundamental materials problems that can only be addressed in a truly collaborative mode, and that are likely to underlie future technologies and economic needs of society. Four Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) are central to the Center. The first group explores the interplay of curvature- & elasticity-induced interactions in liquid crystals, colloids, and on interfaces; new findings will thus generate new abilities to manipulate soft matter using surface structures & membrane geometry. The second group creates materials inspired by virology from novel synthetic macromolecules such as self-assembled Janus dendrimers & designer proteins; the new materials, with virus-like structure & functions, will be useful for sensing, communication, and actuation. The third group investigates disordered packings of atoms, colloids and grains to understand how localized rearrangements of constituents organize under load; the new concepts generated will provide routes for predicting whether materials are about to fail, and for synthesis of tough materials. The fourth group, anchored by a world-class effort in nanocrystal synthesis & assembly, builds novel inter-dimensional materials from these particles, and measures emergent electronic, optical, acoustic and magnetic properties. In each IRG, theory and simulation stimulate experiment and vice versa, and answers to fundamental questions have implications for application and for the creation of heretofore un-synthesized advanced materials with unique properties. The CEMRI also supports Shared Experimental Facilities (SEFs) that enable the achievement of research goals, student/post-doc training, and outreach to our community. SEFs include X-ray scattering, electron and confocal microscopy, rheometry, electronic/thermal transport, magnetic responses, optical spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy, and more.The Penn CEMRI sustains creative educational and outreach programs for local K-12 school students and teachers, for undergraduates from around the nation, for Penn graduate students and post-docs, and for faculty, scientists, and students/post-docs from partnering institutions in the region and across the globe. A primary goal of the LRSM education and human resources development effort is to attract more Americans to STEM fields and take them to the highest educational level possible, with emphasis on underrepresented minorities, women, and the disabled. In addition to standard outreach programs such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates/Teachers (REU/RET), less common programs such as our Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) with the University of Puerto Rico, and distinctive programs such as our 4-week-High-School-PSSI and Southern Africa initiatives, CEMRI outreach will expand to include: the Girard School 7th Grade Science Camp for minority middle-school students, a year?long materials science elective course for high school seniors and associated workshops for teachers, annual materials exhibitions (with connections to NOVA, Philadelphia Science Festival), and Science Cafés for the general public. Local community is also embraced via imaginative telepresence such as Cable TV programs and MAGPI videoconferences to high schools (HS). The CEMRI pursues a multi-faceted strategy to reach out to industry, national laboratories, and the international community. Currently, ~25 companies (small, medium and large) are directly involved with the CEMRI, and our Shared Experimental Facilities are widely used by local industries (~100 person-days per year). The COMPASS (Complex Assemblies of Soft Matter) Laboratory was started and will continue as a joint venture between the LRSM, Rhodia, and the French CNRS. The CEMRI also continues to play a role developing national synchrotron x-ray and neutron scattering facilities; more than 25% of CEMRI faculty are currently involved with National Labs as users or in collaborative projects; others serve on advisory panels. International links (i.e., joint workshops, reciprocal visits by faculty/post-docs/students) of CEMRI with institutes in Southern Africa, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, France, Romania, and more, have cemented genuine research ties worldwide. *a NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)