IRES: Nanofibrous Materials Challenge

该计划将为捷克共和国利贝雷茨技术大学（CxI TU-Liberec）纳米材料，先进技术和创新研究所的至少18名美国学生提供国际研究经验。它是中欧主要的研究机构，主要从事纳米纤维材料（NFM）研究和静电纺丝技术的商业化。纳米纤维可以表现出上级机械、光学和传输特性，为各种应用提供关键优势。高表面积与体积比提供了多种方式相互作用沿着纤维？长度和相应的机械柔性，以在纳米尺度上弯曲成许多不同的配置。由于其纳米启用的独特性质，基于纳米纤维的材料在诸如高性能过滤、能量产生、转换和存储、伤口愈合和组织工程等领域具有广泛的应用。然而，NFM市场的增长潜力仍然受到有限的能力，以创造具有可预测的复杂，宏观架构和理想的电子，机械和生理特性的材料和结构的阻碍。在该计划期间，来自伯明翰亚拉巴马大学的IRES学员将能够参与欧洲最大的纳米纤维材料企业的运营。他们将通过以下方式应对当前的挑战：（I）推进我们对纳米材料特性和制造工艺的各个方面的基本理解，以指导将NFM组装成所需的配置;以及（II）开发用于组装NFM网络和分层架构的新工艺，以满足苛刻的应用要求。预计IRES计划的成果将有助于创造新一代训练有素的全球劳动力，以显着推进NFM的知识基础。从长远来看，这个IRES计划将促进国内和国际研究和工业集团之间的更广泛的协同耦合NFM域带来新的合作者，并促进研究人员和学生在相关领域的多个国际联系。非技术这个IRES计划的主题是纳米纤维材料（NFM）的新兴领域。这一大类纳米材料显示出上级机械、电子和生理特性，可以在各种能源、生物医学和环境应用中提供关键优势。预计到2017年，全球NFM市场将超过40亿美元。目前有超过100家公司从事NFM业务，最近NFM的突破正在改变许多科学和工程领域（例如，首次成功展示基于NFM的组织工程气管植入物）。然而，NFM市场的增长潜力仍然受到有限的能力，使这些材料具有可预测的复杂，宏观结构和理想的属性集的阻碍。这个IRES计划将提供独特的国际实践经验在NFM的一个多元化的美国组本科生和研究生在研究所纳米材料，先进技术和创新在技术大学利贝雷茨（CxI TU-Liberec），捷克共和国。它是中欧首屈一指的机构和最大的纳米纤维材料企业。来自伯明翰亚拉巴马大学（UAB）的IRES学员将探索如何？绿色？可以用于NFM制造的工艺。这里的主要挑战不仅是获得正确的配方，而且要开发环境安全和经济可行的工艺，这些工艺可以从简单的实验室系统转移到东道机构提供的商业NFM设备上。IRES学员还将获得重要的国际文化敏感性经验，扩展到每个参与者之外？通过社交活动和与CxI TU-利贝雷茨的多样化国际学生群体的互动，该机构。IRES本科生参与者还将扩大他们的视野，为硕士或博士学位的人在科学和工程的全球视野。通过为IRES学员提供体验式国际模式的此类培训，我们将赋予他们在具有重要战略意义的技术领域的全面能力。

Technical This program will provide the international research experience to a group of at least 18 U.S. students at the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technology and Innovation at the Technical University of Liberec (CxI&TU-Liberec), Czech Republic. It is a premier institution in Central Europe heavily involved in nanofibrous materials (NFMs) research and commercialization of nanofiber electrospinning technologies. Nanofibers can demonstrate superior mechanical, optical and transport properties providing critical advantages to a variety of applications. The high surface area to volume ratio provides both a multitude of ways to interact along the fibers? length and the corresponding mechanical flexibility to bend into many different configurations at nanoscale. As a result of their nano-enabled unique properties, nanofiber-based materials have a wide range of applications in areas such as high performance filtration, energy generation, conversion and storage, wound healing and tissue engineering, and others. However, the potential for growth of the NFMs market is still hindered by limited ability to create the materials and structures with predictable complex, macroscopic architectures and desirable electronic, mechanical, and physiological properties.During the program, the IRES trainees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham will be able to participate in the operations of a largest nanofibrous materials enterprise in Europe. They will address the current challenges in nanofiber science and technology through: (I) the advancement of our basic understanding of all aspects of nanofiber properties and fabrication processes in order to direct the assembly of NFMs into desired configurations; and (II) the development of new processes for assembling NFMs networks and hierarchical architectures for demanding applications. It is expected that the outcomes of this IRES program will help to create a new generation of highly trained global workforce to significantly advance the knowledge base in NFMs. In a long-term, this IRES program will facilitate a broader synergistic coupling between domestic and international research and industrial groups within the NFMs domain by bringing new collaborators and facilitating multiple international links between the researchers and students in related areas.Non-technicalThe main theme of this IRES program is the emerging area of nanofibrous materials (NFMs). This large class of nanomaterials shows superior mechanical, electronic, and physiological properties that can provide critical advantages in a variety of energy, biomedical and environmental applications. The global market for NFMs is expected to rise above $4 billion by year 2017. There are currently over a hundred of companies in the NFMs business, and recent breakthroughs in NFMs are transforming many areas of science and engineering (for example, the first successful demonstration of NFM-based tissue engineered tracheal implant). However, the potential for growth of the NFMs market is still hindered by limited ability to make these materials with predictable complex, macroscopic architectures and desirable set of properties.This IRES program will provide the unique international hands-on experience in NFMs to a diverse group of U.S. undergraduate and graduate students at the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technology and Innovation at the Technical University of Liberec (CxI&TU-Liberec), Czech Republic. It is a premier institution and a largest nanofibrous materials enterprise in Central Europe. The IRES trainees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will explore the approaches to ?green? processes that can be used for the NFMs fabrication. The major challenge here is not only obtaining right formulations, but to develop the environmentally safe and economically feasible processes that can be transferred from a simple laboratory system to commercial NFMs equipment available at the host institution. The IRES trainees will also gain important international cultural sensitivity experience expanding beyond the each participant?s institution through the social activities and interactions with a diverse international student population at CxI&TU-Liberec. IRES undergraduate participants will also broaden their vision of global perspectives for a person with Masters or PhD degree in science and engineering. By providing IRES trainees with such training via experiential international modalities, we will empower them with a comprehensive set of capabilities in strategically important technological areas.