IRES: U.S. - Australia International Research Experience for Students: Materials for Energy Storage and Transduction

非技术解释本IRES整合了三个研究密集型机构的几个学术和研究项目，包括北卡罗来纳州立大学(NCSU)、宾夕法尼亚州立大学(PSU)和澳大利亚新南威尔士大学(UNSW)。在新南威尔士大学外国导师的指导下，六名学生参与者每人将完成一个为期10周的个人研究项目，这对整个研究主题做出了贡献。新成立的介电和压电学中心是由NCSU、PSU和企业成员合作建立的，它还将被用来提供人们广泛感兴趣的主题研究项目和培训经验，为学生提供更多的演讲机会，以及补充美国的本科生研究机会。全球可持续能源的未来需要先进和应用新材料来储存和转换能量，同时需要科学家和工程师的发展，他们能够发现更大的问题并创造全球解决方案的能力。能源储存和转换材料的统一研究主题将促进可持续能源技术和人力资本在这一全球需求领域的发展。IRES项目开发可持续能源部门的人力资本，并促进对支撑可持续能源技术的现象和材料的理解。通过他们的项目和活动，美国学生被培养成全球科学家和工程师，他们利用全球资源，寻求不同的视角和专业知识。这些活动还建立了一个国际网络，由来自三个不同研究密集型机构的科学家和工程师就具有高度社会意义的专题开展合作。该项目的营销和招聘活动将使竞争最激烈和最多样化的学生申请者能够提出申请并得到鼓励。通过这些活动，该项目将继续保持调查人员在本科生和研究生研究项目中吸纳妇女和任职人数不足群体的人员的良好记录。这项工作的结果将在国内和国际会议和本科生研究研讨会上广泛传播，并发表在核心的学科期刊上。技术说明学生的研究项目将集中在能够存储电荷及其在机械、热能和其他形式的能量之间转换的材料极化现象。依赖于极化现象的介电和压电材料对于从小型(微型机电、微电子和无线通信系统)到大型(电动汽车和智能电网)的各种能源系统都是至关重要的。为了完成他们的项目，学生将在新南威尔士大学接受最先进的仪器和建模方法的培训和使用，包括扫描探针显微镜、阴极发光光谱、X射线扩散散射、共聚焦激光扫描探针显微镜和密度泛函理论建模。除了他们的外国导师，学生们还将与NCSU和PSU的教职员工和学者进行互动，他们对促进这些研究领域的知识和培训学生具有既得利益。

Non-technical explanation This IRES integrates several academic and research programs at three research-intensive institutions including North Carolina State University (NCSU), Pennsylvania State University (PSU), and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. Under the direction of a UNSW foreign mentor, each of six student participants will complete a 10-week individual research project that contributes to the overall research theme. The newly established Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics, a collaboration between NCSU, PSU and corporate members, will also be leveraged in order to provide thematic research projects and training experiences that are of broad interest, additional presentation opportunities for students, and complementary undergraduate research opportunities in the U.S. A global sustainable energy future requires the advancement and implementation of new materials for energy storage and conversion and the concomitant development of scientists and engineers who exercise an ability to see bigger problems and create global solutions. The unifying research theme of Materials for Energy Storage and Transduction will promote the development of sustainable energy technologies and human capital in this area of global need. The IRES project develops human capital in the sustainable energy sector and advances the understanding of phenomena and materials that underpin sustainable energy technologies. Through their projects and activities, U.S. students are trained to be global scientists and engineers who leverage global resources and seek diverse perspectives and expertise. The activities also establish an international network of cooperating scientists and engineers from three different research-intensive institutions on topics of high societal relevance. The marketing and recruitment activities of the project will enable and encourage applications from the most competitive and diverse student applicants. Through these activities, the project will continue a strong track record by the investigators of engaging women and persons from underrepresented groups in undergraduate and graduate research projects. The results of the work will be broadly disseminated at national and international conferences and undergraduate research symposia and published in core, disciplinary journals.Technical description Student research projects will be focused on material polarization phenomena that enable the storage of electrical charge and its conversion between mechanical, thermal, and other forms of energy. The dielectric and piezoelectric materials that rely on polarization phenomena are critical to a variety of energy systems ranging from the small (microelectromechanical, microelectronic, and wireless communication systems) to the large (electric cars and smart grids). To accomplish their projects, students will be trained in and utilize state-of-the-art instrumentation and modeling approaches at UNSW including, for example, scanning probe microscopy, cathodoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffuse scattering, confocal laser scanning probe microscopy, and density functional theory modeling. In addition to their foreign mentors, the students will interact with faculty and academics at NCSU and PSU who have a vested interest in advancing knowledge and training students in these research areas.