RII Track-1: Arkansas Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering, and Technology (ASSET) III - Multifunctional and Tunable Nanostructured Surfaces

该研究基础设施改进（RII） Track-1奖建立了一个先进表面工程（CASE）中心，该中心将与阿肯色州（AR）的几家学术机构和行业合作。一个由物理、化学、生物、工程和计算科学领域的跨学科研究人员组成的团队将专注于工程材料表面，以解决加工/切削工具的性能、食品的不渗透包装和污染物的选择性过滤、辐射和污染物的检测以及神经细胞生长的控制。CASE将为制造业、林业、农业、石油天然气、航空航天、国防和医疗保健等领域的增强现实产业培养多样化的未来劳动力。继续教育研讨会，表面科学和工程证书课程，以及教育水平适当的外展活动将提供培训行业专业人士，K-12教师和AR的学生。现有的全州网络基础设施将用于支持研究和扩大全州的教育，以增强AR的技术经济繁荣。研究纳米结构的表面可以根据特定应用的需要改变颜色、自锐化、润滑或改变孔径。项目团队将探索各种受自然启发的材料表面创新（例如，荷叶排斥水，海贝壳承载能力，变色龙改变皮肤颜色），并由外部刺激控制。基于表面设计的建模和仿真将指导实验，并提供对中观到纳米尺度材料行为的基本理解。该项目将利用全州范围内的研究，包括十所AR高等教育机构，以生产新型材料和其特性的数据库，这些材料可以与行业共享，以加速产品创新。CASE研究人员将教育研究生、本科生和高中生，准备培训行业专业人员的课程材料，并开发表面科学和工程的跨机构证书课程。

Non-technical DescriptionThis Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1 award establishes a Center for Advanced Surface Engineering (CASE) which will engage several academic institutions and industries in Arkansas (AR). An interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and computational science will focus on engineering material surfaces to address performance of machining/cutting tools, impermeable packaging of food and selective filtering of contaminants, detection of radiation and pollutants, and control of neural cell growth. CASE will prepare a diverse future workforce with skills needed to strengthen AR industries in the areas of manufacturing, forestry, agriculture oil & gas, aerospace & defense, and healthcare. Continuing education workshops, certificate programs on surface science and engineering, and education-level appropriate outreach activities will be offered to train industry professionals, K-12 teachers and students across AR. Existing statewide cyber-infrastructure will be used to support research and expand education across the state to enhance technology-based economic prosperity in AR. Technical DescriptionThe proposed research focuses on the design, fabrication, and study of nanostructured surfaces that change color, self-sharpen, lubricate, or change pore size as needed for specific applications. The project team will explore a wide range of material surface innovations inspired by nature (for example, lotus leaves for water repulsion, sea shells for their load bearing capacity, and chameleons for changing skin color) and controlled by external stimuli. Modeling and simulation based surface design will guide experiments and provide fundamental understanding of meso- to nano-scale material behavior. The project will leverage statewide research involving ten AR higher education institutions to produce novel materials and a database of their properties, which can be shared with industries to accelerate product innovations. CASE researchers will educate graduate, undergraduate, and high school students, prepare curricular materials to train industry professionals, and develop a cross-institutional certificate program in surface science and engineering.