REU Site: Research Experience for Undergraduates in Nanohybrid Functional Materials

非技术描述：REU网站，内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校纳米混合功能材料本科生研究经验，将汇集来自电气和环境工程，化学和细胞生物学的多学科团队的学生。这些团队将对特征尺寸为几十纳米（nm）的制造表面/结构进行研究。预计这些活动将取得几个关键成果，包括：(1)增加对工程、物理、生物和化学等领域的研究和开发事业的兴趣；(2)提高对跨学科团队在解决复杂问题中的作用的理解，并为在跨学科研究环境中进行研究生学习做了独特的准备；(3)加深对研究与开发在商业部门中的作用及其与国家利益的关系的理解；(4)以REU参与者为主要或共同作者的出版物；(5)在会议上展示REU参与者的研究成果。现场活动的总体目标是开发一个管道，培养未来研究人员和教师的多样化骨干，以继续创新研究，并解决适当工程学科的预测短缺问题。技术描述：REU站点的基础是内布拉斯加州林肯大学（UNL）的纳米混合功能材料中心（CNFM）。CNFM内的研究围绕三个互补和相互支持的研究主题组织，以及通过在核心设施内购买专业仪器来发展研究基础设施。第一个研究主题是纳米杂交制造，重点是制备高度有序和空间相干的3D纳米结构，它们与化学或生物传感元件的杂交，以及它们在聚合物基质中的固定或包裹。此外，这个主题也扩展到包括用有机材料装饰的一维和二维半导体材料的制备。第二个研究主题是纳米杂化材料的表征和新型传感原理，重点研究基于纳米杂化材料独特特性的新型表征和传感原理，包括基于太赫兹到紫外椭圆偏振的技术。第三个研究主题是基于纳米混合的器件，重点关注基于纳米混合器件和一维和二维半导体/有机电子器件中分子相互作用的潜在传感和分离应用。学生将被引入这种环境，其主要目标是帮助参与者在跨学科环境中发展成为有效的独立研究人员。这些研究活动的目的不仅是培养与学生研究领域相关的技能，而且是为了展示一个项目如何适应一个更大、更复杂的系统。REU参与者将不仅仅是一个“实验室助手”，帮助研究生或博士后研究人员处理实验室琐事，而是将在研究项目中承担重要和独立的责任。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The REU site, Research Experience for Undergraduates in Nanohybrid Functional Materials at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will bring together students within multidisciplinary teams from electrical and environmental engineering, chemistry, and cell biology. These teams will perform research on fabricated surfaces/structures whose feature size is on the order of tens of nanometers (nm). It is expected that these activities will achieve several key outcomes, including: (1) increased interest in research and development careers in fields such as engineering, physics, biology, and chemistry; (2) increased understanding of the role of interdisciplinary teams in solving complex problems and unique preparation for pursuing graduate studies within an interdisciplinary research environment; (3) increased understanding of the role of research and development in the commercial sector and its relation to national interests; (4) publications with the REU participant as the lead or co-author; and (5) the presentation of REU participants' research results at conferences. The overall objective of the site activities is to develop a pipeline, to train a diverse cadre of future researchers and faculty to continue innovative research ,and to address predicted shortages in the appropriate engineering disciplines. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Underpinning the REU site is the Center for Nanohybrid Functional Materials (CNFM) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Research within the CNFM is organized around three complementary and mutually supporting research themes, as well as the development of research infrastructure through acquisition of specialized instrumentation within a core facility. The first research theme, Nanohybrid Fabrication, focuses on the preparation of highly ordered and spatially coherent 3D nanostructures, their hybridization with chemical or biological sensing elements, and their immobilization or inclusion within polymer matrices. In addition, this theme is also expanding to include preparation of 1- and 2-dimensional semiconductor materials decorated with organic materials. The second research theme, Nanohybrid Characterization and New Sensing Principles, focuses on new characterization and sensing principles based on unique properties of the nanohybrids, including techniques based upon Terahertz to UV ellipsometry. The third research theme, Nanohybrid-based Devices, focuses on potential sensing and separation applications based on molecular interactions within nanohybrid-based devices and 1-D and 2-D semiconductor/organic electronic devices. Students will be introduced into this environment with the primary goal to help the participants develop into effective, independent researchers in an interdisciplinary environment. The research activities are designed not only to develop skills germane to the student's field of study, but also to demonstrate how one project fits into a larger, more complex system. The REU participant will not simply be a "lab helper" who assists graduate students or postdoctoral researchers with laboratory chores, but will have significant and independent responsibilities in the research project.