REU: INFEWS: N/P/H2O: MATERIALS INNOVATION AT THE INTERSECTION OF FOOD-ENERGY-WATER SYSTEMS (MII-FEWS)

在这个由本科生化学研究经验(REU)项目资助的项目中，弗吉尼亚理工学院和州立大学的Timothy Long和Susan Duncan教授领导了一个夏季研究项目，培训未来的科学家和工程师在食品、能源和水系统(INFEWS)的联系方面的创新。这种跨学科的接口要求在材料化学方面进行基础研究和发展。科学上更广泛的影响解决了随着全球人口达到90亿而迅速出现的挑战。从“智能农业”到水管理和能源公用事业的各种技术都需要具有纳米级定制结构的多相材料。该计划为社区大学学生、少数族裔学生和女性学生制定了具体的招生目标。培训学生在全球科学界中脱颖而出是与意大利特伦托大学合作进行的。该研究项目生产能够用于食品分配、节水作物生产、实时监控设备和先进制造的聚合物材料，以打印用于净水的下一代膜和新的合成方法，以了解可预测的传输和通过材料的扩散。对不同分子通过纳米结构聚合物膜和包装扩散和运输的分子基础的基本了解仍然是至关重要的。该团队研究了多相形态的制备，其中带电基团以共同连续的方式位于低玻璃化转变相和机械耐久的高玻璃化转变相中，以确保材料的延展性，同时增强了在能源、水和食品应用中的传输。REU教员团队共同假设，在纳米尺度上对大分子结构和形态进行精确调整，能够预测影响未来充足食物、能源和水供应的技术的物理性质和性能。诺福克州立大学和川托大学的本科生积极参与这些研究项目。

In this project funded by The Division of Chemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program, Professors Timothy Long and Susan Duncan at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University lead a summer research program to train future scientists and engineers in innovations at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems (INFEWS). This interdisciplinary interface demands fundamental studies and developments in the chemistry of materials. The scientific broader impacts address the challenges that are rapidly emerging as our global population reaches 9 billion. Technologies ranging from "smart farming" to water management and energy utility demand multiphase materials with tailored structure at the nanoscale. The program has specific recruitment goals for community college students, students from underrepresented minorities, and female students. Training students to excel within a global scientific community occurs in partnership with the University of Trento in Italy.This research program produces enabling polymeric materials for food distribution, water-efficient crop production, real-time monitoring devices, and advanced manufacturing to print the next generation of membranes for water purification and novel synthetic methods to understand predictable transport and diffusion through materials. Fundamental understanding of the molecular basis for diffusion and transport of diverse molecules through nanostructured polymeric membranes and packaging remains paramount. The team investigates the preparation of multiphase morphologies wherein charged groups are located in a low glass transition phase in a co-continuous fashion with a mechanically-durable high glass transition phase to ensure material ductility in combination with enhanced transport in energy, water, and food applications. The REU faculty team collectively hypothesizes that the precise tailoring of macromolecular structure and morphology at the nanoscale enables the predictability of physical properties and performance of technologies that influence future availability of sufficient food, energy, and water. Undergraduate students from Norfolk State University and the University of Trento are actively involved in these research projects.