REU Site: Interdisciplinary, Multiscale Materials Modeling (I3M)

这个本科生研究体验(REU)网站支持从2021年到2023年每年夏天在肯塔基州路易斯维尔大学对9名本科生(研究员)的培训。学生将参加一个为期10周的计划，重点是通过研究道德、数据收集和分析以及科学结果的重现性方面的培训来发展他们作为研究人员的技能。REU网站的主题是跨学科多尺度材料建模(I3M)，它结合了化学、物理、生物学、材料科学、工程、数学和计算科学的概念，目的是更好地了解从单分子到宏观设备的尺寸尺度上特定材料属性的起源。研究员将作为研究人员与教师导师一起工作，这些导师目前都在监督i3M主题领域的活跃研究团队。在该计划期间，研究员将参加几个专业发展活动，通过团队建设经验、专业研讨会系列、公共海报研讨会和对国家实验室的实地考察来提高能力。I3M项目将提高学生的沟通技能，扩大研究同事网络，并培养学生对研究中当代问题的认识。在为期10周的计划中，研究员获得的科学/工程知识和专业技能将促进更多信息灵通、训练有素和多样化的劳动力的成长。一个由18名教师导师组成的团队为REU研究员开发了16个项目，涵盖了广泛的科学主题、应用和方法。有几个项目既包括计算方面，也包括实验方面。项目主题包括但不限于预测仿生聚合物特性、开发胶体自组装的经验模型、探测病毒颗粒与医疗设备之间的相互作用、改进癌症生长和药物传输模型、发现新的电催化剂以及非侵入性诊断冠状动脉疾病。模型和方法跨越了时间和空间的几个数量级，并利用了密度泛函理论、分子动力学、蒙特卡罗、计算流体力学和连续介质模型。非研究活动将通过道德培训、准确的数据记录以及可靠和可重复的方法，为研究员提供更广泛的视角，了解成为专业科学家或工程师意味着什么。I3M REU网站强调招募和培训代表整个国家的不同群体的学生研究员，同时促进历史上代表性不足的群体和边缘化学生的进步。学员毕业后将具备成为材料科学和工程领域未来领导者的技能和动力。该项目由工程教育和中心部(工程局)和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site supports the training of 9 undergraduate students (fellows) each summer from 2021 to 2023 at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. Students will participate in a 10-week program that focuses on developing their skills as researchers though training in research ethics, data collection and analysis, and reproducibility of scientific results. The theme of the REU site is Interdisciplinary Multiscale Materials Modeling (I3M) which combines concepts in chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, engineering, mathematics, and computational sciences with the goal of better understanding the origins of specific material properties on size scales from single molecules to macroscopic devices. Fellows will work as researchers with faculty mentors who all currently supervise active research teams in I3M thematic areas. During the program, fellows will participate in several professional development activities to advance competence through team-building experiences, a professional seminar series, a public poster symposium, and a field trip to a national laboratory. The I3M program will improve students’ communication skills, grow networks of research colleagues, and develop the students’ awareness of contemporary issues in research. The scientific/engineering knowledge and professional skills gained by fellows during the 10-week program will promote the growth of a more well-informed, well-trained, and diverse workforce.A team of 18 faculty mentors have developed 16 projects for REU fellows that cover a wide range of scientific topics, applications, and methods. Several projects include both computational and experimental aspects. Projects topics include but are not limited to predicting biomimetic polymer properties, developing empirical models for colloidal self-assembly, probing interactions between viral particles and medical devices, improving models of cancer growth and drug transport, discovering new electrocatalysts, and non-invasively diagnosing coronary artery disease. Models and methods span several orders of magnitude in time and space and utilize density functional theory, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, computational fluid dynamics, and continuum models. Non-research activities will give fellows a wider perspective on what it means to be a professional scientist or engineer through training in ethics, accurate data recording, and reliable and reproducible methods. The I3M REU site emphasizes the recruitment and training of diverse cohorts of student fellows who represent the country at large while promoting the advancement of historically underrepresented groups and marginalized students. Fellows will graduate the program with the skills and drive to become future leaders in the field of materials science and engineering.This project is jointly funded by the Division of Engineering Education and Centers (Directorate for Engineering), and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.