Xavier-UChicago Partnership for Research and Education in Materials for Energy Storage and Sensing

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。路易斯安那州泽维尔大学（Xavier University of Louisiana）是一所以本科生为主的历史悠久的黑人大学，拥有丰富的美国黑人毕业生历史，他们在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域从事医疗保健和研究型职业的研究生教育。利用STEM教育的良好声誉，该材料研究与教育合作伙伴关系（PREM）种子项目支持芝加哥大学（UChicago）和泽维尔大学之间的合作伙伴关系，旨在通过有针对性的干预措施增加材料科学和工程领域研究型职业的多样性，重点是让代表性不足的少数民族学生在本科教育的早期参与研究。通过与芝加哥大学教师的战略合作，该合作伙伴关系还努力增加本科生参与材料科学和工程领域的前沿储能相关研究。此外，这个PREM种子项目用于通知学生的招聘，保留和学位获得工作，根据泽维尔-芝加哥大学的持续PREM之旅。在芝加哥大学MRSEC和泽维尔大学高能量存储和传感材料和界面中心（MICHESS）的推动下，泽维尔大学和芝加哥大学教师之间的实验室对实验室合作伙伴关系是围绕跨学科研究小组（IRG）内的长期研究合作组织的，该研究小组开发用于改进储能应用的材料。该IRG的总体目标是通过了解锂离子在电极-电解质界面传输所产生的潜在界面相互作用，开发支持具有高能量密度的更安全锂电池的材料。泽维尔-芝加哥大学的合作伙伴关系包括两个主题相关的研究项目，通过专注于(1)开发具有高机械强度和具有竞争力的锂电导率的坚固固体电解质和(2)研究锂离子插入过程中电极表面的有害锂化机制，直接解决这一总体目标。这些努力有可能对理解决定和/或限制储能装置性能的关键界面相互作用做出有意义的贡献。此外，这项专注于材料界面相互作用的合作研究也支持了泽维尔-芝加哥大学合作伙伴关系的重要教育和多样性目标。主要的教育工作是通过有指导的研究机会来增加材料科学和工程方面的基础训练，这些机会在本科教育早期招募有才华的URM学生，并通过获得学位来留住这些学生。通过有意扩大URM学生的参与，这一合作伙伴关系通过促进有才华的URM学生从本科进入研究生院并最终进入材料科学和工程领域的研究型职业，为PREM途径提供支持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Non -Technical SummaryXavier University of Louisiana (Xavier), a primarily undergraduate and historically black university, has a rich history of graduating Black American students who pursue careers in postgraduate education towards careers in healthcare and research-based careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Leveraging this strong reputation for STEM education, this Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) Seed project supports a partnership between the University of Chicago (UChicago) and Xavier which seeks to increase diversity in research-based careers in materials science and engineering through targeted interventions that focus on engaging underrepresented minority students in research early in their undergraduate education. This partnership also endeavors to increase undergraduate student involvement in cutting-edge energy storage related research in materials science and engineering through strategic collaborations with UChicago faculty. Furthermore, this PREM Seed project is used to inform student recruitment, retention, and degree attainment efforts pursuant to a lasting Xavier-UChicago PREM journey. Technical SummaryFacilitated by the UChicago MRSEC and the Materials and Interfaces Center for High Energy Storage and Sensing (MICHESS) at Xavier, lab-to-lab partnerships between Xavier and UChicago faculty are intentionally organized around long-term research collaborations within an interdisciplinary research group (IRG) that develops materials for improved energy storage applications. The overall goal of this IRG is to develop materials that support safer lithium batteries with high energy density through an understanding of the underlying interfacial interactions that occur as a result of lithium cation transport at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The Xavier-UChicago partnership encompasses two thematically related research projects that directly address this overall objective by focusing on (1) developing robust solid electrolytes with high mechanical strength and competitive lithium conductivity and (2) investigating detrimental lithiation mechanisms at electrode surfaces during lithium cation intercalation. These efforts have the potential to lead to meaningful contributions towards understanding the critical interfacial interactions that determine and/or limit the performance of energy storage devices. Further, this collaborative research endeavor, focused on interactions at material interfaces, also supports significant educational and diversity goals of the Xavier-UChicago partnership. The primary educational effort is to increase access to foundational training in materials science and engineering through mentored research opportunities that recruit talented URM students early in their undergraduate education and retain those students through degree attainment. Through intentional efforts to broaden the participation of URM students, this partnership supports the PREM pathway by facilitating a pipeline for talented URM students from undergraduate into graduate school and eventually into research-based careers in materials science and engineering.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.