NMHU-BioPACIFIC MIP collaboration in design, synthesis and applications of metal-organic hybrid biomaterials

新墨西哥高地大学（NMHU）是一所位于新墨西哥州北部的小型文理大学。它的学生中有53.6%是西班牙裔美国人，66.4%是女性。这些学生中有许多来自低收入的第一代大学生家庭。该提案与加州大学圣巴巴拉分校（UCSB）和加州大学洛杉矶分校（UCLA）的美国国家科学基金会支持的生物聚合物、自动化细胞基础设施、流动和集成化学材料创新平台（BioPACIFIC MIP）建立了合作关系。化学、生物化学、计算机科学、地质和化学工程学院将为来自弱势群体的学生提供材料科学教育和研究实践培训。材料研究与教育伙伴关系（PREM）途径由NMHU、UCSB和UCLA共同开发，将重点关注学生的招聘、留用和学位获得。学生的专业发展将在NMHU和bioppacific MIP暑期学校全年进行。在bioppacific MIP PREM，学生将有多个层次的交流机会，包括与社区领袖、教职员工、研究生、博士后以及点对点的交流。nmhu - bioppacific MIP PREM将系统地吸引所有合作机构的高中生、本科生、研究生和研究生。在新墨西哥州，在高中阶段，PREM将为高中学生和研究、数学和科学成就中心（ARMAS）使用双学分，以鼓励和吸引来自代表性不足群体的学生参与科学教育项目。在NMHU，与BioPACIFIC MIP合作，将设计两门新的材料科学课程，致力于深入了解材料的结构和性能。PREM项目每年将招收至少12名学士或硕士学生。研究成果将通过出版物传播，目标是每年在同行评审期刊上发表至少10篇文章，其中至少80%的出版物由学生共同撰写。本项目部分由促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。提议的研究将包括机器学习，材料合成，高通量自动化化学/生物合成以及有机-无机材料的应用。通过连接机器学习和合成化学（关闭设计循环），将设计出更广泛的生物启发构建模块组合，以超越当前的生物材料景观。这将使在一种材料中使用两种或更多的有机/无机成分成为可能，这对于调整多组分材料的结构、光学、电子和磁性是必要的。由此产生的小分子、有机聚合物和有机-无机多孔材料也将允许设计生物传感器、药物输送系统、手性色谱材料和聚合模板。NMHU和bioppacific MIP之间的合作伙伴关系将使NMHU的研究人员和学生在NMHU建立一个新的材料研究领域。新专业知识的开发将得到NMHU教师，博士后研究员和学生对生物太平洋MIP的科学专业知识和先进仪器的访问的支持，以迅速加速材料的发现。合作小组将通过实时视频电话会议举行以研究为重点的小组会议。学生将参观bioppacific MIP实验室。每年有两到三名NMHU本科生将前往bioppacific MIP进行暑期研究。一名或多名NMHU硕士学生将前往bioppacific MIP学习一个学期的课程和研究，每年将举行PREM年度务静会，在NMHU和UCSB之间交替举行。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。

New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) is a small liberal arts university in Northern New Mexico. It has a student body composed of 53.6% Hispanic Americans and 66.4% women. Many of these students are from low-income first-generation college families. This proposal presents a partnership with the NSF-supported BioPolymers, Automated Cellular Infrastructure, Flow, and integrated Chemistry Materials Innovation Platform (BioPACIFIC MIP) at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Faculty in chemistry, biochemistry, computer science, geology, and chemical engineering will provide materials science education and hands-on training for research to students from underrepresented groups. The Partnership in Research and Education for Materials (PREM) pathway, developed with collaborative efforts from NMHU, UCSB and UCLA, will focus on recruitment, retention, and degree attainment for the students. Professional development for students will take place throughout the year both at NMHU as well as in the BioPACIFIC MIP Summer School. At BioPACIFIC MIP PREM students will have networking opportunities at multiple levels including with community leaders, faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdocs as well as peer-to-peer. The NMHU–BioPACIFIC MIP PREM will systematically engage high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, and postgraduates at all partner institutions. In New Mexico, at the high school level, the PREM will utilize dual credits for high school students and the Achieving in Research, Mathematics and Science (ARMAS) Center to encourage and engage students from underrepresented groups in science education programs. At NMHU, in collaboration with BioPACIFIC MIP, two new materials science courses, devoted to an in-depth understanding of materials structure and properties, will be designed. The PREM program will involve at least 12 BS or MS NMHU PREM students per year. The research outcome will be disseminated through publications, with a goal of at least 10 articles per year in peer reviewed journals with student co-authors in at least 80% of those publications. This project is partially supported with co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).The proposed research will include machine learning, materials synthesis, high-throughput automated chemistry/biosynthesis, and applications of organic-inorganic materials. By bridging machine learning and synthetic chemistry (closing the design loop), a wider combination of bioinspired building blocks will be designed to go beyond the current biomaterial landscape. This will enable the use of two or more organic/inorganic components in one material which is necessary to tune structural, optical, electronic, and magnetic properties of a multi-component material. Resultant small molecules, organic polymers, and organic-inorganic porous materials will also allow for designing of biosensors, drug delivery systems, materials for chiral chromatography and templates for polymerization. The partnership between NMHU and BioPACIFIC MIP will allow NMHU re-searchers and students to establish a new area of materials research at NMHU. Development of new expertise will be supported by access of NMHU faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students to scientific expertise and advanced instrumentation at BioPACIFIC MIP to rapidly accelerate discovery of materials. The collaborative teams will hold research-focused group meetings via real-time video teleconferencing. Students will visit BioPACIFIC MIP laboratories. Two to three NMHU undergraduates will travel to BioPACIFIC MIP each year for summer research. One or more NMHU MS students will go to BioPACIFIC MIP to take courses and do research for one semester, and a PREM Annual Retreat will be held each year, alternating between NMHU and UCSB.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.