NRT CONDESA: Convergence of Nano-engineered Devices for Environmental and Sustainability Applications

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。土壤、水和空气是必不可少的资源。它们的质量在当地和全球范围内以多种方式严重影响社会，从农业生产力和粮食安全到人类和生态系统健康。为了有效监测影响土壤、水和空气质量的因素，需要开发经济、多功能、耐用和易于部署的传感器。这些传感器还必须对特定的环境特性或污染物高度敏感，并能够捕捉瞬时事件和长期过程。纳米材料是开发高灵敏度传感器的理想候选者，因为纳米工程可以在原子尺度上调节材料的性质。这些特性使高度专业化的平台得以开发，以便在特定环境问题中有针对性地应用。这项授予加州大学默塞德分校的国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将开发一个博士培训计划，在该计划中，汇聚研究将由开发多功能纳米材料环境传感器的目标驱动。该项目预计将培养200名博士生，其中包括25名来自物理、化学、机械工程、环境科学和材料科学与工程的资助实习生，从而培养出具有全球竞争力的新一代多样化纳米工程人才。环境与可持续发展应用纳米工程设备(CONDESA)计划将通过交叉培训学生在分子生物学、物理、化学、环境科学和可持续系统方面的知识来培养新一代纳米工程师。该计划的目标是为环境介质(空气、土壤和水)创造多功能的纳米工程传感器，并在真实世界的试验台上演示它们的应用，以评估和解决环境健康和可持续发展问题。监测环境属性中复杂、动态的模式(“热点”和“热点时刻”)需要高分辨率的传感，突出了对低成本、高能效、纳米级传感器的需求。这些特性包括与污染、生物地球化学循环以及对人类健康和生态系统的风险相关的化学物质浓度、状态和流动。纳米工程和纳米技术允许在最基本的原子尺度上调整材料的性质，因此有可能为目标应用开发高度专业化的平台。为了在有效的传感器设计上实现快速融合，NRT Condesa将邀请物理学家、环境和材料科学家以及设备工程师协作确定关键应用和规格，指导传感器和材料的选择，并设计对环境条件具有弹性的集成系统。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革意义的STEM研究生教育培训模式。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合实习生模式，在高度优先的跨学科或趋同研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。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 award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Soil, water, and air are essential resources. Their quality critically impacts society at a local and global scale in multiple ways, from farming productivity and food security to human and ecosystem health. The effective monitoring of factors affecting soil, water, and air quality requires the development of economical, multifunctional, durable, and easily deployable sensors. These sensors must also be highly sensitive to specific environmental properties or pollutants and able to capture both instantaneous events and long-term processes. Nanomaterials are ideal candidates for developing high-sensitivity sensors, as nano-engineering allows tuning of material properties at the atomic scale. These properties enable the development of highly specialized platforms for targeted application in specific environmental problems. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of California, Merced will develop a doctoral training program where convergent research will be driven by the goal of developing multifunctional nanomaterial-based environmental sensors. The project anticipates training 200 Ph.D. students, including 25 funded trainees from physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, environmental science, and materials science and engineering, thereby creating a new generation of diverse and globally competitive nano-engineers.The NRT Convergence of Nano-engineered Devices for Environmental and Sustainability Applications (CONDESA) program will create a new generation of nano-engineers by cross-training students in molecular biology, physics, chemistry, environmental science, and sustainable systems. The program goal is to create multifunctional, nano-engineered sensors for environmental media (air, soil, and water) and to demonstrate their application in real-world testbeds to assess and solve environmental health and sustainability problems. Monitoring complex, dynamic patterns (“hot spots” and “hot moments”) in environmental properties requires high-resolution sensing, spotlighting the need for low-cost, energy-efficient, nano-enabled sensors. These properties include chemical concentrations, states, and flows associated with pollution, biogeochemical cycling, and risks to human health and ecosystems. Nano-engineering and nanotechnology allow tuning of material properties at the most fundamental atomic scale, therefore making it possible to develop highly specialized platforms for targeted applications. To achieve rapid convergence on effective sensor designs, NRT CONDESA will engage physicists, environmental and materials scientists, and device engineers to collaboratively identify key applications and specifications, guide the choice of transduction and materials, and design an integrated system that is resilient to environmental conditions. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.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.