MRI: Acquisition of Multiscale Pore Size Analyzers for Research and Education

随着多尺度应用成为人类挑战的一个组成部分，重要的是让学生了解结构-性质关系。学生和教师导师将测量的参数整合到数学框架中，这将有助于更快地应对健康和气候危机，并提高抵御能力。通过跨学科领域的设备采购实现的解决方案子集如下：a）设计人工膜以解决流行病期间的生物制造挑战; B）使用人工智能来识别有缺陷的生物过滤器; c）检测病原体的纸基测定，以及d）纳米颗粒表征以对抗水污染。其他新兴研究领域包括癌症诊断和可再生能源。 与昂贵的多会话成像为基础的教学方法相比，建议的设备的样本采集时间为30分钟，适合三个小时的实验室会议，一个快速和经济的解决方案。拟议的设备将被整合到STEM的几个课程和实验室中，即材料表征和免疫学计划。每年将有来自不同人口的200名学生从这一努力中受益。外联工作将扩展到西谷社区学院和当地高中，学生将通过在线教学和动手实验了解纳米技术。 在硅谷的心脏地带，学生/教师出版物将为学术和工业翻译提供机会，从而培养出一支技术熟练、积极进取的劳动力队伍，加速美国的全球竞争力。最先进的仪器将用于研究表面、本体和相间结构，以解决生物材料、健康和气候关系中多尺度应用的知识缺口。 这将提供一个结构性能关系的理解，特别是在孔径和孔隙率方面。将对微孔（2 nm）和大孔（50 nm）进行定量。孔隙度将由密度间接确定。 通过现代设备的实验和基于第一原理的解决问题的方法来产生知识，将使强大的扩展成为可能。与此同时，将构建一个材料数据库，其中包含从表征测试中收集的数据，作为统计学习模型和模拟的基础。该项目的数据将被传播，以便其他工程师和科学家也可以使用这些训练集。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

As multiscale applications become an integral part of humanity’s challenges, it is important for students to gain an understanding of structure-property relationships. The measured parameters integrated into mathematical frameworks by students and faculty mentors will facilitate a faster response and greater resilience against health and climate crises. A subset of solutions enabled by equipment acquisition across inter-disciplinary fields is as follows: a) design of artificial membranes to address biomanufacturing challenges during pandemics; b) use of artificial intelligence to identify defective biological filters; c) paper-based assays to detect pathogens, and, d) nanoparticle characterization to combat water pollution. Other emerging research areas include cancer diagnostics and renewable energy. Sample acquisition times with the proposed equipment are 30 min suitable for a three-hour laboratory session, a rapid and economical solution when compared to costly multi-session imaging-based pedagogic methods. The proposed equipment will be integrated in several courses and laboratories across STEM, namely in materials characterization and immunology initiatives. A total of 200 students from a demographically diverse population will benefit yearly from this effort. Outreach efforts will extend to West Valley Community College and local high schools where students will be introduced to nanotechnology through online instruction and hands-on experimentation. In the heart of Silicon Valley, student/faculty publications will empower academic and industrial translational opportunities, resulting in a skilled and motivated workforce accelerating the nation’s global competitiveness.State-of-the-art instrumentation to investigate surface, bulk and interphase architecture will be used to address gaps in knowledge across multiscale applications at the biomaterials, health and climate nexus. This will provide an understanding of structure property relationships, specifically in terms of pore size and porosity. Both micropores ( 2nm) and macropores (50 nm) will be quantified. Porosity will be indirectly determined by density. The generation of knowledge through experimentation with modern equipment and a first principle-based approach to problem-solving will enable robust scaling. In parallel, a material database featuring collected data from characterization tests will be constructed as a basis for statistical learning models and simulations. The data from this project will be disseminated so that other engineers and scientists can also use these training sets.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.