Collaborative Research: RUI: IRES Track I: From fundamental to applied soft matter: research experiences in Mexico

我们在日常生活中经常遇到软材料，从软膏和乳液到油漆和墨水。了解这些通常具有流体和固体性质的软材料以及它们如何流动或变形对于推进许多技术是必要的，包括3D打印，其中必须对油墨或树脂的性质进行微调。为了在我们对软材料的科学理解方面取得进展，IRES Track I项目将加强南加州和墨西哥研究人员之间的合作。在这个项目的3年期间，每年将招募6名学生参加这项国际研究经验。来自历史上代表性不足的群体以及主要来自本科院校和社区学院的美国学生将成为招聘工作的目标。这些学生将在夏季在墨西哥蒙特雷的先进材料研究中心（Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados，CIMAV）或墨西哥莱昂的瓜纳华托大学进行研究。与墨西哥的研究导师和南加州的导师合作，学生将采取各种方法来研究软材料的物理和化学。这些方法包括使用计算机模拟来研究软材料的基本方面，并使用3D打印机将我们对软材料的科学理解应用于新油墨和树脂的设计和使用。参加这项研究并接受美国和墨西哥科学家指导的学生将准备与跨境的不同团队合作，并成为全球参与科学工作的领导者。这个IRES项目将加强美国和墨西哥研究人员之间的合作，每年支持6名本科生参与指导夏季研究经验。圣地亚哥大学和加州州立大学富勒顿分校的专业人员将从历史上代表性不足的群体以及主要的本科院校和社区学院中招收本科生。在接受基本研究技能培训后，选定的学生将在墨西哥蒙特雷的先进材料研究中心（Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados，CIMAV）或墨西哥莱昂的瓜纳华托大学学习大约8周。学生进行的研究项目将促进我们对软物质的理解，特别是在胶体科学和流变学领域。项目将包括研究用于3D打印应用的纳米纤维素和纤维素复合材料的流变学，量化各向异性胶体的平移和旋转扩散，以更好地了解复杂环境中的运输和微观流变学，以及开发外部场中胶体颗粒的计算机模拟。这些项目将带来微观流变学和光学显微镜的新分析技术，并将推动3D打印油墨的开发。该项目的具体目标是（1）培训和指导18（3年，每年6名学生）在合作和国际环境中进行软物质研究的本科生，（2）发展和促进美国和墨西哥机构之间的研究合作，（三）、表征和利用复杂流体和凝胶的流变特性，以增强我们对软物质的基础知识，并将此类材料应用于3D印刷应用程序，（4）在科学会议和同行评审的期刊上传播研究成果，以及（5）从代表性不足的群体中培养一批科学家，他们可以与来自不同背景的其他人建立网络并进行有效合作，并可以利用各种导师。IRES参与者将使用实验和计算方法推进从应用到基础的项目中的科学知识。学生们将了解到国际团队如何使用这些不同的方法来解决紧迫的科学和工程问题。该奖项反映了NSF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。

We encounter soft materials frequently in our everyday lives from ointments and lotions to paints and inks. Understanding these soft materials, which often possess both fluid-like and solid-like properties, and how they flow or deform is necessary for advancing many technologies, including 3D printing where the properties of the ink or resin must be finely tuned. To make progress on our scientific understanding of soft materials, this IRES Track I project will strengthen collaborations between researchers in Southern California and in Mexico. Each year over the 3-year duration of this project, 6 students will be recruited to take part in this international research experience. U.S. students from historically underrepresented groups and from predominantly undergraduate colleges and community colleges will be targeted in the recruitment effort. Those students will conduct research over the summer at either the Center for Research in Advanced Materials (Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, CIMAV) in Monterrey, Mexico or the University of Guanajuato in León, Mexico. Working with research mentors in Mexico and the mentors in Southern California, students will take various approaches to study the physics and chemistry of soft materials. Such approaches include using computer simulations to study fundamental aspects of soft materials and using 3D printers to apply our scientific understanding of soft materials to the design and use of new inks and resins. Students taking part in this research and receiving mentorship from U.S. and Mexican scientists will be prepared to cooperate with diverse teams across borders and to become leaders of a globally engaged scientific workforce. This IRES project will strengthen collaborations between researchers in the U.S. and Mexico by supporting the participation of 6 undergraduates per year in mentored summer research experiences. The PIs at the University of San Diego and California State University Fullerton will recruit undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups and from predominantly undergraduate institutions and community colleges. After receiving training on basic research skills, selected students will spend approximately 8 weeks at either the Center for Research in Advanced Materials (Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, CIMAV) in Monterrey, Mexico or the University of Guanajuato in León, Mexico. Research projects undertaken by students will advance our understanding of soft matter, particularly in the areas of colloid science and rheology. Projects will include investigating the rheology of nanocellulose and cellulose composites for use in 3D printing applications, quantifying the translational and rotational diffusion of anisotropic colloids to better understand transport and microrheology in complex environments, and developing computer simulations of colloidal particles in external fields. These projects will lead to new analysis techniques in microrheology and optical microscopy and will advance the development of inks for 3D printing. The specific objectives of this project are to (1) train and mentor 18 (6 students per year for 3 years) undergraduate students on soft matter research in a collaborative and international environment, (2) develop and foster research collaborations among institutions in the U.S. and Mexico, (3) characterize and harness the rheological properties of complex fluids and gels for enhancing our fundamental knowledge of soft matter and for applying such materials to 3D printing applications, (4) disseminate research outcomes at scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed journals, and (5) develop a cohort of scientists from predominantly underrepresented groups who can network and collaborate effectively with others from various backgrounds and who can draw upon a diverse set of mentors. IRES participants will advance scientific knowledge in projects that range from applied to fundamental using experimental and computational approaches. Students will learn how these diverse approaches used by an international team can address pressing scientific and engineering problems.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.