IRES Track 1:International Research Experience in Functional Nanomaterials in Japan

21世纪的研究是一项全球性的事业。无论是在国际学术界合作，还是作为全球研究或制造业务的一部分管理工程师团队，跨文化沟通和合作的能力都是至关重要的。任何本科生或研究生理工科课程都没有教授在这种多元文化环境中取得成功所需的技能和信心。在这里，交流更多的是语言。英语是科学的通用语言，但即使在这一背景下，有效的互动和合作也有相当大的文化方面。为了成为这一全球科学事业的有效贡献者，学生们必须在他们的教育中增加这些额外的维度。该项目旨在帮助美国理工科本科生在其职业生涯的关键早期阶段接触到现代研究的国际性。这是通过在国际环境下开展有重点的夏季研究计划来实现的，目标是培养具有全球意识的科学家。在这个项目的过程中，15名学生将得到支持，在日本筑波的国家材料科学研究所进行专注于功能纳米材料的身临其境的研究体验。这一方案是建立在2008年以来以各种形式实施的非常成功的方案的基础上的。以前的项目已经被证明在培养成功的国际研究合作所需的具有全球意识的科学家方面非常有效。该项目每年夏天为五名美国本科生提供暑期纳米技术研究体验，以获得先进的国际研究经验。学生参与者将与位于日本筑波的国家材料科学研究所(NIMS)的资深科学家合作。该计划是以康奈尔大学为代表的美国国家纳米技术协调基础设施(NNCI)和以NIMS为代表的材料和纳米技术高级研究基础设施(ARIM)之间的合作成果。它们分别是每个国家的先进大学纳米技术实验室的国家网络，使它们成为天然的合作伙伴。这些研究项目将从世界领先的材料研究机构之一--国家材料科学研究所功能材料研究中心内正在进行的研究组合中提取。具体项目包括开发改进的热电材料(Mori博士)，以及开发和表征用于传感器和电子设备的新型氧化物和氮化物材料(Ohsawa博士)。在化学/传感器技术领域，学生将探索用于人工嗅觉的微机械结构(吉川博士)和作为化学传感器的光子晶体(岩原博士)。在生命科学领域，参与者将开发纳米纹理表面作为干细胞生长的支架(陈国平博士)，并研究表面结构和化学对细胞功能和分化的影响(中西博士)。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。

Research in the 21st century is a global enterprise. Whether collaborating internationally in academia or managing a team of engineers as part of a global research or manufacturing operation, the ability to communicate and collaborate across cultures is critical. The skills and confidence necessary to succeed in this multicultural environment are not taught in any undergraduate or graduate science/engineering curriculum. Here, communication is much more that language. English is the universal language of science, but even within that context, there are considerable cultural aspects to effective interaction and collaboration. To be effective contributors in this global scientific enterprise, students must add these additional dimensions to their education. This program addresses the need to expose US undergraduate science and technology students to the international nature of modern research at a critical early stage in their careers. This is accomplished through a focused summer research program in an international setting, with the goal of developing Globally Aware Scientists. Over the course of this program, fifteen students will be supported for an immersive research experience focused on functional nanomaterials at the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan. This program is built on the base of a very successful program that has been conducted in various forms since 2008. Prior programs have been demonstrated to be extremely effective in developing the Globally Aware Scientists that are needed for successful international research collaboration.This program supports summer research experiences in nanotechnology for five U.S. undergraduates each summer for an advanced international research experience. Student participants will be working with senior scientists at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan. The program is a cooperative effort between the U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), represented by Cornell, and the Advanced Research Infrastructure for Materials and Nanotechnology (ARIM) represented by NIMS. These are, respectively, the national networks of advanced university nanotechnology laboratories in each country, making them natural partners. These research projects will be drawn from the ongoing research portfolio within the Research Center for Functional Materials of the National Institute for Materials Science, one of the leading materials research facilities in the world. Specific projects include development of improved thermoelectric materials (Dr. Mori), and development and characterization of new oxide and nitride materials for sensors and electronics (Dr. Ohsawa). Within the area of chemistry/sensor technology, students will explore micromechanical structures for artificial olfaction (Dr. Yoshikawa) and photonic crystals as chemical sensors (Dr. Iwanaga). Within the Life Sciences area, participants will develop nano-textured surfaces as scaffolds for stem cell growth (Dr. Guoping Chen) and study the effect of surface structure and chemistry on cell function and differentiation (Dr. Nakanishi).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.