IRES: Track II: Advanced Study Institute: Using Nanotechnology for Fabricating New Biomaterials and Next-Generation Electrodes

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

Energy storage and biomedical engineering are two areas in the forefront of scientific research that require the use of nanofabrication. The three advanced study institutes, ASIs, (one each year) that will take place during this project are to introduce graduate students to new fabrication processes for nanomaterials, and also to exemplify how important it is to collaborate efficiently with researchers from other fields. Each year, ten advanced US graduate students will spend sixteen days at the University of Cambridge (UC) and the Alexander-Friedrich University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), attending lectures/labs on electrode fabrication in the former and biomedical implants in the latter. In addition to being exposed to academia, the students will also visit battery companies and medical schools. Interacting with leading scientists in two distinctly different areas, the students will identify how the fields of materials science and bioengineering can be bridged, and how a strong background in fabrication results into interdisciplinary research. This will be a unique experience for graduate students, allowing them to expand their horizons. The most promising next-generation electrodes for Li-ion batteries are comprised of nanostructured composites, while the most promising scaffolds for tissue engineering also have a nanostructure. However, the energy storage and biomaterials communities are not in close contact despite the ability to use the similar materials for both applications. The novelty of the present Advanced Study Institute is that instead of exposing the students to a particular engineering field, it will show them how they can obtain insight from one field in order to advance another. Although numerous fabrication techniques will be described focus will be given on fabricating new nanocomposite materials. After fabricating such materials, the students will examine their ability to induce bone-regeneration (at FAU), as well as their use as anodes in Li-ion batteries (at UC). The students will therefore obtain new results in energy storage and tissue engineering by collaborating with world-known institutions. The impact of this project will be significant in the miniaturization of Li-ion batteries, and increase in biocompatibility of medical devices, but also in the graduate education system of the US. Numerous outreach activities will be performed in elementary and high schools throughout Florida 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.