REU Site: Advanced Materials at Rutgers Engineering

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Non-Technical Summary This award supports the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site in Advanced Materials at Rutgers Engineering. The objective of the NSF-REU activity is to provide unique opportunities to undergraduate students from diverse demographics to conduct state-of-art, interdisciplinary research in the field of Advanced Materials in a nurturing environment. The program features stimulating interactions between students and faculty/mentors, and access to professional development and entrepreneurship opportunities through research. The program takes a holistic approach to enhanced learning by marrying training in research with professional development. This program will recruit students from diverse populations, including from underrepresented groups, who have limited opportunities to perform undergraduate research. The overall goal of this REU program is two-fold: encourage undergraduate students to continue their studies while simultaneously developing their professional and entrepreneurial skills. This goal will have positive long-term impacts on the professional outlook and development of the REU participants. Technical Summary This REU site will focus on the development of novel advanced materials with hierarchy in structure ranging from nano-scale to macro-scale, using computational, experimental and theoretical approaches. The advanced materials developed are nanomaterials, hybrid soft materials, patterned surfaces, glasses, inorganic polymers, and advanced ceramic composites. These materials can be applied to wound treatment, biosynthesis, optical waveguides, catalysis, tissue engineering, polymer solar cells, biological nanoparticles, wind turbine blades and phase transformation investigations. Student participants are recruited primarily from academic institutions with limited research opportunities, including two-year colleges. The students will acquire advanced research skills with enhanced professional abilities, having excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Their work will be disseminated through presentations at professional meetings and publications in professional journals. The research experiences provided by this REU Site will have a long lasting and rewarding influence on the participating students. 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.