Support for Broadening Participation in the 28th AACG Western Section Conference on Crystal Growth & Epitaxy; Fallen Leaf Lake, California; 9-12 June 2024

Northeastern University, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

The design and synthesis of new materials and processes for growth of crystals is important for technological advances. The biennial American Association for Crystal Growth Conference (West) brings together researchers in diverse areas spanning natural sciences and engineering to present their latest findings. The secluded setting of the conference offers a unique platform for exchange of ideas in fundamental and applied areas related to crystal growth. Recent trends in the crystal growth community have revealed challenges in translating crystal growth technologies to industrial manufacturing processes, and in training a diverse workforce for sustaining the innovation economy. To this end, the organizing committee for the 28th version of the conference has included an advanced manufacturing component within the conference program. The award will support the attendance of early-stage researchers and students at the conference (graduate, undergraduate and high school) with emphasis on students from underrepresented communities from universities and high schools all over the country. The award will also support the organization of a panel discussion on student career planning and guidance. The initiatives in this and future versions of the conference to help several manufacturing technologies through development of interdisciplinary projects and collaborations, and for the education and training of a new generation of diverse workforce within the crystal growth community. The organizing committee for the conference has selected topics in areas of biomimetics, biocrystallization, energy materials, environmental systems, functional materials, and fundamental aspects of crystallization. With participation from industry, academia, and national laboratories, the conference allows a unique set of collaborations that underscore the issues and solutions in fundamental and application-focused aspects of crystal growth. Within each topic, there is an emphasis on addressing challenges in scaling up the synthesis techniques to industry-scale manufacturing platforms with data-enabled AI and machine-learning based techniques. These interdisciplinary bridges are needed to realize the transformative potential for several crystal growth principles and technologies in understanding, engineering, and manufacturing of crystals. The manufacturing focus in this meeting should serve as a template for future meetings to strengthen the nexus between manufacturing and crystal growth. Recruitment efforts are aimed at building a conference program that encouraged participation of several speakers new to the crystal growth community and to the AACG society, including early-stage researchers and students from underrepresented communities. The conference program and abstracts will be disseminated through the AACG website and through AACG newsletter. 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.