NSF Award Abstract - #0333380

AWSFL008-DS3

IGERT: Multidisciplinary Graduate Education and Research Training in
Nanomaterials Science and Engineering

Abstract

Tuskegee University started its first Ph.D. program in Materials Science and Engineering in fall 1998 with initial support from the National Science Foundation through a grant to establish the Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST). The program also received subsequent support from various federal agencies (ONR, ARO, AFOSR, and NASA) and industry (Boeing and Raytheon). It is a multidisciplinary program whose primary objective is to substantially increase the number of minorities, particularly, African Americans with Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering. The IGERT project is intended to provide additional fellowships to meet the demand from students to enter the Ph.D. program. It also includes stipends for some undergraduate and Master's level students who could be appropriately prepared to enter the Ph.D. program.

The thematic area of research is the development of structural nanocomposites. Recent studies show that an infusion of a small percentage of nanoparticles into a polymer can bring about significant changes in the chemical and mechanical properties of composite materials. To bring these benefits to structural composites, we are planning to continue a development of the science and technology of nanocomposites. A diverse team of researchers has been assembled to study the entire spectrum of technology related to synthesis, fabrication, and characterization of structural nanocomposites. The three subprojects of the proposed research theme will be: (i) Synthesis and Analysis of Structural Nanocomposites, (ii) Modeling and Manufacturing of Structural Nanocomposites, and (iii) Performance Evaluation of Structural Nanocomposites. The proposed research activities will be a systematic and logical expansion of studies of the synthesis, modeling, and manufacturing of advanced nanocomposites that are already being performed by the Tuskegee team under various research grants.

Each subproject will consist of several student research projects. Several faculty members will be involved in each research project. A faculty member from this team will also serve as the thesis advisor to the Ph.D. student. Each project will include a Ph.D. student, a Masters student and two undergraduate students. In conducting the proposed research and educational activities, members of the Tuskegee team will collaborate with two majority universities with internationally recognized research centers in nanomaterials (Rice University and the University of Wisconsin), federal research laboratories (Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and industry (Boeing and Raytheon). Three new graduate level courses related to nanomaterials science and engineering and one course dealing with issues of ethics in research will be developed as part of this IGERT project. We also intend to make arrangements for the students in the Ph.D. program to intern at national and industrial laboratories to acquire additional research and professional development experience. The Ph.D. students who express a desire to join the professorate will be given opportunities to teach selected undergraduate courses and team with the faculty in teaching selected graduate courses.

The intellectual merit of this proposal lies in the fact that the benefits of nanoparticle infusion into a polymer are being harnessed for the manufacture of nanophased structural composites using a comprehensive approach. These structural composites will consequently have significantly superior mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties. Fulfillment of the stated objectives will expand our knowledge of the science of nanoparticle-polymer interactions as well as provide, in the short term, comprehensive technical information on a new generation of structural materials. The broader impacts resulting from the proposed activities include production of a large number of African American graduates, including many at the Ph.D. level, in an emerging area of materials science and engineering. Such graduates should become role models for many young minority science and engineering students in years to come. Moreover, these graduates will help bring much-needed diversity to the nation's advanced technological workforce. It is also anticipated that the methodologies developed here for the manufacture of nanocomposites may well lead to patentable processes for the large-scale production of nanophased structural composites.

IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In this sixth year of the program, awards are being made to institutions for programs that collectively span the areas of science and engineering supported by NSF.