NSF Org:	CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
Initial Amendment Date:	April 7, 2011
Latest Amendment Date:	April 7, 2011
Award Number:	1104341
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Clark Cooper CMMI  Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation ENG  Directorate for Engineering
Start Date:	April 15, 2011
End Date:	March 31, 2012 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$10,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$10,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2011 = $10,000.00
History of Investigator:	Santiago Solares (Principal Investigator) solares@cua.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Maryland, College Park 3112 LEE BUILDING COLLEGE PARK MD  US  20742-5100 (301)405-6269
Sponsor Congressional District:	04
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Maryland, College Park 3112 LEE BUILDING COLLEGE PARK MD  US  20742-5100
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	04
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	NPU8ULVAAS23
Parent UEI:	NPU8ULVAAS23
NSF Program(s):	MATERIALS AND SURFACE ENG
Primary Program Source:	01001112DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):	024E, 1444, 7556, 8021, 9102, 9161, AMPP, CVIS
Program Element Code(s):	163300
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.041

ABSTRACT

This grant provides funding for a delegation consisting of researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park, Purdue University and Harvard University to attend the 2011 International Conference on Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy (NC-AFM) to take place in Lindau, Germany. The delegation consists mostly of graduate students and junior researchers. Additionally, it includes two members of the provisionally approved 2013 NC-AFM Conference Organization Committee, who will be updating and seeking final approval from the Conference Steering Committee on the proposed conference plan to be carried out in 2013 in Washington D.C.

The delegation will have the opportunity to learn from and interact with the most prominent researchers in the field of NC-AFM, most of which reside in Europe and Japan. One of the most relevant conference topics to be presented (by others) is the nascent field of sub-atomic chemical force microscopy, which holds significant promise in the electronic structure probing of nanoscale surfaces. This is particularly important for energy-related applications, such as lithium ion diffusion tracking and enhanced fuel cell materials. Hosting the conference in the U.S. in 2013 will enable a large number of U.S. researchers to attend and acquire knowledge on the latest NC-AFM techniques, which will in turn help raise the level of interest in the U.S.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

This grant provided partial support for eight U.S. travelers (one junior faculty, two research associates and five graduate students) to attend the 2011 International Conference on Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy (NC-AFM), which took place in Lindau, Germany, on September 18-22 of 2011 (http://ncafm2011.unibas.ch/home/).  Each of the travelers submitted a technical contribution to the conference, including two oral and six poster presentations.  Additionally, a proposal was presented to organize the 2013 conference at the University of Maryland, which was accepted by the International Steering Committee.  The NC-AFM conference is the most prestigious international conference dedicated exclusively to the field of atomic force microscopy.

The support provided by this grant allowed the participants to directly interact and learn from the most prominent researchers in the field of high-resolution atomic force microscopy, who presented a range of theoretical and experimental topics related to measurement of the topography and properties of sub-nanoscale surface features.

The award of the 2013 NC-AFM conference to the University of Maryland offers a unique opportunity for local investigators (especially students) to immerse themselves into the most advanced research in a field that is currently dominated by Europe and Japan, and which focuses on a very important enabling tool in nanotechnology.

Last Modified: 05/25/2012
Modified by: Santiago D Solares

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