ABSTRACT

Non-technical Summary:

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a major research university located in the Southwest region of United States and is composed of nearly 83% Hispanic-American student population. The proposed Partnership in Research and Educations for Materials (PREM) project between UTEP and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) will have a significant impact on students and local communities. The UTEP PREM center will promote and enhance the participation and advanced degree attainment of underrepresented minority (URM) students in materials science and engineering. The PREM projects will have broader impact on the production of doctorates that come from URM groups and will enhance major advancements in two important disciplines of materials science - energy and biomaterials. The UTEP PREM center will provide excellent education, training and research opportunities to students from historically URM groups by providing a number of new opportunities for hands-on laboratory experience, research mentoring, professional development, research seminars, joint UTEP/UCSB workshops, and student exchanges. In addition to accelerating scientific excellence, the PREM Center will also foster mentoring of junior and mid-career faculty. Expanding into a PREM Center and forming strong UTEP-UCSB connections, the UTEP PREM will not only impact within the region but will strengthen education in the study and research of advanced materials and contribute to the workforce development in materials science and engineering.

Technical Summary:

A synergistic, multidisciplinary research approach is proposed to advance the basic understanding of the interfacial structure, physics, and chemistry and to study defects and dopants in order to improve the materials' performance in energy and biomaterials. The PREM center is comprised of two primary Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) and topics in order to foster a diverse, innovative, and multifaceted research center that addresses a range of outstanding challenges in materials science. The PREM center will focus on two main areas: a) IRG1-Energy, and b) IRG2-Biomaterials. Prof. Ramana from UTEP and Prof. Seshadri from UCSB will lead this institutional partnership in which nine UTEP and eight UCSB scientists and engineers (chemistry, materials, physics, and electrical and mechanical engineering) form collaborative IRGs. The specific research topics in IRG1-Energy include: i) Multilayered, Transparent Electrodes, ii) Uranium-Based Compounds, and (iii) Multifunctional Oxides. Within IRG1, the overarching objectives include investigating the science and engineering of high quality multifunctional oxides, oxide/metal/oxide multilayered films, and actinide oxide semiconductors. In the context of IRG2-Biomaterials, the focus will be on: i) Development of Biomimetic Scaffolds for 3D Tissue, and ii) Photothermal Nanomaterials for High-Efficiency Biomass Conversion. The objectives of IRG2 include understanding the interplay between synthesis, surface/interface chemistry, and photothermal effects of nano- and biomaterials. Housing these IRGs under a PREM center umbrella unifies the cutting-edge material science research programs at UTEP and nurtures true interdisciplinary interactions. The formation of a PREM center also streamlines input and collaborative contributions from UCSB, thus adjoining two productive materials science research centers. Also, the world-class instrument facilities at UCSB will enable and catalyze the exploration of the basic science of functional inorganic and biomaterials and provide unique opportunities for cross-fertilization of ideas, mentoring, and multidisciplinary training.

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.

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