CENTER FOR NANOSCALE SCIENCE The Center for Nanoscale Science is a grant award funded through the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) program of the National Science Foundation. It supports a number of collaborative materials research efforts within the structure of 4 interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs) and an education/ outreach component. Seed projects explore potential new areas of study and encourage innovations to redirect current projects. A National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) What is the MRSEC? Who is involved? Broader Impacts Integrated within its research priority is an established culture of education and outreach which engages Center members and associates in a wide array of activities beyond the laboratory: ‣ Science museum kit development with The Franklin Institute ‣ Summer science camps with Science U ‣ Teacher workshops and summer research ‣ Public outreach science events ‣ Undergraduate research and mentorship ‣ Diversity-oriented education and community building programs ‣ Guided tours of research facilities These activities and others prove to be fun, valuable professional development and resume building experiences. Center members include more than 40 research faculty, about 40 graduate students in 7 departments across 3 colleges, research associates, postdocs, and undergraduates, and industry partners, plus external collaborators at a number of academic institutions. Associated faculty, staff, and students from the broader scientific community at Penn State also participate in Center- lead research, education, outreach, and diversity activities. This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. SCI 16-30 To learn more or get involved, visit: http://www.mrsec.psu.edu/ Or contact: Professor Vincent Crespi, Director [email protected]
Transcript
CENTER FOR NANOSCALE
SCIENCE
The Center for Nanoscale Science is a grant award funded through the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) program of the National Science Foundation. It supports a number of collaborative materials research efforts within the structure of 4 interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs) and an education/outreach component. Seed projects explore potential new areas of study and encourage innovations to redirect current projects.
A National Science Foundation
Materials Research Science
and Engineering Center
(MRSEC)
What is the MRSEC?
Who is involved?
Broader Impacts
Integrated within its research priority is an established culture of education and outreach which engages Center members and associates in a wide array of activities beyond the laboratory:
‣ Science museum kit development with The Franklin Institute
‣ Summer science camps with Science U
‣ Teacher workshops and summer research
‣ Public outreach science events
‣ Undergraduate research and mentorship
‣ Diversity-oriented education and community building programs
‣ Guided tours of research facilities
These activities and others prove to be fun, valuable professional development and resume building experiences.
Center members include more than 40 research faculty, about 40 graduate students in 7 departments across 3 colleges, research associates, postdocs, and undergraduates, and industry partners, plus external collaborators at a number of academic institutions. Associated faculty, staff, and students from the broader scientific community at Penn State also participate in Center-lead research, education, outreach, and diversity activities. This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an
equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. SCI 16-30
To learn more or get involved, visit: http://www.mrsec.psu.edu/
A new type of symmetry known as rotation reversal was discovered by IRG1 researchers. Such new symmetries also arise in helical structures such as DNA, proteins, and sugar crystals.
Courtesy of the Gopalan Group, Penn State
R E S E A R C H A T T H E C E N T E R
IRG #1: DESIGNING FUNCTIONALITY INTO LAYERED FERROICS
IRG1 showcases materials discovery through design for electric field control of materials starting from the level of atoms. The goal is to design and discover fundamental new mechanisms and material classes of acentric layered oxides with strong coupling to spin, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom.
The Center for Nanoscale Science serves as a primary nanoscale science and education/outreach arm of the interdisciplinary Materials Research Institute (MRI).
IRG3 exploits unique synthetic capabilities to create new materials in which electronic, magnetic, and vibrational degrees of freedom interact with well-ordered nanometer-scale 3D structural modulations. This work could lead to practical application in diverse areas such as solar cells, near-IR photonics, light emitting devices, and improved thermoelectrics.
IRG4 seeks to understand and control the organization of particle mixtures to generate architectures in which functions are imparted by the collective properties of the array. Learning how to achieve desired assembly outcomes, and to find ways to take advantage of them for increased control, will set the stage for a new era of nanomaterial-enabled device applications.
IRG #4: MULTICOMPONENT ASSEMBLIES FOR COLLECTIVE FUNCTION
This regular lattice of silica spheres is infiltrated completely with germanium on a scale of tens of nanometers.
Courtesy of the Badding Group, Penn State
IRG2 makes, models, and studies autonomous motors and pumps that convert the free energy of local chemical, optical, thermal, and acoustic fields to motion. The IRG2 team pursues a bottom-up approach to understanding motility, sensing emergent collective behavior in autonomously driven synthetic systems by combining theory and numerical modeling with the synthesis and experimental study of new classes of motors.
Included in the MRI user facilities are the Materials Characterization Laboratory, the Nanofabrication Laboratory (pictured above), and the Materials Computation Center.
MRSEC researchers have the opportunity to train on world-class instruments such as the Titan, one of the world's highest resolution electron microscopes.
Credit for images: Paul Hazi
The on-and-off collective behavior of self-powered micromotors is similar to the schooling behavior seen in biological systems like fish.
Courtesy of the Sen Group, Penn State
This simulation illustrates field-induced dipolar interactions between particles in a mixed-particle assembly.
