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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Summer Research Program

Your Exclusive Preview of Graduate School

Undergraduate Research Opportunities in

Functional Nanomaterials and Nanoscience

at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Nebraska was established in the fall of 2002 by the National Science Foundation to carry out research on new magnetic structures and materials at the nanometer scale, or a width of about four atoms. It aims at the fundamental understanding of topics of substantial technological importance, and at the communication of this understanding to the public. Nanomagnetic structures are important in the development of advanced electronics and computing systems, and have the potential to lead to data storage systems with hundreds of times more capacity than present systems, non-volatile computer memory, improved hand-held electronic devices and advanced sensors.

Research Topics

Nanoelements
There are broad-based efforts in developing nanoelements of different materials for applications in biomedicine, as sensors, in thermal management, as catalysts, and solar energy conversion. Research within this area includes synthesis and characterization of titania nanotubes, the fabrication and characterization of magnetic nanoclusters for biomedical applications, and the synthesis and characterization of self-asssembled nanowire arrays for biochem, infrared, or magnetic sensing applications. Participants will utilize advanced equipment such as scanning and transmission electron microscopes and x-ray diffractometers, as well as various physical and chemical processing routes.
Nanocomposite Materials
Novel processing routes available at UNL allow the fabrication of nanocomposite structures with unique electronic or magnetic properties. These include clusters imbedded in a thin-film matrix, and multilayered structures. Both structures rely on interactions across the interfaces to create novel behavior for use in electronic or magnetic applications. Projects include combining different magnetic phases at the nanoscale in both granular and thin-film form for advanced magnetoelectronic applications. Along with using advanced fabrication techniques, undergraduate researchers will utilize magnetometry, electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction to characterize nanocomposite structures.

The primary objective of this program for undergraduates is to develop the participants into independent researchers. As such, the format of the research activities undertaken will be designed to develop skills and foster independence. Individual projects will be designed to be completed within the ten-week time frame of the summer program. The projects will generally fit into the larger context of the faculty advisor's research program.

The individual research projects will necessarily involve all aspects of research. The research project will involve formulating the problem, developing a research plan, and conducting the research. The first two will be accomplished early in the program and, of course, be directly and closely supervised by the faculty advisor. The research component will include the normal aspects of research—for experimentalists, this is materials fabrication/processing, characterization, and data analysis and interpretation. The REU participant will be responsible for this aspect, with proper training and supervision on the equipment.

The primary focus of this REU site will be in nanoscale materials science and engineering focused on the structure and properties of nanoelements (clusters and wires) and nanocomposites. The former concentrates on the behavior of the nanoscale elements, while the latter focuses on novel interactions between the components of the composite. It should be noted that the word "composite" here is used loosely to describe both clusters imbedded in a matrix and multilayer thin films. Some examples of specific research projects within these two categories are described below.