The objective of this project is to support increased participation of US graduate students, postdoctoral associates and junior tenure-track faculty members at the 9th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications. This workshop provides a highly interactive forum for researchers to present and discuss recent innovations in micro and nanotechnology for power generation and energy conversion applications. The scope ranges from integrated microsystems for power generation, dissipation, harvesting, and management to novel nanostructures and materials for energy-related applications. The support provided through this project serves to defray the costs for junior researchers (students, postdocs, and junior faculty members) to attend the workshop to present their work and learn more about the economically and environmentally vital field of high power microsystems.
Attending meetings to present their work and learn more about the broader context of their field is a key educational experience for students and postdocs everywhere, and indeed for junior faculty. These new researchers are also the future of this field, and the interdisciplinary connections fostered by this workshop are the basis for the field's future progress. Without travel support, students, postdocs and new faculty are less likely to be able to attend this workshop and take advantage of this educational opportunity, and travel support may encourage many to attend. To encourage increased and diverse participation, news of the workshop has been disseminated broadly through print media, web presence, direct emails to past participants, and direct outreach to interested individuals and groups, including underrepresented minorities and women.
NSF Award Public Report Regarding Proposal #0968832: The 9th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications Travel Grants The objective of this project was to support increased participation of US graduate students, postdoctoral associates and junior tenure-track faculty members at the 9th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (PowerMEMS 2009). The requested budget was $30,000 which reimbursed travel fees for 47 U.S. graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and junior faculty members as well as to facilitate the reimbursement process at the University level. 47 young researchers took advantage of this opportunity which allowed for their travel to be fully reimbursed. Without travel support, students, postdocs and new faculty would have been less likely to attend this workshop and this award encouraged many of them to attend. The scope of the conference ranged from integrated microsystems for power generation, dissipation, harvesting, and management to novel nanostructures and materials for energy-related applications. The support provided through this project served to defray the costs for junior researchers to attend the workshop to present their work and learn more about the economically and environmentally vital field of high-power microsystems. The Workshop’s topic in and of itself offered broader impacts; advances in micro and nano-enabled energy storage technologies offered significant potential for a cleaner, greener, less expensive, and more capable energy future for the U.S. and internationally. Participation in this Workshop benefited young researchers (students and postdocs) by better positioning them to contribute to this vital, highly interdisciplinary field. Jeffrey St. Clair, a Masters student at the University of Maryland and a travel grant recipient at the time, noted: "Overall, there are many topics that I learned about during the conference, some of which I knew nothing about before, so it was very informative and a positive experience." In addition, the Workshop had broad impact for the entire international MEMS and nano energy communities. A record 194 abstracts were submitted, reflecting on the growth of the PowerMEMS community. The knowledge shared at the Workshop was distributed via conference proceedings and through the conversion of selected papers into archival journal articles, and is expected to catalyze international technical collaborations.
