This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award creates a new interdisciplinary graduate training program whose focus is nanotechnology, its environmental effects, and policy at Carnegie Mellon and Howard University, in collaboration with the Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology.
This program will operate at the interface of science and environmental policy and will produce an environmentally- and policy-literate generation of nanoscience professionals with the skills needed to assess and manage environmental risks associated with nanomaterials. The program's goal is to foster the creation of knowledge and the exchange of ideas within an innovative and stimulating educational experience that will advance not only our knowledge of nanoparticles in the environment but also our understanding of how best to avoid their potential negative consequences. Broader impacts include the training of interdisciplinary Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers who, in addition to receiving rigorous scientific training, will have an understanding of the principles of good environmental stewardship, societal concerns as they relate to nanotechnology, and will be prepared to take leadership roles in dealing with environmental risk. Graduate students from multiple disciplines will participate in this two-year training program where they will learn the fundamentals of their core discipline and gain proficiency in the analysis of environmental issues pertaining to nanotechnology, decision science, and policy analysis, in new nanotechnology-themed courses. To promote interdisciplinary research students will be advised by at least two faculty members from different academic disciplines and will participate in laboratory exchanges with international partners.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
