This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program at University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, a primarily undergraduate institution, involves a successful partnership between the Humacao, Cayey and RÃo Piedras campuses of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Multidisciplinary and multi-institutional teams of researchers combine mathematical and computational techniques with experiments to study the properties of materials that include metal oxides and carbon nanotubes. Applications include the construction of gas sensors and electronic devices with nanometric (billionth of a meter) dimensions. With smaller sizes these devices are expected to be more efficient, effective and economical for applications such as the detection of bacteria in food and water samples.
PREM is committed to increasing the number of minority and women students in materials research through a well coordinated effort that begins with outreach activities for the community and which guides talented and motivated students from elementary to graduate school. A new component supports a local high school in the integration of materials research contents into the curricula. PREM will increase interactions with industry and broaden opportunities for minority students by initiating efforts to foster entrepreneurship and the development of small businesses based on materials research. The education and outreach programs include: seminars and videoconferences, mini-courses on materials, hands on workshops and open houses for K-12 students and teachers, a summer research program for high school students, and collaboration with a museum to bring scientific exhibits for the broader community. Student and faculty exchanges between UPR and Penn include a Summer Program at Penn for UPR faculty and students, an Annual Research Meeting and an Annual Research Symposium at UPR.
