9550759 Montoya The Chemical Engineering Department at New Mexico State University (NMSU) is proposing a program to develop the technical and professional skills of minority students and faculty. The focus of the research program is development of a validated process simulation model of the magnetic Czochralski process, the most frequently used commercial process for growing large bulk crystals. Magnetic fields stabilize convection and turbulent flow in the metallic liquid phase; the Czochralski process benefits form this increased stability by producing uniform crystals with few defects. Coupled to the modeling task is development of reliable estimates of the thermodynamic and transport properties of the solid-liquid system. Also, a complete experimental understanding of the process (albeit, the non-magnetic process at the current time) will be obtained to verify the model. After full characterization of the experimental apparatus using pure materials, this initiative will begin investigations of materials that have been successfully grown only by thin-film growth, such as gallium nitride, a wide-band-gap semiconductor which, when incorporated into a diode, is capable of emitting visible blue light. The outcome of a successful research program will be the introduction of new processing techniques and novel materials into industry, as well as creating new methods to grow large quantities of ildustrially important semiconductors and ceramics. Resources will be developed for minority student and faculty training. Minority graduate and undergraduate students will be directly involved with the research, and collaboration with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory will encourage the development of external contacts for career development. Publication of results will strengthen the reputation of both the RIMI program and NMSU. Computing facilities and experimental equipment will be added to the NMSU College of Engineering, providing facilities that wil l aid in obtaining further grants to sustain current and future research. The nature of the theoretical work employed in this proposal, the number of crystalline systems that are of interest to industry, and the lack of research into magnetic-field assisted materials processing will sustain this program well into the future. ***
