This three-year award allows the US PI to support 15 graduate and undergraduate students, including minority students from participating institutions, to work at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) in Spain. Five students per year will work in Spain for a period of six weeks. The foreign counterpart is Jose Torralba of the Material Science and Engineering Department. This summer research program will serve as a bridge for research and academic cooperation between the PI's Center for Innovative Sintered Products (CISP) at Pennsylvania State University and UC3M. The students will undertake advanced research training on the processing realities of press and sinter nanoscale particles.
The student visits and the collaborative research between the two organizations are expected to result in the extension of designer materials to very small scales that would enable the production of small, hard, and tough microminiature devices. Such new and improved materials and processes will play an increasing role in improving energy efficiency, promoting environmental protection ensuring security, developing new and improved health-care systems, creating an information infrastructure, and providing modern and reliable transportation and civil infrastructure systems.
The program will help develop a cadre of engineers with international exposure by strengthening their communication skills, networking connections, and awareness of new research methods. This program will help develop the professional skills of future engineers that will enable them to compete effectively in a global economy.
