The goal of this project is to develop a new multidisciplinary, multinational model to internationalize engineering education and research. Twelve distinguished scientists from the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany will partner with eight leading University of Rhode Island (URI) researchers to implement innovative strategies for integrating international research and graduate education. The partnership will build on the success of URI's distinctive undergraduate International Engineering Program (IEP) and the Dual Degree Master's Program to create a new International Ph.D. This international education and research partnership will work collaboratively to: 1) develop sustainable, multidisciplinary international research opportunities from the undergraduate through Ph.D. level, 2) capitalize on complementary research strengths to create innovative discoveries, 3) create international internship opportunities for graduate students, and 4) provide graduate students with a rich international research experience to increase their ability to compete in the global marketplace. The proposed research will be directed towards developing microfluidic technology for two diverse applications. The first is to develop a prototype lab-on-a chip for detecting disease biomarkers. The technology could play an integral role in responding to bioterrorism by providing a tool for early detection of infection prior to developing disease symptoms. The second application will lead to a better understanding of the triggering of landslide tsunamis. The new model will integrate research and education, create an infrastructure that provides global research and internship opportunities for graduate as well as undergraduate students, and will erase traditional departmental and cultural boundaries. This project receives support from NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering and Division of Chemical and Transport Systems.
submited by M Faghri, University of Rhode Island The goal of this PIRE project was to create multidisciplinary and multinational research teams to internationalize engineering education and research. We worked collaboratively with our partner institution to: 1) develop sustainable, multidisciplinary international research and education opportunities from the undergraduate through graduate level, 2) capitalize on complementary research strengths to create innovative discoveries, 3) create international internship opportunities for graduate students and, 4) provide faculty and students with a rich international research experience to increase their ability to work and compete in the global marketplace. The URI project team made significant and measurable achievements in meeting the goals of the PIRE and OISE. The outcomes included the strengthening of the URI/Braunschweig Dual Degree MS Program, the development of a new Dual Degree Doctoral program and a significant increase in graduate and undergraduate involvement in international research collaborations. The URI faculty teamed across the disciplines of engineering, chemistry and biology to expand its partnerships at the graduate education and research levels with special emphasis on applications of microfluidics technology to both biotechnology and ocean science projects. At the same time, they collaborated with colleagues in Germany possessing complementary expertise in their disciplines. This collaboration created a cohort of graduate students and faculty in science and engineering with global skills and experience. The University of Rhode Island (URI) and the Technical University of Braunschweig (TU-BS) in Germany formed a strong research collaboration in the area of microfluidic technology. Our research was directed toward developing novel lab-on-chip and lab-on-paper technologies for the detection of disease biomarkers. In the first application, the team developed an advanced blood-testing technology that incorporates a smart phone application, a hand-held biosensor and a credit card-size cartridge to provide rapid and accurate biological analysis and wireless communication of test results. The first cartridges developed focused on the detection of C-reactive proteins in the blood, a preferred method for helping doctors assess the risk of cardiovascular and peripheral diseases. The device can also be developed to detect virulent pathogens like HIV, hepatitis B and H1N1 flu. The second application focused on lab-on-paper devices for point-of-care diagnostics by creating a proprietary platform technology on paper based microfluidics that will put the entire lab on paper, eliminating the need for active pumping of blood and reagents through the cartiridge. The Intellectual Merit of the project included the creation of a model global research team whose complementary expertise and synergistic collaboration promoted new discoveries while building on efforts to internationalize the engineering curriculum. Distinguished scientists from TU-BS partnered with leading URI researchers. The partnership was built on the success of URI’s distinctive International Engineering Program (IEP). The Broader Impacts of the program included: 1) transforming graduate education from the traditional single discipline, single department model into a program of multiple disciplines and international educational experience, 2) developing a new model of research that erases traditional departmental and cultural boundaries and focuses instead on a common research theme, 3) creating an infrastructure across the two institutions for a the sustainable exchange of graduate and undergraduate students, 4) providing global research and internship opportunities for graduate students as well as undergraduates, 4) creating a climate for the real and virtual exchange of ideas and points of view, which penetrated the curriculum as a whole, thereby impacting all faculty and all students, and 5) providing insight to the broader higher education community to create similar research and education programs with other partner universities. The final outcome of this collaborative effort was the development of platform technologies on lab-on-a-chip and lab-on-paper devices for the early detection of infectious agents, which have practical applications and are appealing to industry. The hand held device created can be used for rapid in the field assessment of the physiological status of citizens following a high consequence bio-terrorist event or other similar events such as blood testing of astronauts at the international Space Station and communication of the results wirelessly back to Earth. The activity also promoted an integration of research and education in the areas of sensor fabrication, detection, characterization, calibration and data acquisition that require a broad knowledge of Molecular Biology, Entomology, Biochemistry and Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical Engineering.
