Nanotechnology is a world-wide research enterprise. It is essential for young researchers to learn to excel in this environment. While science is universal, the process by which peers do science by communicating with each other is not. In this context, communication is about much more than language. Language is the easy part as almost all scientists speak English. But issues of gender roles, seniority, directness, and formality all differ, to mention just a few. This International Research Experience for Students award supports five outstanding U.S. undergraduate students per year for three years to conduct nanotechnology research at the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan. The students selected for this program are promising young scientists with an interest in nanotechnology who have already successfully completed one significant domestic nanotechnology training experience through the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network/National Nanotechnology Coordination Infrastructure (NNIN/NNCI) Research Experience for Undergraduates program. The IRES program enhances participating students? scientific skills with a more advanced research project while simultaneously building their awareness of international research culture. This program uses anew qualitative assessment instrument for measuring and increasing the impact of the research experience on global research awareness. The National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) is a leading inter national research facility with a broad program in nanotechnology. The research component part of the program concentrates on two subfields of nanotechnology where considerable student interest is evident: energy and nanobiotechnology. The five selected students will participate in an individual focused research project under the supervision of a senior NIMS researcher. In the energy arena, projects may include real time monitoring of energy conversion processes, novel nano-photocatalytic materials for solar fuel production, and development of viable thermoelectric materials. Nanobiotechnology projects may include smart materials for biomedical applications, nanobiointerfaces for analyzing cellular function, nanostructured scaffolds for cell function manipulation, and immune system regulation through a nanoparticle mediated DNA drug delivery mechanism.
This award is jointly funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering, Directorate for Engineering Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems and Nanoscale Science and Engineering Program.
