The NSF IRES BEAMS program will address the interest of the nation by advancing science and technology, developing U.S. students as leaders to address global challenges, and impacting people’s health and societal well-being. The significance of the program is to train U.S. students to enhance bio and electronic devices and materials important for healthcare diagnostics, cancer therapies, tissue engineering, drug delivery platforms, wearable and flexible sensors, edible electronics, energy efficiency, vision restoration, and real-time biological monitoring. The fundamental issues to be addressed by the NSF IRES BEAMS program includes providing an understanding of materials and device solutions to scientists and engineers for continued technological innovation; equipping scientists and engineers with an interdisciplinary research “toolbox†that will enable them to be at the forefront in developing novel bio and electronic systems; and preparing scientists and engineers to be creative and culturally and globally aware, to demonstrate leadership and integrity, and to use team-focused approaches to solve problems that stretch far beyond national boundaries.
The IRES-BEAMS Program will leverage synergistic research, education, and mentoring thrusts between leading research facilities at the University of South Florida (USF), the National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), and the Italian Institute of Technology Center for Nano Science and Technology (IIT-CNST), building upon pre-existing collaborative efforts with experts in materials and devices. This program will address scientific challenges for bio and electronic device materials leading the way for patient compliance and biological monitoring, regenerative disease, and wearable and flexible sensors, and many other healthcare technology platforms needed to advance humanity, prepare for future pandemics, and improve quality of life. Several strategies will be employed to engage participants and to proactively recruit diverse participants from NSBE, SHPE, SWE, USF REU, NSF Florida-Georgia LSAMP, USF NSF FGLSAMP Bridge to Doctorate, USF Sloan UCEM, and Florida A&M University’s NSF CREST. Students, faculty, and global partners will engage in diverse thought and innovation on a global level and foster professional networks, academic collaborations, and funding proposals.
Part 2 Preparing global technology leaders in the area of advanced material systems will address many of the grand challenges of engineering and foster a highly-skilled, domestic workforce in areas of national need. To support this effort, the IRES-BEAMS Program (US-Italy International Research Experience for Students for Bio and Electronic Advanced Material Systems) focuses on advanced materials for bio and electronic devices. IRES-BEAMS leverages ongoing research and mentoring initiatives between the Advanced Materials Bio and Integration Research (AMBIR) group at the University of South Florida and the National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (CNR-IPCB), and the Italian Institute of Technology Center for Nano Science and Technology (IIT-CNST), both among Italy’s top ten research organizations. The specific objectives of the IRES-BEAMS program are: Develop student “global competencyâ€, teamwork, and leadership skills that will enable them to bridge cultural differences and collaborate effectively within multinational teams Expand student participation within international research to enhance their global engagement and preparedness for cutting-edge graduate programs (M.S., PhD.) Establish collaborative research projects of mutual interest to facilitate new long-term partnerships, funding proposals, future high-impact publications, patents, and student training opportunities Provide students, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, with state-of-the art research-training in bio and nano electronics under the mentorship of international scientists to promote a diverse, globally-aware workforce in future and advanced manufacturing Intellectual Merit. The IRES-BEAMS program addresses transformational impacts of advanced materials utilized for fundamental and applied research in bio and nano electronics at the convergence of disciplines. Projects will be focused on two overarching themes: Design and Fabrication of Micro/Nano Scaled Fibers for BIO devices (CNR-IPCB) and ELECTRONIC devices (IIT-CNST). Several strategies will be used to recruit 6 U.S. students per year from diverse disciplines with an emphasis on the training of underrepresented minority participants. Efforts will identify undergraduate and graduate students from targeted programs and student organizations, including, NSBE, SHPE, SWE, USF REU, NSF LSAMP, NSF Florida-Georgia Bridge to Doctorate, USF Sloan UCEM, and FAMU’s CREST to recruit three cohorts. The IM will be mutually beneficial to students, faculty, and global partners. Students will gain exposure and training on electro fluid dynamic techniques (EFDTs), opportunities to engage in diverse thought and innovation on a global level. AMBIR, IPCB, and CNST labs will collect new data, characterize materials, analyze data, fabricate devices and publish findings in peer-reviewed journals (MRS, ACS, IEEE, Advanced Materials, and others), a benefit to all.
The IRES-BEAMS program will impact engineering education, student success, collaborative innovation, and functionalized materials development on the local, national, and international levels. The benefits of international engagement will strengthen a students’ global interconnectedness and awareness, cultural and language training, “comparative openness beyond the classroom to embrace and promote diversityâ€, STEM career readiness, and student empowerment. IRES-BEAMS will utilize websites, biweekly blogs, presentations, publications, ethical perspectives, social media (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube), and K-12 outreach (EXPO) for dissemination to both scientific and lay audiences. Assessment and evaluation efforts will capture the impact of materials research on devicefabrication and longitudinal impact on student professional progression. Additional evaluations, aligned with subscales of the engineering global preparedness index, will provide further data on faculty and student research, mentoring, and professional development skills. IRES-BEAMS participants will be required to present their research annually during university research days and local/national research symposiums, and educational outcomes will be published/presented in STEM educational meetings/ proceedings/journals (Frontiers in Education, ASEE, Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Science Careers, and others).
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
