NSF Award
2216805
This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Southern University (SU) is one of the largest historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the nation. SU and its collaborating partner, the University of Rochester (UR) Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures (CMAP), aim to establish the Partnership for Research and Education on Molecules at High Pressures. The research partnership plan of this PREP project is to work on two research topics: Topic 1: high pressure physical properties of optically nonlinear superhard CO2-V and ambient recovery; and Topic 2: the exploration of the P-T phase diagram of H2O/He/H2 and hydrides. The partnership will enable the faculty members, researchers, and students at SU to access the state-of-the-art research facilities at CAMP and contribute to the exploration of these physics research frontiers in molecular physics. The framework of the project is also to broaden the participation of faculty members and researchers at SU in physics research frontiers, to increase the research and education participation of underrepresented minority (URM) undergraduate and graduate students, and to increase the number of students pursuing graduate studies and thus future URM scientists in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce in the country. <br/><br/>The intellectual merit of this project is to utilize a combined computation and simulation approach, including first-principles density functional theory computations, metadynamics and evolutionary algorithm-based structure optimizations, ab initio path-integral molecular dynamics simulations, and machine learning physical property predictions, to guide in situ experimental studies of the selected systems for new physical properties discoveries. The educational goal of the project is to expand the pool of minority student participants in a physics research frontier and the infusion of minority undergraduate and graduate students in transformative research. The education framework of the project includes the collaboration with CAMP education and diversity plan to facilitate outreach and recruitment of under-represented minorities and women. The educational plan of this project is to work in the following three areas: 1) engage in precollege outreach activities; 2) enhance undergraduate student physics research experience; and 3) expand graduate student research training.<br/><br/>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.
