NSF Award
1412700
This project establishes a Research Coordination Network named "Supporting, Highlighting and Advancing Recent Developments in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance" (SHARED EPR) that aims to promote the development and dissemination of innovative instrumentation and techniques in the area of EPR spectroscopy. EPR is of central importance to scientific research in the disciplines of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Materials Science. It is a technique which is used to investigate structure and dynamics in a wide variety of samples, ranging from biological molecules to polymers to semiconductors. The information obtained with EPR is then used to understand how these molecules or materials function, and how improved ones can be made. However, the broad applicability of EPR across many scientific disciplines can inhibit effective interaction between groups that use the technique. It is crucial to the overall growth of the field of EPR that advances achieved in one discipline be communicated to researchers in the other disciplines. The SHARED EPR network is designed to ensure these advances are translated from the lab in which they are developed to the labs in which they are needed, no matter what discipline is involved. <br/>The Primary Goals of the network are to: facilitate the advancement of EPR methodology, instrumentation and techniques; foster cross-fertilization and establish new collaborative research opportunities within the U.S. EPR community; and establish international collaborations. The Network will achieve these goals by spearheading the following network activities and training opportunities. An annual Grand Challenge Workshop will be organized in conjunction with a national scientific meeting that brings together a diverse range of EPR researchers to identify and address major issues facing the field of EPR spectroscopy. A web portal will be developed to provide a centralized location for information regarding EPR research and resources and serve as a gateway to the EPR community for non-specialists. The Network will sponsor EPR Technology Transfer Experiences in which students and postdocs spend time and doing experiments in other labs to learn new EPR techniques which they will bring back and implement in their home labs. Pre-college minority students will be supported to participate in a research-based science experience at the Steppingstone Magnetic Resonance Training Center in the Detroit area. International collaborations will be fostered through the interaction of the SHARED EPR Network with the German Priority Program SPP 1601 consortium titled "New Frontiers in Sensitivity for EPR Spectroscopy: From Biological Cells to Nano Materials." This project is co-funded by the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, the Division of Chemistry, and the Division of Materials Research.
