NSF Award
2424463
Tennessee State University (TSU), founded in 1912, and Fisk University, established in 1866, represent the biggest and the oldest historically black universities in Nashville. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is a large public institution with top-ranked engineering and science programs. The TSU-Fisk-Illinois (TSUFI) Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) creates a long-term collaborative research and education partnership with the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC) at UIUC. The primary goal is enhancing recruitment of underrepresented minority (URM) students to materials relevant graduate degree programs through mentored research and strategic programming, within a collaborative community. TSUFI PREM focuses on three main areas: the PREM Pathway, Science, and Partnership. The partnership will advance materials science research, particularly in multifunctional nanomaterials and machine-learning-informed design at both atomic and macroscale levels, through collaborative research projects, development of shared research facilities and computational infrastructure between Fisk and TSU, recruiting new faculty in materials science at TSU, and expanding academic offerings to include new degrees in the field. TSUFI PREM will broaden participation in materials research by fostering a vibrant research community that supports active participation to drive research advancements and nurture student growth and development. The program will implement initiatives to recruit diverse students into graduate programs, provide educational activities in materials science, and build on successful STEM outreach programs to enhance undergraduate research experiences and offer exchange opportunities at partner institutions.<br/>This project is partially supported with co-funding from the HBCU-UP program in the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) in the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU), and Artificial Intelligence initiative from the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS).<br/><br/>The TSU-Fisk-Illinois (TSUFI) Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) initiative aims to advance materials science research through a collaborative effort between Tennessee State University (TSU), Fisk University, and the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (I-MRSEC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. TSUFI PREM focuses on three strategic areas: the PREM Pathway, Science, and Partnership. This partnership will push the boundaries of materials science research in the domains of multiferroic nanomaterials interfaces and machine-learning informed design at both atomic and macroscale levels, with projects supported by researchers at all three partner institutions. Key research initiatives include the development of shared research and computational infrastructure between Fisk and TSU, recruitment of faculty with materials expertise at TSU, and expanded academic degree programs, including a new minor and graduate degrees in materials science. Program components include regular joint-institution meetings, cross-institutional mentoring of students, and fostering active participation across all levels to drive research advancements and student progress. The intellectual merit of TSUFI PREM is demonstrated through two primary research groups: the study of nanostructured multiferroic materials and interfaces, providing insights into size reduction, surface phenomena; and the analysis and machine-learning-informed design of intelligent lattice materials, exploring geometric parameters, topological defects, and atomic-level elastic strains in 2D materials. TSUFI PREM’s broader impacts include increasing transitions of undergraduate and MS students from historically underrepresented population to graduate programs through targeted recruitment and retention strategies, materials research training and mentoring, and educational programming. TSUFI PREM will establish robust recruitment pathways and provide extensive research and exchange opportunities, preparing students for successful careers in industry, government, and academia.<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.
