Research (Project Detail)

The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (NCAT) State University — a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) — and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) partnership for research and education in materials (PREM) proposes to use advanced materials research to rally a large number of students around the concept that new materials and research discoveries have the power to transform their communities as well as society at large. Advanced materials research and education will serve as a gateway to attract students at the undergraduate, graduate, and K-12 levels to STEM fields. The mission of this PREM Center is to establish a broad alliance of scientists, engineers, social scientists, and education experts. Consistent intellectual interaction and reciprocal exchange of NCAT and UCSD MRSEC faculty members, students, and postdoctoral fellows will reinforce this partnership. The NCAT-UCSD PREM will use advanced materials research and a seamlessly integrated education program to develop a network of relationships that reinforce and populate the PREM pathway and increase recruitment, retention, and degree attainment of students at all levels. The PREM pathway will provide both financial support and mentoring for over 50 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and trainees during its tenure at NCAT.

Thrust 1

Two-Dimensional (2D) Materials

Innovating novel 2D materials with wafer-scale integration using equilibrium and non-equilibrium synthesis techniques, with new methods to control defects for robust, flexible electronic devices.

Thrust 1 Group

Shyam Aravamudhan, Abebe Kebede, J. David Schall

Thrust 2

Plasmonic Materials

Expanding conventional optics by investigating new plasmonic materials that concentrate and enhance light beyond the diffraction limit, focusing on transition metal nitrides and their transformation into oxynitrides.

Thrust 2 Group

Dhananjay Kumar, Andrea Tao

Thrust 3

Biomaterials

Elucidating chemical reactions that produce biodegradable and bio-conjugated metals through systematic experiments and synthesis of biocompatible polymer/nanoparticle composites for controlled degradation in biological environments.

Thrust 3 Group

Narayan Bhattarai, Bishnu Bastakoti, Michael Sailor, Jenora Waterman

Seed

NCAT-Cornell PREM partnership (CREEM)

The PREM-CCMR partnership has formulated a research plan to design new materials capable of supporting energy conversion reactions and develop a fundamental understanding of materials’ physical and chemical properties across different length scales.