Penn State Intercom......July 12, 2001

Programs gain nearly $3 million
from National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is providing $2.95 million in support for Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT), a program on collaborative research in the area of nanoscale science and engineering. The goal of the program is to catalyze synergistic science and engineering research in emerging areas of nanoscale science and technology.

Joan Redwing, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, and her team received $1.45 million over four years for their work on semiconductor nanowires. Her interdisciplinary research team includes Theresa Mayer, associate professor of electrical engineering; Ari Mizel, associate professor of physics; and Suzanne Mohney, associate professor of materials science.

Their research is of interest for applications including quantum transistors and nanoscale light emitters.

Darrell Schlom, associate professor of materials science and engineering, and his team will receive more than $1.5 million over four years. The team includes Long-Qing Chen, associate professor of materials science and engineering; Venkatraman Gopalan, assistant professor of materials science and engineering; Xiaoqing Pan, associate professor of materials science and engineering, University of Michigan; Karin M. Rabe, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University; Susan Trolier-McKinstry, associate director of the Materials Research Laboratory; and Xiaoxing Xi, assistant professor of physics.

The technical objective of the team's research is to understand the fundamental science underlying the structural, dielectric and optical response of artificially-engineered nanoscale ferroelectrics. Ferroelectric materials are extensively used in health care (medical ultrasound), national defense (night vision and sonar systems) and communications (cell phones and computers).

Both Redwing's and Schlom's NIRT programs will be useful in educating future scientists in nanotechnology.

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