Partnership for Research and Education in Functional Materials

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), located in the heart of the economically thriving, ethnically diverse Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex and with an enrollment of more than 40,000 students, is the second largest in the University of Texas System. UTA is designated as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution with 57% of the undergraduate population identifying as underrepresented minority (URM) students.

The goals of the Partnership in Research and Education in Materials (PREM) for Functional Materials between UTA and the Northwestern University (NU) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) are to establish: (i) an interdisciplinary collaborative program at the cutting edge of materials research; (ii) an educational pathway for URM students by providing unique research and educational opportunities, comprehensive student mentoring, and professional development programs. The partnership also includes the participation of Grambling State University, an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), and involves reciprocal faculty visits and exposure of students to the world-class research and facilities at NU.

The pathway begins at the undergraduate level and progresses through graduate school, ultimately culminating in postdoc opportunities and placement into materials science and engineering careers.

The PREM in Functional Materials will focus on two research thrusts: (i) Functional Mixed-Dimensional Heterostructures and (ii) Bioinspired Materials with Adaptive Functionality. Research Thrust 1 addresses electron transport across mixed-dimensional heterostructures, in which the heterogeneities in dimensions (e.g., 0D, 2D, 3D) and materials properties are used to precisely control charge transport, allowing only electrons with a specific energy and momentum to participate in tunneling.

This energy/momentum filtering lowers the effective electron temperature to extreme values (e.g., less than 1 K), allowing the study of ultra-cold electrons across mixed-dimensional heterojunctions at room temperature. Under this thrust, new generations of compound semiconductors, alloys, and epitaxial heterostructures will also be investigated. In addition, the role of chemical composition and material architecture (e.g., epitaxy) in influencing properties (e.g., electron affinity, dielectric constant, and band alignment) will be quantified.

These results will have impact on practical applications including energy-efficient computing, neuromorphic devices, and biological and molecular sensing. In parallel, Research Thrust 2 will employ a fundamental materials science approach to study stimuli-responsive smart biomaterials and cell-free bioprogrammable materials, filling a void in the bioinspired materials field.

Combining experimental investigations with computer simulations, three phase transition phenomena under different stimuli will be probed including: (a) pH-triggered conformational change in polydiacetylene-peptide; (b) glutathione-stimulated morphological change in polyurethane polymer nanoparticles; and (c) AC magnetic field-activated phase transition, from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, in polymeric nanocomposites containing superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. Shape-morphing 3D materials with programmable morphologies and motions will also be synthesized, mimicking living tissues.

This research will have far-reaching implications for the development of novel polymeric biomaterials and bioinspired materials that can be used for drug delivery, tissue repair and regeneration, and related biomedical applications.

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.