Partnership for Education and Advancement of Quantum and nano-Sciences (PEAQS)

A strong partnership between Fort Lewis College (FLC), Norfolk State University (NSU), and IMOD (Science and Technology Center for Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand) creates PEAQS (Partnership for the Education and Advancement of Quantum and nano-Sciences). This collaboration expands the partnership between STROBE, a sunsetting Science and Technology Center, FLC (a non-tribal Native American Serving Institution), NSU (a member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities), to include IMOD. IMOD is teaming with two diverse institutions to synergize research and education efforts to impact the materials science community and will contribute to American technological competitiveness. The collaboration enables advances in cutting edge materials science, attracts and exposes students from diverse groups to exciting applications in STEM, utilizes novel and effective curricula, networks, and pathways that recruit and retain students in STEM. This PREM will directly fund over 70 undergraduate and over 12 high school researchers at FLC and NSU and provide pathways for students to careers in science and engineering. This PREM leverages existing infrastructures within all partners, providing student access to world-class research mentors, facilities and projects at the cutting edge of materials science. The student experience in this PREM is immersive through not only year-long, hands on research but also mentoring, professional development, leadership opportunities, and network building; all with the goal of improving recruitment, retention, and graduation of students from population historically underrepresented in STEM. This PREM develops the next generation of scientists and engineers with emphasis and experience in materials and related disciplines.

Applications relating to nanotherapeutics, nanoelectronics and thermoelectrics all continue to push the limits of the nanoscale regime, with characteristic dimensions already on the order of 10 nm. Such applications require a comprehensive understanding of nanoscale chemistry and physics, where deviations from bulk behavior dominate, resulting in new benefits and challenges. Increased control over atomic- and meso-scale structure has revolutionized materials science, creating novel opportunities for the control of light-matter interactions, and the engineering of material properties. However, a fundamental ability to control structure at the nanoscale and understanding of the relationship between multi-scale and nanostructure material properties is still elusive. PEAQS will utilize newly built research infrastructure at FLC and NSU along with IMOD materials synthesis, characterization, and integration expertise and capabilities to tackle these challenges through two thrusts, providing a diverse set of opportunities for student involvement in different stages and facets of materials science research.

Thrust 1 Projects: Designing and Controlling the Synthesis of Nanostructured and Quantum Materials for Improved Materials Fabrication

Thrust 2 Projects: Understanding and Utilizing Nanostructured Materials for Device Integration

Fort Lewis College
Norfolk State University
IMOD (Science and Technology Center for Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand)
STROBE
Thrust 1 - Project 1

Bulk Crystal Growth and Characterization of Quantum and Nonlinear Optical Crystals

To investigate the relationship between spatial phases and heterogeneities on multiple length-scales and the emergent properties of bulk crystals, quantum materials, and oxides, the Temple group at NSU has been building on its crystal growth success to improve techniques to grow crystals with interesting behaviors.
Lead Faculty
Doyle Temple, LeRoy Salary
Thrust 1 - Project 2

Utilizing Plasma-Aided Inkjet Printing to Improve Crystalline Structures for Semiconductors

Building on their prior success in printing metal and metal-oxide structures on flexible substrates, the goal of the Fernandez group at NSU is to use plasma-aided printing techniques to fabricate the proposed ZnO-Au structure for optical memristor applications.
Lead Faculty
Renny Fernandez
Thrust 1 - Project 3

Characterizing Structure-Property Relationships of Organocatalysts

The Lamb group at FLC will conduct initial photophysical investigations of uncharacterized photocatalysts (PCs). There is an ever-growing library of some of the most strongly reducing, fully organic PCs, which have driven organocatalyzed polymerizations, CO2 reduction chemistry, and carbon-heteroatom cross9coupling reactions55-58. However, a full picture of the photophysical ramifications of synthetic manipulations to the PCs is incomplete, thus the Lamb group seeks to clarify this using a combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies and electrochemical techniques.
Lead Faculty
Yisrael Lamb
Thrust 1 - Project 4

Advancing the Production of Nanoparticles Using Precision Microfluidics

The Li team at FLC specializes in prototyping various microfluidic devices. Leveraging the expertise and workforce gained from the droplet digital Polymerase Chain Reaction project proposed in Thrust 2, they will enable the development of an advanced nanoparticle production process.. The Li team will work with IMOD to develop silicon-based microreactors using layer assembly, silicon oxide growth via wet-oxidation, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.
Lead Faculty
Yiyan Li
Thrust 2 - Project 1

Characterization of the Mechanical and Chemical Properties of Porous Silicon for Organ-on-Chip Applications

The Jessing group at FLC has developed novel methods to fabricate thin (< 5μm) free-standing porous silicon membranes that may mimic the interstitial space between the alveolar and capillary cells in the human lung. Despite these successes there remain important questions related to producing uniform biocompatible membranes. The partnership between FLC, NSU, and IMOD will contribute to understanding how the porous silicon membrane compares to the biological interstitial space in terms of biocompatibility and mechanical properties.

Lead Faculty
Jeff Jessing
Thrust 2 - Project 2

An Open-Source Droplet Digital PCR System for the Rapid and Accurate Detection of Bacteria from Environmental Water Samples.

The Li team at FLC will develop an open-source ddPCR system that integrates an in-house made PCR thermocycler and optical detector into one portable box. The proposed ddPCR system costs under $1000, which is 100 times less than the commercial systems. The existing challenge with the ddPCR system lies in the restricted availability of fluorophores for multiplexing multiple DNA targets within a single cell. Leveraging the expertise of IMOD research groups, narrow-bandwidth emitting quantum dots, could serve as promising substitutes for conventional fluorophores in these molecular probes.
Lead Faculty
Yiyan Li
Thrust 2 - Project 3

Develop Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Substrates for the Detection of Waterborne Pathogen Using Raman Spectroscopy and Deep Learning

The Li and Jessing team at FLC uses Raman spectroscopy and deep learning to identify the bacteria genotypes. The process of generating spectra is considerably simpler and faster than standard and allows for higher throughput, fewer preparation materials and non-specialists to gather high-quality data. However, the presence of a strong background signal from bacteria colonies compromises the quality of the dataset. The utilization of SERS substrates is crucial in mitigating this issue. To achieve this, the Li and Jessing team will work with IMOD team and facilities for the fabrication of SERS substrates.
Lead Faculty
Yiyan Li, Jeff Jessing

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