Birol Ozturk, Ph.D. - US grants

NRT-IGE: Nanomedicine Academy of Minority Serving Institutions

Nanomedicine is an emerging paradigm that seeks to develop engineered nanometer size particles to solve key problems in modern medicine, such as early diagnosis of disease and targeted delivery of therapeutics. This field is exciting to students and there is worldwide demand for training in this area. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award in the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) track to Northeastern University will translate cutting-edge advances in nanomedicine research into an education model to pilot and test a scalable, interactive network that empowers low-resource institutions to build capacity in nanomedicine training and develop degree programs in this emerging field. This project will create a reciprocal knowledge-sharing relationship among a large national pool of students across five institutions. The successful implementation of this new model of higher education is expected to broaden the participation of minorities in the nanomedicine workforce thus reducing disparities in the health workforce, establish new degree programs, and serve as a blueprint for the creation of similar education programs in other disciplines.

The goal of the project is to create a scalable network for knowledge delivery and scientific collaboration that is designed to enable student learning from expert instructors as well as from peers unrestricted by geographical location. The partners include five research universities with a tradition of providing higher education to underrepresented communities ? Northeastern University, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Tuskegee University, Morgan State University, and Florida International University. The project will offer synchronous content through live, web-based videoconferencing protocols, allowing students to interact with instructors and peers at other universities in real-time. A parallel enterprise-level online learning environment will be created to enable team-based discussions and assignments. Courses to be offered include Introduction to Nanomedicine, Nanomedicine Research Techniques, Nano/Biomedical Commercialization, and a Nanomedicine Seminar Series. Faculty facilitators at each institution will coordinate the physical and online classroom environments, contribute to cross-institutional assignments, and provide supplementary instruction. Students will receive degree credit at their home institution through the establishment of course-equivalency at each partner institution. The implementation of these learning tools, together with the assessment of student learning, student demographics, and career development, is expected to generate sufficient new knowledge to enable expansion of this new and unique higher education model to a nationwide program.

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for STEM graduate education training. The Innovations in Graduate Education Track is dedicated solely to piloting, testing, and evaluating novel, innovative, and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education.

This work is supported, in part, by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.

Quantum science has attracted extensive attention in the recent years due to its potential in revolutionizing computing, telecommunication, and sensing. Native or intentional defects in wide bandgap semiconductors with spin dependent electronic transitions have demonstrated the ability to produce quantum communication, computing and sensing systems that operate at room temperature. In this project, we will study the potential of using defects in 3C silicon carbide and cubic boron nitride (both wide bandgap materials) for the fabrication of ultrasensitive electromagnetic field detectors. These ultrasensitive detectors can be used in a multitude of versatile applications including brain signal monitoring, GPS-free navigation, and Quantum Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). Our initial focus will be on electric field detectors. The literature on quantum sensing of properties 3C-Silicon (the cubic modification of silicon carbide) and cubic boron nitride is sparse or nonexistent. We anticipate that this will significantly contribute to the study of solid-state spins by demonstrating the feasibility of using 3C SiC and cBN in ultrasensitive electric and magnetic field detection. SiC has well-established industrial processes which is expected to enable fast large-scale manufacturing of the proposed devices. Cubic Boron Nitride is an emerging ultra-wide bandgap material, has similar mechanical strength as diamond and can be doped n or p type. This project will also have a major impact in the training of underrepresented minority undergraduate and graduate students at Morgan State University (MSU), K12 students and the public on the concepts and applications of quantum information science. The proposed project will improve the existing research and STEM training infrastructure at MSU significantly by complementing the establishment of a quantum materials research center and a new Ph.D. program in Materials Science with a focus on quantum materials. The findings of the project will be broadly disseminated through publications, conference presentations, and seminars to enhance scientific and technological understanding of ultrasensitive electric and magnetic field detection using defects.

To accomplish the objectives in the proposed project, photonic crystal (PhC) structures with high quality (Q) factors (>10^3) and small mode volumes will be simulated, designed and fabricated around quantum defects in order to achieve room temperature operation by enhancing PhC cavity resonance coupled defect’s Zero Phonon Line (ZPL) emission. 3C-Silicon carbide material grown on Silicon and purchased from commercial vendors as well as cBN material fabricated on diamond using our in-house growth capability will be used in this project. After growth the defects in wide bandgap materials will be characterized with photoluminescence (PL) and Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR). These materials will be fabricated into detectors of our design. The fabricated detectors will be able to detect electric fields in the millivolt m^-1 Hz^-0.5 range and magnetic fields with a sensitivity of nanotesla Hz^-0.5.

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.

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award is to acquire a multifunctional X-ray diffractometer that will enhance research and education activities at Morgan State University. The requested instrument will be crucial in fulfilling the needs of advanced structural characterizations of various types of functional materials developed by scientists at Morgan State University and their partners at other collaborating institutions. This instrumentation award will consolidate the existing research collaboration between Morgan’s scientists and their partners at neighboring institutions and allow the establishment of new alliances with other academic institutions and the industrial sector. In addition to benefiting the university and its collaborators, the acquisition of this instrumentation will positively impact other sectors. The requested funds will enhance the research infrastructure of Morgan State University, which is an HBCU, and will offer research opportunities and training to minority students. It will boost junior faculty development at this institution. This will promote greater participation in materials science by African-Americans, who are underrepresented in this field of science. This instrument will increase the competitiveness of minority students in the functional materials field at Morgan State. This will significantly enhance the opportunities for African-American graduates in the job market.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:

The multifunctional X-ray diffractometer to be acquired includes all typical scans offered by a four-circle diffractometer in addition to the capability of high temperature measurement. The PIs and the senior personnel of this grant are scientists from Morgan State University and Loyola University Maryland with research interests in materials such as ferromagnets, highly magnetostrictive alloys, nanomaterials, thermo-electrics, low-dimensional hetero-structures, porous materials, magneto-electrics, and optical materials. The equipment will be used to fulfill the needs of advanced structural characterization of various types of materials under development by the PIs and their research partners, as well as to provide research training to students, postdocs and faculty. The multifunctional diffractometer will play a key role in investigating the structural properties of these materials by conducting the following measurements. (1) The four-circle diffractometer scans will enable the determination of the materials' structure, quantify strain in heterostructures, determine the crystallographic orientation and epitaxy, and map the distribution of crystallites in the investigated materials. (2) The high temperature capability of the requested instrument will be crucial in investigating phase transition and determining structural changes accompanying this transition in functional materials. All these measurements together with other analyses offered by facilities at the PIs' and the senior personnel institutions will be crucial in conducting cutting-edge research and advancing scientific knowledge in the field of functional materials. This will enable engineering new advanced materials with superior performances, which will benefit the industrial sector.

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.