Faculty and Student Teams Program

Project Descriptions

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
Fundamental Interactions of Inorganic Nanostructures

Requesting applications from science or engineering faculty members at institutions serving students underrepresented in science, engineering, mathematics and technology to work on the following projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Project Description
The high ratio of surface area to volume in nanomaterials, coupled with the higher energy of these surfaces, result in unique interactions of nanomaterials with their surroundings as compared with larger-sized chemically equivalent particles.  The goals of this project are to create inorganic nanomaterials (e.g., metal oxides) of varying chemical composition, and to study the interactions of these materials with a variety of environments for comparison with their bulk counterparts.  These comparative studies of structure and reactivity will give insight into the surface energy of nanoparticles as a function of size, revealing details of interactions that define the function of nanomaterial assemblies.

Contact:  J. M. Simonson (simonsonjm@ornl.gov)

Applicants’ Responsibilities and Relationship to Project
Applicants will receive support under the Department of Energy Faculty Student Team Research Program (FaST) to work collaboratively with the project research team at the Laboratory for up to 10 weeks during the summer of 2009. The exact appointment period in the time frame of June to August will be scheduled by mutual agreement between the host divisions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the successful applicant.  Faculty will be expected to identify two to three students from their campuses to participate in the FaST program. The faculty member will provide some mentorship to students during the summer research activities. The faculty and students must participate as a group and serve their appointments concurrently.  It is expected that the faculty member and the students become an integral part of the research team working on this project and that opportunities for continued collaboration may be identified.

Qualifications of Ideal Candidate
Faculty and students involved in this project should have a basic interest in the physical and structural properties of interacting materials.  A background in chemistry or physics is appropriate for faculty; completion of at least introductory laboratory classes in chemistry (preferably) or physics is desirable for students.  Ideal candidates will have interests in using a range of laboratory-based characterization techniques for inorganic materials, including electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and other approaches.

Support and Financial Commitments
The successful candidate will receive a stipend based on the academic salary, travel expenses to and from the Laboratory, and a housing allowance. Students recommended by the faculty member for participation in the program will receive a stipend of $400/week for each week at the Laboratory, plus a housing allowance, and reimbursement for transportation expenses to and from the ORNL.  Funds are provided for this program from the US Department of Energy, Office of Science in partnership with the National Science Foundation, from ORNL, and from other sources.

See Financial Information.