Program Overview:

The UVa Center for Nanoscopic Materials Design is seeking college undergraduates to participate in this cross-disciplinary, summer program in Materials Design Research. The program is supported under the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), and is aligned with an ongoing NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Virginia. The program is designed to help undergraduates develop basic scientific research skills, examine important research questions in the area of nanoscale surface patterning, and consider the challenging societal and ethical dimensions of research advances in the emerging field of nanotechnology.

The program will focus on applicants from majors such as biomedical, chemical, computer, electrical, materials science, or mechanical engineering as well as applied mathematics or science majors. Applicants must have completed their sophomore year of an engineering, pre-engineering, or science-based curriculum with a minumum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

This MRSEC, the Center for Nanoscopic Materials Design (www.mrsec.virginia.edu), focuses on the understanding, control, and applications of guided self-assembly of materials on patterned semiconductor surfaces. By combining fundamental understanding and control of short-range self-assembly phenomena in Ge(Si)/Si structures with long-range pattern definition techniques, the Center is able to envision broad applications of diverse materials to quantum-engineered semiconductor devices, such as the nanoscale structuring of gels, biological templating, and control of electrochemical reactions.

Students in this NSF/DoD REU will have the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and graduate students of the Center on a research project in the area of guided self-assembly. Students will be responsible for a written and oral final report as well as the creation and presentation of a poster summarizing their summer research findings. Program participants will take a 2-credit seminar course examining the societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology research. The program will also provide numerous social opporunitites, including Friday evening outings to Charlottesville's historic downtown for dining, shopping, movies, and music events as well as weekend hiking opportunities in the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park.

Program Dates and Details:

The program will begin on Sunday, May 28, 2006 and continue until Friday, August 4, 2006. All students will receive a $4,000 stipend and free, on-campus living accomodations. Some meals will also be provided. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit the following information:

• Application
• Statement of research interest and desirability as a candidate for this program
• Resume
• Two letters of reference (from current or previous faculty at home institution)
• Official university transcripts

Applications must be received by February 17, 2006. Only complete applications will be reviewed.