The National Science Foundation and the National Nanotechnology Initiative Issue a Challenge

      

Generation Nano:  Small Science, Superheroes

   The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) are excited to continue Generation Nano: Small Science, Superheroes! This competition asks high school students to choose a societal area to focus on and then design nanotechnology-enabled gear for an original superhero.

   Students can envision gear that is grounded in current research but not yet possible, allowing them to learn about the potentials and limitations of real-world nanotechnology. Students will first identify one societal mission from a list of four to address and then submit an entry with three parts: a written section, a short comic strip and a video. 

Contest Details: 

• Who: A competition for high school students -- individuals or teams of two or three
• What: A written entry, a 90-second video and a 2-3 page comic strip introducing the superhero and the student's nanotechnology-enabled mission.
• When: Competition opens Oct. 5, 2016; Submissions are due by Jan. 31, 2017, 11:59 p.m. EST
• Where: Learn more and submit entry at www.nsf.gov/GenNano
• Why: To promote early interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Downlable Participants Guide

Entry Guidelines

Entry Online Form

Questions? 

Contact the Generation Nano team at gennano@nsf.gov.

Follow the Competition at #GenNano 

 

 

Kansas State University Distinguished Professor of Physics Creates a Unique Research Opportunity for Fort Hays State University Professor and Students

  As part of the Kansas NSF EPSCoR Collaborative Research: Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Dynamics of Atoms, Molecules and Nanostructures Track 2 Grant's Education, Outreach and Diversity Small College Research Initiative, Dr. Itzik Ben-Itzhak, Distinguished Professor of Physics at Kansas State University (KSU), invited  Dr. Jack Maseberg, Associate Professor of Physics at Fort Hays State University (FHSU), to participate in a research collaboration.  The purpose of this initiative is to encourage grant participants to work with small college faculty across the state to advance their career development, strengthen their curriculum and facilitate hands-on research opportunities for their students.

Equipment used in the Collaborative Experiments

  Last April, Dr. Maseberg and some of his students traveled to the KSU campus to conduct unique Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) Physics experiments at the KSU James R. Macdonald Laboratory (JMR) with Dr. Ben-Izak's research team. According to Dr. Maseberg, "this research collaboration involved designing and performing an experiment to measure the Doppler-free kinetic energy release spectrum of diatomic molecules dissociated by double ionization (using either ultra-fast laser pulses or bunched charged-particle beams)." This specific project was chosen because it was a relatively simple experiment that could be easily understood by any undergraduate physics student. Dr. Maseberg stated that it was particularly beneficial for his students to be "able to visit the JMR Lab and be involved in experiment design, construction, data collection, and data analysis." In addition, his students were exposed to equipment and tools not available at FHSU, and they were able to participate in AMO research that would normally be outside of the scope and capabilities of the FHSU Physics Department.

Sam Devore, Summer AMO REU student

   As an unexpected favorable outcome of this collaboration, one of Dr. Maseberg's students who visited the lab in the spring, Sam Devore, applied and was accepted to continue work with Dr. Ben-Itzak as a participant in the KSU AMO Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program. After his spring visit, Sam gave a 50-minute public talk to the FHSU Physics Department discussing the initial experiments and the preliminary results. This presentation exposed the FHSU student body to the KSU Physics Department's AMO research possibilities, and encouraged FHSU students to explore future undergraduate and graduate research opportunities at KSU.  Sam will be giving another talk summarizing his entire experience just prior to his graduation in the spring of 2017 as part of his FHSU Physics Senior Seminar.

   Dr. Maseberg commented that this outreach initiative was of great benefit to him and his students. Specifically, it taught his students how to collect data on site and then process it remotely at their home campus. In addition, it exposed his students to the culture and benefits of collaborative physics research. As for his benefit from participating in the initiative, Dr. Maseberg he added, the ultimate goal of the collaboration for him "is to eventually publish the joint findings in a peer-reviewed journal article."

Funding for this Collaborative Research Experience was provided by the Kansas and Nebraska NSF EPSCoR Track 2 Grant #1430519 titled: "Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Dynamics of Atoms, Molecules, and Nanostructures."  The Grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce and prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of atomic/molecular/optical science.

 

Nebraska NSF EPSCoR Hosts the 2016 Kansas and Nebraska Track 2 Review

Kansas and Nebraska 2016 Review

   Researchers participating in the Kansas and Nebraska NSF EPSCOR Track 2 Collaborative Research: Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Dynamics of Atoms, Molecules and Nanostructures met in Lincoln Nebraska on September 12, 2016 to discuss their progress and present their accomplishments from year 2 to a grant review panel. Members of the review team included, Dr. Louis DiMauro from Ohio State University; Dr. Mark Stockman from Georgia State University; Dr. Tamar Seideman from Northwestern University as well as an evaluation expert, Dr. Cindy Dunn from the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation at Kansas State University. The evaluation process involved questioning, challenging and providing feedback to the researchers as well as examining the scientific progress each team had made since the last review on May 27, 2015.

The panel questions team members

   Dr. Anthony Starace began the day by presenting a general overview of the accomplishments the AMO teams had made over the last year.  Then, Dr. Itzik Ben-Itzhak, (KSU) and Dr. Martin Centurion (UNL) discussed their team's scientific progress related to the Thrust 1 research initiative: Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Dynamics of Atoms and Molecules. Following the Thrust 1 presentation, Dr. Herman Batelaan, (UNL) and Dr. Carlos Trallero (KSU) presented their scientific progress as it related to the Thrust 2 research initiative: Ultrafast Electron Control by Light in Nanostructures.  The morning session concluded with a presentation by the Education, Outreach and Diversity Coordinators, Lindsey Moore (UNL) and Rosemary Blum (KU) showcasing the grant's successful collaborative educational programs as well as the positive impact the programs have had on K-12 students and teachers, undergraduate researchers and small college faculty.

Students explain their research at the Poster Session

   Following a luncheon that encouraged panel members and participants to conduct round table discussions, 35 Students from both states presented their grant funded research at the afternoon Poster Session. The days events concluded with the review panel traveling to campus and touring the University of Nebraska Extreme Light Laboratory.

Review panel tours the UNL Extreme Light Laboratory

   On the following day, September 13, 2016, the review panel met with the Thrust Team Leaders and EPSCoR representatives to provide their feedback. The review team was very impressed with the research and the results accomplished by the collaborative team during year two. They were also very supportive of the teams' AMO investigations and outreach programs and encouraged the researchers to inquire about additional funding so that the work could continue beyond the scope of this grant.

Funding for this research was provided by the Kansas and Nebraska NSF EPSCoR Track 2 Grant #1430519 titled: "Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Dynamics of Atoms, Molecules, and Nanostructures."  

University of Kansas and West Virginia University collaborate on Water Restoration Project

Congratulations to University of Kansas Associate Professor, Dr. Edward Peltier

Improving Water Management, Treatment and Recovery
in Oil and Gas Production

and Professor, Dr. Stephen Randtke, of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department; Dr. Karen Peltier, Assistant Scientist and Director of Labs for the KU Tertiary Oil Recover Program; and to West Virginia University Director of WVU Water Research Institute, Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz,  Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Dr. Lian-Shin for receiving one of the 11 NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 (RII) investment strategy awards.  These NSF EPSCoR Track - 2 awards totaling $55 million are aimed at building research capacity to address fundamental questions about the brain and develop new innovations at the intersection of food, energy and water systems.

The collaborative team, from the University of Kansas and West Virginia University, was awarded $3,898,637.00 for their project titled, Improving Water Management, Treatment and Recovery in Oil and Gas Production. The aim of their research is to "develop cutting-edge strategies for better management, treatment, protection and recovery of produced water."

Denise Barnes, head of NSF EPSCoR said "These awards represent a tremendous value for the scientific community, as they foster research into some of the most pressing issues facing U.S. society while simultaneously supporting collaborative research programs and workforce development."
This award will invest in the STEM workforce by supporting and developing early-career faculty researchers.  In addition, students and junior faculty at both universities will cross train at each other's university to strengthen the collaborative research ties and create a new generation of experts in sustainable oil and gas recovery practices.

The research team's goal is to eventually establish a permanent center dedicated to implementing proven best practices to improve the safety of deep-well injection and the handling of the produced water nationwide as well as "develop economical methods for treating produced water so that it can be reused."

Other KU researchers on the project include Belinda Sturm from Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering; Jyun-Sung Tsau from the Tertiary Oil Recovery Program, and Reza Barati in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering. In addition, the WVU team includes Lance Lin from Civil and Environmental Engineering; Harry Finklea from Chemistry; Joe Donovan from Geology; Todd Petty and Eric Merriam from Wildlife and Fisheries, and Shawn Grushecky from Energy Land Management Program.

Acclaimed Hydrologist to Speak Oct. 3 at Kansas State University about Global Water Supply

Hydrologist Jay Familglietti

Jay Famiglietti, a senior scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and a professor at the University of California, Irvine, will give the talk, Water, Food and Energy: Interwoven challenges to sustainable resource management, as part of the Henry C. Gardiner Global Food Systems Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, in Kansas State University's McCain Auditorium. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

For more information on his work, details of his lecture, and the KSU new release, click here.

Famiglietti's lecture will be shown live online at k-state.edu/globalfood/lecture-series. Kansas State University also will be tweeting live from the event, using the hashtag, #GlobalFoodSystems.

Wichita State University Assistant Professor Awarded an NSF/ACI grant

Dr. Gisuk Hwang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University, has been awarded an NSF grant through the NSF/ACI's flagship program called XSEDE (the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment).  His proposal is titled: Thermal Systems program, with the XRAS title, Optimal Designs of Heterogeneous Nanomaterials for Advanced Thermal Management Systems,

The grant awarded the following resources: a SDSC Dell Cluster with Intel Haswell Processors (Comet): 300,000.0 SUs SDSC Medium-term disk storage (Data Oasis): 2,000.0 GB.  These resources represent a significant NSF investment - ACI's portfolio of computational resources has increased in capability by more than two orders of magnitude over the past decade, and has become a fundamental enabler of NSF's research mission across nearly all disciplines today. Although SUs on different platforms do not all represent the same intrinsic computing strength, the XSEDE site providers have calculated the individual value of a SU and GB for their respective resources. Thus the allocation of SU/GBs awarded to Hwang would amount to approximately an additional $10,664.00 to support the scientific goals of the project.

The allocation of advanced computing, visualization, and storage resources by the XRAC is accomplished via a competitive process designed in a similar fashion to the NSF peer review system.

XSEDE is pleased to support this and other NSF-funded research activities to enhance the productivity of scientists and engineers by providing them with new and innovative capabilities that will facilitate scientific discovery,  enable transformational science/engineering, and encourage innovative educational programs.

Update from the National Science Foundation’s SBIR/STTR Program: Fall 2016

NEW SBIR/STTR Solicitations: 
The new SBIR Phase I and STTR Phase I solicitations are available! Take a look and get started soon. The deadline for SBIR and STTR proposals is December 6. 

Solicitation Changes:
An organization may submit no more than ONE Phase I proposal to this SBIR/STTR cycle (where SBIR/STTR cycle is defined to include the SBIR Phase I solicitation and the STTR Phase I solicitation with a December 6, 2016 deadline).

Webinars: 
We’re hosting 7 webinars before the December deadline. Join us for the first one on Friday, Sept. 30th at 12:00 pm ET. 

Thinking of submitting? Start your registrations now.

These four registrations take time and are required to receive funding. You must register the same information in the same way in each of these systems to avoid problems later. 

1. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
2. System for Award Management (SAM)
3. Small Business Administration (SBA) Company Registry
4. NSF FastLane - register company and Principal Investigator (PI)

Read through SBIR/STTR Topics: 
NSF welcomes proposals for research and development in all areas of science, engineering, and related education. Topics are suggestions. Check them out, here. Not sure where you fit? Consider Other Topics.

3 New Program Directors:
Three new SBIR/STTR Program Directors started this summer – Henry Ahn (Biomedical Technologies), Debasis Majumdar (Advanced Materials and Instrumentation), and Rick Schwerdtfeger (Semiconductors, Photonic Devices, and Internet of Things). Click here for a list of Program Director Contact Information. 

Events: 
NSF staff will be at several events in the coming months. If you attend, come find our booth!

Water Environment Federation’s Annual Tradeshow and Conference (WEFTEC), Sept. 24-28, New Orleans, LA
WEFTEC is a water quality conference for thousands of professionals looking for water quality solutions and the latest innovation. NSF will sponsor the innovation showcase with 14 NSF-funded companies presenting. Learn more.

SBIR Women’s Networking Event & New England SBIR Conference, Oct. 5-6, Cambridge, MA
The events will convene women entrepreneurs, technology companies, inventors, leaders and supporters of STEM entrepreneurship and early-stage funding decision makers to discuss non-dilutive funding opportunities. Learn more.

SynBioBeta SF 2016, Oct. 4-6, San Francisco, CA
SynBioBeta SF 2016 is a conference for the synthetic biology industry – bringing the global community together to drive technology and business forward. Highlighted topics for this year include the future of food, biosecurity, engineered cell therapies, DNA storage, public engagement, and more! NSF Network Gets 20% Off Registration. Use Code “NSFSAVE20” Learn More & Register.

SXSW Eco 2016, Oct. 10-12, Austin, TX
SXSW Eco creates a space for business leaders, investors, innovators and designers to drive economic, environmental and social change. NSF Network gets 40% off the walk-up rate for SXSW Eco. Use code: “reg-eco-rate2partner4_f695dec569” Learn More & Register.


We updated our Twitter handle to @NSFSBIR. Please follow us/tag us with your news. We’re happy to promote the successes of NSF SBIR funded companies.