CSUSB Awarded 5-Year, $5 Million National Science Foundation Grant

Cal State San Bernardino is the recipient of a 5-year, $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will enable a group of faculty and students to conduct research that may lead to new materials used to help power devices from ultrasound systems to smart phones. The grant will be used to establish the Center for Advanced Functional Materials at CSUSB as well as help in recruiting students into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics – STEM – disciplines. “Receiving this grant is a tremendous accomplishment and reflects the high quality of the faculty members at CSUSB and the power of collaboration across departments and institutions," said Kirsten Fleming, dean of the College of Natural Sciences. "By increasing the research infrastructure for faculty members and including students in this work, the project promises to make a significant difference in the recruitment and retention of students in the STEM disciplines." “Imagine being able to design materials such as semiconductors, plastics and metals with specific desirable properties or combinations of properties.” said Timothy Usher, CSUSB physics professor. “Advances in nanotechnology and computational tools are making that possible. The CSUSB research team is using this ability to discover new piezoelectric and/or ferroelectric materials, which are highly applicable to a vast array of uses.” “For example, piezoelectric elements are used in medical fetal ultrasound imaging systems,” CSUSB chemistry professor Douglas Smith said. “The research at CSUSB could result in piezoelectric elements which are more affordable, less brittle and more environmentally friendly to manufacture.” And that could lead to lower costs in many devices, such as medical ultrasound equipment, smart phones, sonar, computer memory and piezoelectric audio speakers. While direct application of materials will not be the main goal of the Center for Advanced Functional Materials Science, its research using computational models and experimental results could be the first steps in the development of new materials that lead to their direct application. “We use theory and computational tools to predict materials of interest,” said Kimberley Cousins, a CSUSB chemistry professor. “Once the materials are identified, they will be synthesized and formed into crystals, single atomic layers or other forms. Finally, a wide range of experimental techniques will be used to determine the properties of the materials. The results from the experiment are utilized to refine the theory and computational tools and predict the next round of material candidates.” CSUSB students will participate in research through paid research assistantships at the university. In addition, they will also travel to The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Nebraska, to the State University of New York, Buffalo and NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., to participate in research with CSUSB’s research partners there. The grant will also be used to increase the recruitment, retention, graduation rates and entrance into graduate programs of students – including students from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – by strengthening the research efforts at CSUSB and building bridges with community colleges, specifically the College of the Desert and Victor Valley Community College. The funding from the National Science Foundation comes through its Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology. Known as CREST, the program provides support to enhance the research capabilities of minority-serving institutions through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research for faculty and students in the STEM disciplines. The principle investigators for the grant at CSUSB are Tim Usher and Paul Dixon from the physics department, and Kim Cousins, Doug Smith and Renwu 'John' Zhang from the chemistry department. Visit the new Center for Advanced Functional Materials website at http://materials.csusb.edu for more information.