nanoHUB.org: A Gateway to Undergraduate Simulation-Based Research in Materials Science and Related Fields
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nanoHUB.org: A Gateway to Undergraduate Simulation-Based Research in Materials Science and Related Fields Tanya A. Faltens1, Peter Bermel2, Amanda Buckles1, K. Anna Douglas3, Alejandro Strachan4, Lynn K. Zentner1 and Gerhard Klimeck1,2 1
Network for Computational Nanotechnology, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 3 School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, 4 School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, U.S.A 2
ABSTRACT Our future engineers and scientists will likely be required to use advanced simulations to solve many of tomorrow's challenges in nanotechnology. To prepare students to meet this need, the Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) provides simulation-focused research experiences for undergraduates at an early point in their educational path, to increase the likelihood that they will ultimately complete a doctoral program. The NCN summer research program currently serves over 20 undergraduate students per year who are recruited nationwide, and selected by NCN and the faculty for aptitude in their chosen field within STEM, as well as complementary skills such as coding and written communication. Under the guidance of graduate student and faculty mentors, undergraduates modify or build nanoHUB simulation tools for exploring interdisciplinary problems in materials science and engineering, and related fields. While the summer projects exist within an overarching research context, the specific tasks that NCN undergraduate students engage in range from modifying existing tools to building new tools for nanoHUB and using them to conduct original research. Simulation tool development takes place within nanoHUB, using nanoHUB’s workspace, computational clusters, and additional training and educational resources. One objective of the program is for the students to publish their simulation tools on nanoHUB. These tools can be accessed and executed freely from around the world using a standard web-browser, and students can remain engaged with their work beyond the summer and into their careers. In this work, we will describe the NCN model for undergraduate summer research. We believe that our model is one that can be adopted by other universities, and will discuss the potential for others to engage undergraduate students in simulation-based research using free nanoHUB resources. INTRODUCTION Experimentally relevant computation and simulation is playing an ever-increasing role in interdisciplinary STEM research; thus, future engineers and scientists will likely be required to use advanced simulations to solve many of tomorrow's challenges. For example, computational simulations are expected to play a critical role in the Materials Genome Initiative [1], and computational nanotechnology is an important area with significant funding from a broad consortium of research-oriented organizations including federal agencies, companies, and nonprofits [2].
Despite the importance of computation and simulation in research, faculty in this area f
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