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| October 24, 2001 UNM RECEIVES $2.4 MILLION NSF GRANT FOR OPTICS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM |
Contact:
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Wolfgang Rudolph, 277-2081
Mansoor Sheik-Bahae, 277-2080 Jim Brozik, 277-1658 Gabriel Lopez, 277-4939 Steve Stricker, 277-1883 Michael Padilla, 277-1816 |
The
University of New Mexico has received a $2.4 million grant from the
National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and
Research Traineeship (IGERT) program for a Cross-disciplinary Optics
Research and Education (CORE).
The grant is one of only 22 of its type in the nation to be awarded
this year out of more than 400 applications to NSF.
The purpose of CORE is to enhance the education and training of
graduate students in the area of optics. The main goal of the project
is to cross-train students from the five UNM departments— biology,
chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical engineering and physics— in
research that is optics-related.
The principal investigator of the project is Wolfgang Rudolph,
physics and electrical engineering professor. Co-principal
investigators include James A. Brozik, chemistry assistant professor;
Gabriel P. Lopez, chemical and nuclear engineering and chemistry
associate professor; Stephen A. Stricker, biology associate professor;
and Mansoor Sheik-Bahae, physics and astronomy and electrical
engineering associate professor. Six other faculty members from various
departments will also participate in this program.
The CORE project will also benefit undergraduate students through
close collaborations with UNM’s undergraduate Preparation for
University Research in Undergraduate Education program. The majority of
the grant will be used for stipends for graduate students in the
program. The award provides stipends of $18,000, plus a $10,000
education allowance annually for at least 20 students. The CORE team
will actively promote this program nationwide in hopes of attracting
the brightest graduate students in the country.
During the project, interdisciplinary teams of graduate students
will work on various aspects of the CORE research. They will comprise
the design and development of optical methods and tools and their
application in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and
engineering. In addition to the current curricula in their respective
departments, students will take a set of cross-disciplinary courses
designed specifically for the program. A weekly seminar will provide
the students with training in technical writing and in presentations of
their research in a multi-disciplinary environment. Mentoring
undergraduate students will foster team spirit and leadership skills
and will help to recruit, retain, and involve undergraduates, in
particular those from underrepresented minorities, in research.
Students will participate in internships in national labs, the local
industry and abroad.
Rudolph said the overall goal of these education and training
activities is to produce a new cadre of engineers and scientists who
are prepared to work in multidisciplinary environments. As experts in
their respective home disciplines, the IGERT graduates will share a
basic understanding of optics, imaging and spectroscopy. As such, they
will be prepared to work at the forefront of optics-related research,
development and education in national labs, academia and industry.
Rudolph said UNM will take steps to ensure a long lasting impact of the
project beyond the five-year duration of the grant.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of
educating doctoral scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary
backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed
for the career demands of the future. This is the second time that UNM
won this grant after a successful joint application of UNM (departments
of biology and earth & planetary sciences) and the University of
Alabama two years ago.
For information concerning the project and application materials, email pandainfo@phys.unm.edu.
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