Working with Students from Other Nations

1. An Interdisciplinary Materials Research REU SiteWilliam C. Hughes, James Madison University, DMR 0353773 For the past several years, students in our REU program have worked on novel materials and fabrication techniques for microfluidic devices. Such devices are a key component to the development of micro total analysis or “lab-on-a-chip” systems. A team working under Drs. Brian Augustine and Chris Hughes developed a method of rapid prototyping for these devices called micromolding by photopolymerization in capillaries (µ-PIC) that uses the photopolymerization of monomer solution which has been drawn by capillary force into the narrow gap between a PMMA plate and a crystallographically etched silicon master. The initial technique, first tested by Rebekah Esmaili (Mary Baldwin College) was optimized by Jacob Forstater (JMU). This summer, the technique was extended by Patrick Turner (JMU) and Gustavo Ramallo (University of Mary Washington) for the fabrication of Fabry-Perot cavities using Au reflecting layers buried under as little as 150 nm of polymer on the top and bottom of the microfluidic channel. These precisely made structures will enable the remote sensing of small changes in the index of refraction in the channel and therefore the temperature. These cavities are currently under test at the University of Virginia as part of a polymerase chain reaction chip that will be incorporated into an integrated DNA amplification and sequencing chip in the future. This work was presented at the 2006 Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society and at the Gordon Research Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics in June 2007 and a manuscript is currently in preparation for submission to a journal. (top left) Detail of the injection of the monomer solution between the silicon master and the PMMA blank. (top right) SEM cross section image of the completed channel in PMMA. (bottom left) Rebekah Esmaili testing devices in the lab. (bottom right) Gustavo Ramallo explaining this work to another REU student.

2. An Interdisciplinary Materials Research REU Site William C. Hughes, James Madison University, DMR 0353773 Working with Students from Other Nations Over the past three years, the Materials Science REU program at James Madison has included students from other countries who come here for the summer to work with undergraduates from JMU and other small colleges in the mid-Atlantic region. These foreign students, paid by internal JMU funds but working in direct collaboration with those funded by the NSF REU/DoD ASSURE program, live, work, and socialize with the American students for 10 weeks. Through the experience, the foreign and domestic students gain valuable laboratory research skills such as scanning probe microscopy & nanomanipulation, high speed imaging of granular flows, 600 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance, electron beam lithography, and growth of carbon nanotubes. More importantly, the foreign students leave with a better understanding of science and academia in the United States while the domestic students gain similar insights to other countries. Students have included undergraduates from Queens University (UK), the Technical University of Denmark (Denmark), the University of Belgrade (Serbia), and University College Galway (Rep. of Ireland). Anna Cannon (University College Galway, Ireland) analyzing data with Dan Amon (JMU) Jack Larsen (left, Technical University of Denmark) and Ana Stevanovic (second from left, University of Belgrade) with other REU students on an outing at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg Jack Larsen (Technical University of Denmark) presenting his research on the electrical properties of nanotubes at the REU final symposium.

3. An Interdisciplinary Materials Research REU SiteWilliam C. Hughes, James Madison University, DMR 0353773 The REU program in materials science focuses on particular strategies to meet the overall goal of increasing the advancement of all students in careers involving materials science, physics, and chemistry. • Draw younger students into the research experience to encourage them to continue on in science majors. • Our tracking data shows that internal REU participants increase their GPAs in the semester following the REU by 0.136 while non-REU students’ GPAs only gained 0.067. • Significant GPA gains were seen among students who were initially in the 2.75-3.25 range (average change in GPA for REU students = 0.19, for non-REU students = 0.015) • Support students from smaller institutions in the mid-Atlantic region with less resources for undergraduate research. • In 6 years of funding, 31 students from other 24 other institutions have been supported along with 30 from JMU. Three of the visiting students continued to travel back to work on their research projects during the academic year after returning to their home institution. • Provide a closely mentored atmosphere that relies strongly on student/mentor interactions. • Student surveys show strong increase in students’ confidence in interaction with faculty and with their career goals. Average survey responses from JMU Materials Science REU students compared to those from a pool of selective liberal arts colleges. Data from Dave Lopatto, Grinnell College as part of Research on Learning and Education (ROLE) survey funded by NSF (REC-0087611). Responses were on a scale from 0 for strong disagreement to 5 for strong agreement. Pictures top to bottom: Michelle Hardy (High Point Univ.) consulting with Dr. Debbie Mohler, Juliana Brown (Mary Washington) learning to use the XRD with Dr. Barbara Reisner, Jon Wyrick (JMU) demonstrating the nanomanipulator/AFM at the final symposium, and the REU group after our tour of Micron Technologies in Manassas, VA.