Research
Materials Research Facilities Network (MRFN) Faculty Fellow Program
Sinisa Vukelic (Bucknell) gathers data from Raman spectroscopy to improve the diagnosis of cancers. (Photo Credit: Penn State)
The Materials Research Facilities Network (MRFN) is a nationwide partnership of NSF supported MRSEC centers designed to provide support to researchers in the broad area of materials research in academic, government, and industrial laboratories.
The overall goal of the MRFN is to function as a national network that supports and promotes the growth of the materials science field in the United States, as well as increase its ability to compete internationally. Each center addresses the growing need for advanced characterization and computational tools from both academic (large and small colleges) and industrial scientists in materials research. By providing researchers with unprecedented access to instruments, techniques, and collaborators the network enhances the investigation of theory, synthesis, and characterization of materials by integrating the capabilities of individual MRSEC centers into a cooperating network.
Penn State MRFN Faculty Fellow Program
At Penn State the MRSEC has partnered with the Materials Research Institute to establish the MRFN Faculty Fellowship Program summer program. This program is targeted towards establishing relationships between the MRFN and faculty from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions.
The program is intended to bolster an existing research program by providing the resources necessary to utilize MRFN facilities on the University Park campus. Awards are in the $6,000-$10,000 range and typically support: access to the facilities (instrument + staff charges), faculty and/or student stipend, and travel expenses. To best meet the needs of any particular research project there is flexibility in how the award is utilized. However, the primary goal is to enable utilization of the facilities and as such priority must be placed on covering these expenses. Demonstration of complementary support is encouraged, e.g., student funding to work on the project.
In addition to MRFN resources within the Materials Characterization Laboratory this program enables access to other shared use facilities at Penn State such as the Nanofabrication Laboratory, Smart Materials Integration Laboratory and the Materials Simulation Center.
Submission Requirements
- One page research proposal
- Research budget (including complementary support). View a sample budget. (PDF)
- Current CV
All questions and proposal submissions (via email attachment) should be directed to Josh Stapleton jjs366@psu.edu Proposals are due by 5:00 pm on February 15th 2013.
