Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM)

The goal of the UPR-Humacao-PENN PREM is to increase minority men and women participation in materials research and education. The program integrates K-12, undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. The partnership also involves the Cayey and Río Piedras campuses of UPR and is built on a decade of mutually beneficial and successful collaborations between PENN and UPR. As a result of PREM, UPRH has an enhanced research productivity, enriched curricula, and has better infrastructure.

The research efforts focus in four areas: preparation and characterization of polymers and organic materials for the development of nanoelectronic devices and gas sensors; development of electrochemical sensors; physics and mathematical modeling of nano- and molecular structures; and modeling and implementation of microfluidic devices. Research collaborations are based on one-to-one interactions between UPR and PENN faculty and their students. The Summer program at PENN provides the opportunity for research teams to interact for extended periods of time and for UPR faculty and students to use instrumentation and library resources not available at home. The PREM Annual Meeting at UPRH is a forum for all participants and the Advisory Committee to exchange information and plan for the future. The rest of the year collaborators communicate regularly through internet, videoconferencing or exchange visits between the institutions. Undergraduate and HS research is an important part of our partnership. Since 2004, 40 undergraduates and 11 HS have participated in research activities with PREM faculty. These students are learning the scientific method and the importance of collaborative research early in their studies. Travel to PENN and scientific conferences is serving to motivate, build confidence and change their professional goals, especially for those who are first generation in college, from isolated rural areas and women. The contribution of undergraduates to research productivity is significant. The number of publications that have resulted from PREM efforts include 34 journal publications; 10 with undergraduates as co-authors; and 38 conference proceedings, 25 with undergraduates as co-authors. A total of 15 undergraduates have graduated from PREM since 2004 and 9 are currently pursuing graduate studies. In addition, 3 PREM graduate students from UPR-Río Piedras obtained their PhD’s and 1 is currently a Post Doc at PENN. A PENN PhD graduate is now a Post Doc at UPR-Humacao. PREM’s efforts to increase not only the participation of minorities but that of women minorities at all levels include 51% women students and 46% women faculty (5 out of 11) involved in research efforts at UPR.

HS students analyze nanofibers using SEM as part of Summer Research Program Experimenta con PREM.

Experimenta con PREM, a Summer Program for HS students from public schools in the Eastern Region of Puerto Rico, immerses a selected group of 20 students into an week and a half-long, hands-on, exposure to nano materials and nanotechnology experiments. The students learn to work in teams, conduct experiments using research instrumentation and prepare a written reports and oral presentations of their results. Evidence of the success of the program is the fact that 25% (7 of 28, 5 women) of the entering physics class in 2006 participated in this project. PREM’s contribution to curricular enhancement includes the integration of materials topics to core science courses. Other educational activities include weekly PREM Seminars attended by the Physics Freshman Class as well as PREM students and faculty. The seminars are enriched by a regular series of videoconferences transmitted from the PENN. Outreach efforts include workshops & open houses for K-12 students and teachers (attended by 293 students and 31 teachers in 2006) and a website for K-12 students PREM Educa with information about Materials Science and Nanotechnology applications in the Spanish Language.

PREM partner Alan MacDiarmid during a visit to Humacao after winning the Nobel Prize in 2001.

Plans for the future include hosting the International Symposium on Advanced Materials: Building Functional Systems via Self Assembly on April 27, 2007. A proposal was submitted to UPR Administration to designate our research facilities “Alan MacDiarmid Center” to honor the legacy to UPRH of PREM partner and 2001 Chemistry Prize Winner, Alan G. MacDiarmid, who passed away last February 2007. In addition, from October to December 2007, PREM will bring to Puerto Rico the acclaimed exhibition Strange Matter. Thousands of visitors are expected to enjoy this event in Humacao’s Casa Roig Museum.

Selected Publications:

1. N. J. Pinto, R. González, A. T. Johnson Jr. and A. G. MacDiarmid “Electrospun hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor Schottky nanodiode”, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 89, pp. 033505 (2006).
2. L. Blum and M. Arias, “Thermodynamics of the soft and extended soft mean spherical model”, Molecular Physics, Vol. 1004, pp. 3801 (2006).
3. N. Zimbovskaya “Fermi-liquid theory of the surface impedance of a metal in a normal magnetic field”, Physical Review B Vol 74: 035110, pp. 1-9 (2006).