Project Grant FA23862314103

This EAGER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Materials Research supports an integrated computational-experimental approach to better understand the local atomic structure of disordered semiconductor materials. The $199,112 project, awarded to the Colorado School of Mines, focuses on the Ge(1-x)Mn(x)Te system as a model to explore how composition and processing conditions impact the local structure and, consequently, the electronic and thermal properties of these...

This $289,851 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Integrative Activities (IA) program supports research at the University of Delaware that aims to develop new pathways for the recovery and recycling of rare-earth elements (REEs). The project focuses on investigating the formation and properties of high-temperature REE-sulfate liquids, with the goal of advancing alternative REE extraction and separation technologies that could enable more circular manufacturing...

This one-year Project Grant award of $129,198 from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) under the Basic Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.431) aims to establish a roadmap for efficient two-photon devices using III-nitride semiconductor-based 2D nanosheets as the gain media in high-Q microcavities. The key objectives are to pursue the epitaxy, nanofabrication, modeling, and characterization of the nano-beam architectures. This research effort seeks to expand...

This $451,225 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) to the University of Kentucky Research Foundation will support collaborative research to explore new sources of rare earth elements (REEs) in the Southeastern U.S. The project aims to investigate the provenance and delivery of the REE-bearing mineral monazite from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Researchers will utilize advanced analytical techniques such as mass...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research provides $225,904 to Brown University under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) for collaborative research on rare earth materials under extreme conditions from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026. The award supports experimental and computational research to determine the thermodynamic and structural properties of refractory rare earth ceramic materials at high temperature and pressure....

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Materials Research awarded Purdue University a $190,936 Project Grant under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program on February 15, 2024. The objective of this 2-year project is to design, synthesize, and characterize a new family of two-dimensional rare-earth transition metal carbide materials called "RE-MXenes." Through a combination of computational modeling and experimental efforts, the researchers aim to...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's $303,000 Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) funds research at Penn State University from June 2022 to May 2025 related to single photon emission in lanthanide-doped two-dimensional materials and devices. The researchers will evaluate incorporating rare-earth elements like cerium and erbium into two-dimensional semiconductors to enable a quantum optical platform compatible with optical communications. Objectives include controlling doping...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences program grant, with a total funding amount of $296,901.00 awarded on September 1, 2023, supports a systematic investigation of sorption mechanisms of light rare-earth elements (REEs) on iron oxides at Oklahoma State University. The key objectives are to elucidate how mineral structure, crystallinity, morphology, and interfacial dynamics affect REE sorption at mineral-water interfaces, which is critical for predicting the occurrence and formation...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) Project Grant award of $180,000 provides funding for a postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Caddick at Virginia Tech. The research, professional development, and outreach activities focus on constraining the mobility of rare earth elements (REEs) in subduction zones. The research aims to test hypotheses about the sequestration and mobilization of REEs during subduction processes, using a forward model...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support fundamental research to develop a laser-induced non-equilibrium process for creating color centers in hexagonal boron nitride (2D-HBN) materials. The goal is to enable the controlled formation of single photon emitters in the visible spectrum, which can serve as important building blocks for quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other advanced applications. The $546,398...