2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 455: Stimulating Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Across NSF-NRT Institutions

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session II

While other NSF NRT Programs have fully embraced interdisciplinary graduate research (1), our efforts have extended to developing and maintaining strong collaborative bonds across institutional programs. Through a multi-year collaboration between our two NSF NRT grant teams (2), we have developed and implemented a Rapid Research Proposal Design Workshop to support cross-institutional, interdisciplinary research project development. We’ve successfully run this workshop in 2022 (3 participating NRTs) and in 2024 (5 participating NRTs) with graduate students from across computational and physical science/engineering disciplines. Focusing on the purpose and motivations for their research, student teams brainstormed and developed new project ideas, wrote brief proposals, and presented them to the large group. Students were able to make new connections and face new challenges as they visualized how their knowledge and efforts align with other scientists and engineers. One participant reflected “The brainstorming session with people from different backgrounds really broadened my perspective. It was a great opportunity to learn from each other and propose a new idea within just 30 minutes. It was challenging, but the joy of collaboration and the chance to open up new horizons made it a standout experience for me." The workshop framework promotes knowledge sharing, builds participant confidence for finding collaborators, and inspires fruitful collaboration between participants. This paper and poster will emphasize curriculum sharing by providing a step-by-step guide for workshop implementation and scaling in various contexts along with lessons learned from our experience.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DGE-2022040 and DGE-2022023.

1. D. A. Fowler, R. Arroyave, J. Ross, R. Malak, S. Banerjee, “Looking outwards from the “central science”: An interdisciplinary perspective on graduate education in materials chemistry” in Educational and Outreach Projects from the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Undergraduate and Graduate Education Volume 1, R. Waterman, A. Feig, Eds. (American Chemical Society, 2017), pp. 65–89.

2. A. Slates, S. McAlexander, J. Nolan, J. de Pablo, J. Chen, H. Johnson, L. Brinson (May 2024). Partnerships and collaboration drive innovative graduate training in materials informatics. Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp7446

Authors

Dr. Shana Lee McAlexander http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-0075-7233 Duke University [biography]

As Associate Director, Shana leads grant operations for the Harnessing AI for Understanding and Designing Materials (aiM Program), a Research Traineeship program supported by the National Science Foundation. Shana's research interests revolve around STEM Education; representation in science and engineering careers; access to internships; team science, convergence, and interdisciplinarity.
Prof. Catherine Brinson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2551-1563 Duke University
Dr. Richard J. Sheridan Duke University [biography]

Richard Sheridan is a Research Scientist in the Brinson Advanced Materials Laboratory at the Duke University Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. His current research interest include optimal experimental design, uncertainty quantification, and AI-augmented laboratory techniques, especially in the context of AFM nanomechanics and viscoelasticity.
Prof. Junhong Chen University of Chicago [biography]

Junhong Chen is currently Crown Family Professor of Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and Lead Water Strategist & Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. He also serves as the Science Leader for Argonne’s presence in the City of Chicago (Argonne in Chicago). Since March 1, 2024, he has been serving as the Co-PI and Use-inspired R&D Lead for the NSF Great Lakes ReNEW Water Innovation Engine. Prior to coming to Chicago, Dr. Chen served as a program director for the Engineering Research Centers program of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the director of NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Water Equipment & Policy (WEP). He founded NanoAffix Science LLC to commercialize real-time water sensors based on 2D nanomaterials. Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from University of Minnesota in 2002 and was a postdoctoral scholar in chemical engineering at California Institute of Technology from 2002 to 2003. His current research focuses on nanomaterial innovation for sustainable energy and environment. Dr. Chen has published 300 journal papers and has been listed as a highly cited researcher (top 1%) in materials science/cross-field by Clarivate Analytics. He is an elected fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, National Academy of Inventors, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Jennifer Nolan University of Chicago [biography]

Jennifer is the Program Coordinator for the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) AI-enabled Molecular Engineering of Materials and Systems (AIMEMS) for Sustainability in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. She also serves as Senior Project Administrator, Strategic Initiatives for the University of Chicago's Offices of Science Strategy and Corporate Engagement. Jennifer holds a master's degree in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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