Project Summaries - Summer 2010
Nanoelectronics Undergraduate Research Fellowships (NURF)
Each participant in the 2010 Nanoelectronics Undergraduate Research Fellowship program has written a summary of their research project. The summaries are provided below.
In 2010, the Center for Nano Science and Technology at Notre Dame (NDnano) awarded Nanoelectronics Undergraduate Research Fellowships (NURFs) to 23 students. Each $5,000 fellowship provided an undergraduate researcher the opportunity to work for 10 weeks over the summer in the University's laboratories and cleanroom facilities with one of NDnano's faculty-led research teams.
The NURF research projects supported one of NDnano's research pillars: new materials and nanostructures, energy harvesting technologies, nano-bioelectronics, physical limits to computation, and nano-environmental.
As part of their fellowship experience, many NURF students participated in the Science and Engineering Summer Research Symposium, where they gave talks or presented posters on their research. They also had the opportunity to attend the annual review for the Midwest Institute of Nanoelectronics Discovery (MIND) and showcase their summer research with government and industry sponsors during the MIND poster session.
NURF recipient: Michael Sizemore
School: University of Notre Dame
Major: Electrical Engineering | Class of 2012
Faculty mentor: Prof. Gary Bernstein Project summary [pdf]
Project: Curiosity-driven research using a scanning electron microscope
NURF recipient: Allison O'Rourke School: Saint Mary's College
Major: Biology |
Class of 2011
Faculty mentor: Prof. Gary Bernstein Project summary [pdf]
Project: RGO-Cu2S films: A better counter electrode for quantum dot solar cells
NURF recipient: Ryan Dwyer
School: University of
Notre Dame
Majors: Chemistry and Theology | Class of 2011
Faculty mentor: Prof. Prashant V. Kamat Project summary [pdf]
Project: Storing and shuttling electrons in graphene: Controlling the size and loading of catalyst metal nanoparticles with light
NURF recipient: Tim Schumer
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Chemical Engineering |
Class of 2012
Faculty mentor: Prof. Prashant V. Kamat Project summary [pdf]
Project: Assembling microtubules in microchambers
NURF recipient: Mary Mahon
School: University of
Notre Dame
Majors: Chemistry and Business |
Class of 2012 Faculty mentors: Prof. Marya Lieberman and Prof.
Holly Goodson Project summary [pdf]
Project: Developing an organic/inorganic “rainbow” solar cell
NURF recipient: Sarah Schubert
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Chemistry |
Class of 2012 Faculty mentors: Prof. Susan Fullerton and Prof. Prashant V. Kamat Project summary [pdf]
NURF recipient: Chen Chen
School:
Saint Mary's College
Majors: Electrical Engineering and Math |
Class of 2013
Faculty mentor: Prof. Alan Seabaugh Project summary [pdf]
Project: Selective wet etches for a GaSb/InAs system for TFET fabrication
NURF recipient: Rob Maurer
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Electrical Engineering |
Class of 2011
Faculty mentor: Prof. Patrick Fay Project summary [pdf]
Project: Measurement of voltage-controlled current-swing in semiconductor tunnel junctions
NURF recipient: Brian Rockwell
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Electrical Engineering |
Class of 2012 Faculty mentor: Prof. Alan Seabaugh Project summary [pdf]
Project: Label-free optical chemical biosensor using a subwavelength nanocapillary array membrane fabricated by nanosphere lithography
NURF recipient: Jin Yang
School:
Saint Mary's College
Majors: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
Class of 2013
Faculty mentor: Prof. Paul Bohn
Project summary
Project: Experiments in microscale gas discharges
NURF recipient: Elizabeth Dubbs
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Mechanical Engineering |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentor: Prof. David Go Project summary [pdf]
Project: Micro electromagnetic tweezers array
NURF recipient: Patrick Newcomer
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Science Pre-Professional |
Class of 2012 Faculty mentor: Prof. Tao Wang Project summary [pdf]
Project: Terahertz (THz) microfluidic devices for biological and biomedical sensing
NURF recipient: Matt Schueler
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Electrical Engineering |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentor: Prof. Tao Wang Project summary [pdf]
Project: Synthesis and characterization of multi-component nanocomposite
membrances for CO2 capture
NURF recipient: Tom Tokoly
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Economics and Pre-Professional |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentor: Prof. Abhijit Biswas Project summary [pdf]
Project: Design, synthesis and characterization of all-bone minerals multicomponent bionanocomposites for bone grafts using bone-tissue engineering
NURF recipient: He Zhao
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Aerospace Engineering |
Class of 2012 Faculty mentor: Prof. Abhijit Biswas Project summary [pdf]
This work was subsequently published in Biomacromolecules:
Abhijit Biswas, Ilker S. Bayer, He Zhao, Tao Wang, Fumiya Watanabe, Alexandru S. Biris, "Design and synthesis of biomimetic multicomponent all-bone-minerals bionanocomposites," Biomacromolecules, 2010, 11 (10), pp 2545–2549.
It was also featured in the October 25, 2010 issue of Noteworthy Chemistry, a weekly feature of the American Chemistry Society that highlights innovative ideas from science, technical, and business literature (see second bullet).
Project: Uniformity of graphene on copper
NURF recipient: Barbara Raynal
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Electrical Engineering |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentor: Prof. Michelle Kelly Project summary [pdf]
Project: Effects of experimental design on size-dependent Pb sorption to nanohematite in the presence and absence of a microbial siderophore
NURF recipient: Katherine Grant
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Chemistry |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentor: Prof. Patricia Maurice Project summary [pdf]
Project: Nanofabrication and characterization of semiconductor heterostructures
NURF recipient: Dakota O'Dell
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Physics |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentors: Profs. Jacek Furdyna & Margaret Dobrowolska-Furdyna Project summary [pdf]
Project: Guiding bacterial attachment with magnetite nanoparticles
NURF recipient: Chinedu Madukoma
School:
Ivy Tech Community College
Major: Biotechnology | Class of 2010 Faculty mentors: Profs. Marya Lieberman, Josh Shrout, and Tao Wang Project summary [pdf]
NURF recipient: Greg Mauch
School:
Ivy Tech Community College
Major: Biotechnology | Class of 2010 Faculty mentors: Profs. Marya Lieberman, Josh Shrout, and Tao Wang Project summary [pdf]
NURF recipient: David Sok
School:
Ivy Tech Community College
Major: Biotechnology | Class of 2011 Faculty mentors: Profs. Marya Lieberman, Josh Shrout, and Tao Wang Project summary
Project: Synthesizing and evaluating the morphology of inorganic materials for solar cells
NURF recipient: Conor Wolohan
School: University of
Notre Dame
Major: Chemical Engineering |
Class of 2012 Faculty mentor: Prof. Luis Fernandez-Torres Project summary [pdf]
Project: Paper analytical devices (PADs) used in chemical detection
NURF recipient: Christina Robakowski
School:
Saint Mary's College
Major: Chemistry |
Class of 2011 Faculty mentors: Prof. Marya Lieberman and Prof. Toni Barstis Project summary [pdf]
NURF recipient: Michael Sizemore
NURF recipient: Ryan Dwyer
NURF recipient: Tim Schumer
NURF recipient: Mary Mahon
NURF recipient: Sarah Schubert
NURF recipient: Chen Chen
NURF recipient: Rob Maurer
NURF recipient: Brian Rockwell
NURF recipient: Jin Yang
NURF recipient: Elizabeth Dubbs
NURF recipient: Patrick Newcomer
NURF recipient: Matt Schueler
NURF recipient: Tom Tokoly
NURF recipient: He Zhao
NURF recipient: Barbara Raynal
NURF recipient: Katherine Grant
NURF recipient: Dakota O'Dell
NURF recipient: Chinedu Madukoma
NURF recipient: Greg Mauch
NURF recipient: David Sok
NURF recipient: Conor Wolohan
NURF recipient: Christina Robakowski