Partnership for Education and the advancement of quantum and nano-Sciences

A strong partnership between Fort Lewis College (FLC), Norfolk State University (NSU), and STROBE (NSF Science and Technology Center for Real-Time Functional Imaging) created PEAQS (Partnership for the Education and Advancement of Quantum and nano-Sciences). This partnership enabled exciting cutting edge materials science research that engaged undergraduates over multiple years, exposing them to broad science concepts, while developing important technical and other skills sets.

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PEAQS research focused on understanding how the structure of materials determines how materials work. Technology like thermoelectrics (ie: heat dispersion from batteries) and nanoelectronics (ie: phones, watches, etc.) is getting smaller and smaller, pushing scales never before studied by scientists and a fundamental understanding of the relationship between structures at this scale and function is still elusive. FLC and NSU was able to leverage the PREM funding to develop out the research capacity at each institution in order to study these relationships. FLC leveraged PREM funding to build a nanofabrication lab in which they were able to successfully fabricate functional transistors found in modern smartphone processors. In fact, FLC is the smallest undergraduate only institution in the country that can make transistors entirely in house. Going forward, students will be able to study the fabrication process of these transistors to better understand their function. At NSU, PREM was used to develop out over 30000 square feet of research space dedicated to nanofabrication, crystal synthesis, and materials characterization and obtain grants to fund graduate students in the labs. A huge success of this grant at NSU is the development of a device that allows the study of materials under different wavelengths of light within the same piece of equipment. This has huge implications for future work at understanding materials properties.

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PEAQS broader impacts goals focused on the recruitment, retention, and workforce development training of students at both FLC and NSU to see them successfully into STEM careers. Prior to PEAQS, the NSU physics department was in danger of being eliminated due to low enrollment. Due to the influence of PEAQS, NSU was able to nearly triple the number of students enrolled in physics, saving the department. At both FLC and NSU, student retention to graduation is low, around 40%. PEAQS engaged students early and often in their academic career, retaining students in school until graduation and providing them with the skills they needed to be successful in STEM careers. PEAQS also saw students travelling to STROBE institutions and numerous national conferences expanding their professional network, exposing them to new research fields, and providing them with the confidence to apply to graduate schools or jobs outside of their home area.

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 PEAQS is proud of its 83 graduates. Of these, 40% went onto graduate school (PhD, masters, or medical), 45% went into industry careers in STEM, 7% went to work at National Labs, and 8% went into other careers (K12 education, patents office, military, etc). We are also proud of our 94% retention rate to graduation, meaning only 6% of the students involved in PEAQS did not make it to graduation. This is a huge improvement over the schools’ 40% retention rate, especially over years when the pandemic had a major influence on undergraduate retention.