Achievement

Trainee Bev Smith's IGERT support has increased the scope and progress of her research through collaborative efforts. Smith's work investigates metal nanoparticle transformations on surfaces and ways to gain control over such transformations. Understanding these processes could improve the design of heterogeneous catalysts, which are often poorly controlled and irreproducible. The ability to control nanoparticle transformations could also lead to more highly ordered devices for optical applications.

Smith's IGERT fellowship has resulted in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratories that is concerned with selective deposition of nanoparticles through deposition in supercritical fluids. Without the support of an IGERT fellowship, Smith reports that the scope of her research would have been significantly diminished.