The Scientific Advocate Network (SAN) program aims to increase diversity in materials research and education with a goal of increasing diversity of the STEM pipeline of Under Represented Minority (URM), women, and persons with disabilities.

Funding priority will be given to proposals that show significant promise to positively impact the diversity of the pipeline. To achieve this, the SAN program provides four primary funding types:

• Support for URM undergraduate students in research related to MADE in SC
   
• Support for increasing the recruitment of a diverse group of graduate students
   
• Support for hosting scientific conferences, symposia, and meetings in South Carolina that aim to increase diversity of the STEM student pipeline
   
• Support for other specific approaches to Broadening Participation in STEM

Full Proposal due Mon, Oct 26, 5 pm EST

Max Funding Amount Per Award: $60,000
Duration: 18 months
 

The goal of GEAR CRP is to encourage faculty researchers to build collaborative CRU/PUI academic research teams that will enhance the network of scientists conducting research related to MADE in SC.

Full Proposal due 
Mon, Nov, 9 pm

Dr. Morgan Stefik is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 2010 then joined École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Chem. as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In 2014 he joined UofSC as an Assistant Professor. In 2018, Dr. Stefik received the prestigious NSF CAREER Award. He is a contributing faculty member to Thrust 2: Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials of the MADE in SC NSF Track-1 project. Dr. Stefik is very active in the field of block polymers and self-assembly.
 
His research project aims to enable the synthesis of tailored composite nanomaterial interfaces. Self-assembly strategies are very limited for the synthesis of composite materials where random mixtures are generally produced without independent control. The research team is developing a novel responsive block polymer micelle that will enable tailored composite interfaces. In this project, they are integrating experimental and simulation to understand the response of block polymer micelles to nanoparticle stimuli as a function of varied corona block chemistries. Experimental activities to date have resolved a challenging synthesis of an amphiphilic block polymer with modular corona block chemistry that enables tailored interaction strength with subsequent nanoparticles. Click here to read more on Dr. Stefik’s research.