The CREST Center for Interface Design and Engineered Assembly of Low Dimensional Systems (IDEALS) addresses the national need for "accelerating the pace of discovery and deployment of advanced material systems" as stated in the Materials Genome Initiative. A diverse multidisciplinary team of researchers with complementary interests has come together to design and discover materials with new and enhanced functionalities that culminate from the control of the salient unique properties of surfaces, interfaces and defects in self-assembled nanomaterials; and to further technology, energy and health applications. Scientists and engineers from the City College of New York (CCNY) and their partners at Lehman College, the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and Virginia Tech employ experimental, analytical and numerical modeling tools to design and discover complex novel materials with new and enhanced functionalities and integrate education and research to enhance these enterprises within IDEALS.

The research activities of IDEALS are organized into three interdisciplinary, synergistic Subprojects entitled: (1) Low-Dimensional Functional Materials and Nano-Heterostructures (2) Bio-inspired Re-Configurable Materials; and (3) Novel Materials Probes and Design Formalism. They are schematically depicted by the three circles in Figure 1.

IDEALS Research Partners:

The research activities of IDEALS rest on an Integrated Research and Education Platform (Figure 2) that supports a range of programs intended to interact with the research process and enhance the student experience to produce a highly skilled, successful and diverse student body at the doctoral level in Science and Engineering.

The overarching goal of IDEALS is to transform the doctoral and postdoctoral student experience in order to engender global and interdisciplinary Materials Science and Engineering leaders of the future, as delineated in the Strategic Plan of the Materials Genome Initiative, whose ranks will benefit fully from our society's diverse population. The Center implements both innovative and proven Integrated Research and Educational Training practices that transform the experience of all graduate students and postdocs enabling them to develop leadership skills, a global perspective, and the skills for success in academic and industrial environments.

IDEALS Outreach and Education Partners: