MRI: Acquisition of Computer Cluster for Data-Driven Discovery in Materials Research and Education

MRI：采购计算机集群，用于材料研究和教育中的数据驱动发现

• 批准号: 1532249
• 负责人: Donna Sheng
• 金额: $ 29.87万
• 依托单位: The University Corporation, Northridge
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-15 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1532249&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Computer; Cluster; Data

This Major Research Instrumentation to the University Corporation, Northridge provides support for expanding and strengthening the computational facility of the W.M. Keck Computational Materials Theory Center at California State University Northridge (CSUN), a Hispanic serving institution. The cluster will enable cutting-edge materials research and education in the following three areas: (1) in strongly interacting many-body electronic systems; (2) in spin transport in multifunctional devices; and (3) in interfacial charge transfer and separation in excitonic photovoltaics. The goal is to advance fundamental understanding of exotic quantum states of matter, to unravel intricate interaction between electron charge and spin, and to expand the knowledge basis for rational design of photovoltaic materials. The research has potential to lead to faster computers, ultra-high capacity memory storage devices, and cheaper "plastic" solar cells. The cluster will also facilitate the education and training of next generation of materials scientists, including students from underrepresented groups. Computational courses will be developed where students gain hands-on experience in scientific programming and solving practical problems by computation. The cluster will also offer opportunities for high-school teachers and their students via NSF funded teachers summer camps to learn about computational materials science. The research team will develop state-of-the-art computational approaches and apply them to fundamentally important problems in condensed matter physics and materials science. The researchers will investigate fundamental problems associated with correlated electron systems and demonstrate novel physical phenomena emerging in complex materials. The improved understanding and quantitative prediction based on computational modeling on the complex properties of these interacting systems will provide valuable information and guidance for the theoretical and experimental research in the field. The scientists will study the electronic structure and spin transport of multifunctional nano-systems consisting of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric tunnel junctions based on multiferroics and topological insulator materials. The coupling between different degrees of freedom and its sensitivity to interfacial structure will give rise to a wealth of exciting phenomena, providing unprecedented access to emerging multi-functionalities of future spintronic devices. They will tackle a grand challenge in solar energy conversion, charge transfer and separation at donor/acceptor interfaces, which is the bottleneck for excitonic solar cells. A first principles based theoretical framework will be developed to address fundamental problems at the organic/organic and organic/inorganic interfaces. The computational developments and the proposed research have the potential to provide fundamental understanding of important unresolved questions in areas of condensed matter physics and materials science, ranging from understanding new states of matter, topological characterization, unconventional superconductivity, and quantum phase transitions in strongly interacting electron and spin systems; to spin transport in ferromagnetic/ferroelectric tunnel junctions and spintronic devices; and to charge transfer and separation at donor/acceptor interfaces pertinent to solar cells.

诺斯里奇（Northridge）向大学公司的这项主要研究工具提供了支持，以扩大和加强W.M.的计算设施。凯克计算材料理论中心位于西班牙裔服务机构的加利福尼亚州立大学诺斯里奇（CSUN）。该集群将在以下三个领域中实现尖端的材料研究和教育：（1）在强烈相互作用的多体电子系统中； （2）多功能设备中的自旋传输； （3）在界面电荷转移和激光光伏分离中。目的是促进对物质外来量子状态的基本理解，揭示电子和自旋之间的复杂相互作用，并扩大光伏材料合理设计的知识基础。这项研究有可能导致更快的计算机，超高的容量存储器存储设备和更便宜的“塑料”太阳能电池。该集群还将促进下一代材料科学家的教育和培训，包括来自代表性不足的群体的学生。将开发计算课程，在学生通过计算方面获得科学编程和解决实际问题的动手经验。该集群还将通过NSF资助的教师夏令营为高中老师及其学生提供机会，以了解计算材料科学。 研究团队将开发最先进的计算方法，并将其应用于凝结物理和材料科学的根本重要问题。研究人员将研究与相关电子系统相关的基本问题，并证明复杂材料中出现的新型物理现象。基于这些相互作用系统复杂性能的计算模型的理解和定量预测，将为该领域的理论和实验研究提供有价值的信息和指导。科学家将研究由基于多效应和拓扑绝缘体材料的铁磁和铁电隧道连接的多功能纳米系统的电子结构和自旋运输。不同程度的自由度与其对界面结构的敏感性之间的耦合将导致许多令人兴奋的现象，从而为未来的自旋设备的新兴多功能性提供了前所未有的访问。他们将在供体/受体界面的太阳能转换，电荷转移和分离方面应对巨大的挑战，这是激子太阳能电池的瓶颈。将开发基于第一原则的理论框架，以解决有机/有机/有机界面的基本问题。 计算发展和拟议的研究有可能在凝聚态物理和材料科学领域中对重要未解决的问题提供基本理解，从了解物质的新状态，拓扑表征，非常规的超导导性以及在强烈相互作用的电子和旋转系统中的量子相转变；在铁磁/铁电隧道连接和旋转设备中旋转运输；并在与太阳能电池有关的供体/受体界面上充电和分离。