Beyond its scientific goals, the project also aims to create a summer camp for K-12 students, with a special focus on groups underrepresented in STEM fields.
“We have four summer camps planned, including two at Penn State University and two at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with a focus on introducing students to materials science, nanotechnology, biosensors, and artificial intelligence. ,” Ebrahimi said. “These camps will include hands-on activities aimed at inspiring young students, especially girls and underrepresented minorities, to pursue careers in science and engineering.”
In addition to K-12 support, the project also supports undergraduate research, curriculum innovation, and workforce development. The team will collaborate with industry through an advisory board and offer internships to students.
“We want to ensure that the next generation of engineers and scientists are not only well-trained, but also have the opportunity to connect with industry and explore career paths in STEM fields,” Ebrahimi he said.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are core values of the project. All four principal investigators are committed to fostering a more inclusive STEM community by partnering with relevant organizations.
“We will work with organizations such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the National Association of Black Engineers, the National Association of Black Physicists, and the Chicano/Hispanic and Native American Association for the Advancement of Science,” Ebrahimi said. “We want to ensure that our advocacy efforts are meaningful and provide real opportunities for underrepresented groups.”
The researchers also said they hope to have a broader impact on the scientific community by creating an open-access database.
“We are building a cloud-based database where researchers can access experimental results and AI models,” Ebrahimi said. “This resource will be made available to the entire scientific community and will help accelerate materials discovery in biosensing and other fields.”
The team will also work with the Air Force Research Laboratory to explore scalable, low-cost ways to synthesize 2D materials, which could further increase the impact of the research.
“We are looking at synthetic methods that can be scaled up for industrial applications, which is important to make this technology accessible and affordable,” Ebrahimi points out.
Ultimately, the researchers said they believe this project has the potential to transform biosensor technology and the way materials are developed for a variety of applications.
“Our hope is that this research will not only lead to better biosensors, but also create a new paradigm for materials discovery, where AI plays a central role guiding experimental efforts,” Ebrahimi said. .
