About IFN
The Institute for Functional Nanomaterials is a research centre in the field of functional nanomaterials.
It is managed by the Resource Center for Science and Engineering and has active participants from four campuses of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).
The institute was established in 2007 with a $9 USD million NSF grant over 3 years in the reserve round, and an institutional contribution from UPR in the amount of $3.9 USD million over the three-year duration of the grant.
Recent news
IFN Fellow participates in 58th Meeting of Nobel Laureates
Francisco Solá (UPR-Rio Piedras), fellow of the Institute for Functional Nanomaterials, was selected to participate in the 58th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany. This meeting corresponds to the...
IFN observes Nanotree Vibrations under Irradiation
The Institute for Functional Nanomaterials (IFN) has recently observed the response of a carbon nanotree under a non-uniform electron beam irradiation. By moving the focused e-beam the tree's branches move...
NanoDays agenda
The Institute for Functional Nanomaterials and the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) will be holding the NanoDays conferences from March 30...
NanoHub Workshops: Learning to Use the Simulation Tools for Teaching and Research
The Institute for Functional Nanomaterials along with the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, and the Department of Physics of the University of Puerto...
IFN scientists visit Binghamton University
IFN scientists visited Binghamton University recently. Members included Dr. Manuel Gómez, Dr. Gerardo Morell, and Dr. Ram Katiyar.
First outreach workshop offered by the Institute for Functional Nanomaterials
On November 16 and 17, the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus (UPRRP) conducted a nanosciences workshop for high school students. It was held on the research facilities of...
Beginning scientists receive presidential awards
Carlos Rinaldi, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, was recognized for his research into the response of suspensions of magnetic...
What happens when nano meets bio
A very rich interface exists between nanotechnology and biotechnology; we will explore what happened when nano met bio. Biotechnology, contrary to common belief, is ancient in its origins. Nearly 10,000...
Nanotechnology comes to Puerto Rico
The periods of history have been characterized by the discovery of new materials that have driven technological progress and provided humans with the ability to control and manipulate the environment...
Start-up funds
The IFN will provide resources for the assignment of up to five start-up awards per year, of up to $200,000 for a 2-year period during the 3-year duration of the project. The awards will be made to new faculty on a competitive basis. The RII will make special efforts to recruit women nanoscientists through this mechanism, and expect to recruit at least 5 new women nano scientists during the duration of the project. Each applicant will be required to prepare a research and professional development proposal to achieve research competitiveness; the proposal will be externally peer-reviewed; then the RII Task Force will make the final award decision, based on the programmatic needs of the research Clusters and the long range objective of developing the IFN Institute. The objective of this program is to bootstrap the number of competitive nanoscientists in Puerto Rico by recruiting up to 15 new members to strengthen the IFN clusters and their evolution toward interdisciplinary research groups.
Fellowships
The IFN will provide funds for twelve Ph.D. and six postdoctoral fellows per year. These fellowships have the dual purpose of advancing the research agenda of the IFN Clusters and increasing the number of people working on Nanoscience and Technology in the IFN Clusters and in PR. The IFN researchers, or the applicants themselves, can apply for the fellowship competition. The IFN is committed to actively search and recruit women to the graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs. All applicants will submit their academic record and a professional development plan. The postdocs will also have to submit a research plan. The RII Task Force will peer review the submitted documents for academic merit, and will make the final selection from among the most meritorious cases, based on the programmatic needs of the Clusters and the evolving IFN research plan, as well as to ensure the diversity of the selected fellows. In addition to the six postdocs, two postdocs will be selected to work specifically in the testbed initiatives of the IFN projects.
