UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1201 | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Submission information

Submission Number: 1201

Submission ID: 20601

Submission UUID: 9dc6874f-1497-470f-bb19-d728e3919cba

Submission URI: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal

Submission Update: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=RzTGAEyUX_RTQGjUCc6ERhm26R_f9HTTzWYLvA_rBC8

Created: Sun, 08/17/2025 - 04:24 PM

Completed: Sun, 08/17/2025 - 04:27 PM

Changed: Mon, 08/25/2025 - 12:50 PM

Remote IP address: 68.59.55.125

Submitted by: Anonymous

Language: English

Is draft: No

Webform: UROP Project Proposal Portal

Submitted to: UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal

Research Mentor Information

Primary Research Mentor Name Mehrdad Kiani

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Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) mkiani@fsu.edu

Position Title Faculty

FSU College (if applicable) FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Materials Science and Engineering

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Additional Research Mentor(s)

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Overall Project Details

Title of the Project Materials Screening for Interconnects

Project Keywords Microelectronics, Materials, Computing, Engineering

Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes

Number of Research Assistants Needed 1

Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Engineering, Physics, Chemistry

Project Location: IRCB, College of Engineering

If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? FSU Bus

Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): In-person

Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5-10

Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)

Overall Research Project Description Increasing computing needs driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning applications require faster processing speeds and more energy-efficient microelectronics. The high resistivity of interconnects, which are the wires that connect transistors, are a major bottleneck for increasing processing speeds in modern computer chips. For continued Moore's law scaling, new interconnect materials are needed that decrease resistivity and mitigate electromigration at <40 nm length scales. In this project, you will fabricate and test new candidate interconnect compounds at the nanoscale. After fabricating nanowires of various diameters, you will determine resistivity scaling with size and identify the most promising compounds for future microelectronics.

Research Tasks Literature review, lab work, materials characterization, analytical/computational modeling

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Understanding of electromagnetism and micro/electronics (such as intro Physics course).
Any previous lab work would be beneficial but not necessary.
Competency with Matlab or Python would be beneficial but not necessary.

Mentoring Philosophy The goal of the UROP is to do great research while cultivating your own skills as a future scientific and engineering leader. My lab's culture and mentoring philosophy will embody the the following core principles:

-All skills are learnable with proper guidance and dedication.
-Research/scientific expertise is just half of the goal. I want every student to leave with the ability to effectively communicate scientific results, develop and foster new collaborations, and become strong writers.
-We strive for exciting research and innovation while never compromising on quality.

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Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? Yes

Roundtable times and Zoom links Tuesday September 2, 2:00-2:30 PM
fsu.zoom.us/j/9841704857

Roundtable Info

Day: Tuesday, September 2
Start Time: 2:00
End Time: 2:30
Zoom Link: fsu.zoom.us/j/9841704857

UROP Program Elements

Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes

UROP Performance Evaluation Yes

Materials Grant Yes

UROP Poster Presentation Yes

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Year 2025

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