SMI supporting NSF INTERN program and science exchange programs

Structured Materials Industries Inc (SMI) of Piscataway, NJ, USA – which provides chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, components, materials and process development services – says that it is helping graduate research students to develop their careers through internships and collaborative science exchange programs that give interns valuable first-hand experience in cutting-edge technology industries. Interns participating in such programs can expect the following:

working with industry professionals (research scientists, engineers, etc);
conducting and observing experience with thin-film depositions in metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors;
experience with using an application laboratory;
gaining knowledge of handling/procuring materials for commercial- and government-funded research projects;
exposure to budget management for government- and commercial-funded research projects; and
working in an industrial environment.

SMI is active in the US National Science Foundation (NSF) internship program ‘INTERN’, in which a graduate student works directly with the principal investigator on an NSF-funded project. SMI has hosted Jignesh Vanjaria from professor Hongbin Yu’s group at Arizona State University (ASU) where he has worked with SMI research scientist and principal investigator Dr Arul Arjunan on a government-funded project to develop a silicon germanium tin (SiGeSn)-based device.

In addition, SMI is also separately hosting Kuang-Hui Li, a visiting PhD. student from professor Xiaohang Li’s group at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, in a collaborative effort with SMI. Arjunan, Vanjaria and Kuang-Hui Li were recently featured on an NSF internship video that outlined the NSF program interns working with their non-academic partners.

“We take pride in enabling young researchers by providing them with valuable in-the-field experiences and one-on-one educational lessons with industry professionals,” says SMI’s president & CEO Dr Gary S. Tompa. “In this instance, our NSF intern is able to work directly under our research scientist on a day-to-day basis and interact with guest/visiting scientists. While at SMI, he is also conducting deposition runs, under the supervision of SMI professionals and gaining insights on practical lab operations; maintaining tools, interacting with vendors operating within a budget and timeline, analyzing results and planning experiments, as well as understanding safety procedures for this government funded project,” he adds.

“NSF programs such as INTERN not only help in training the future workforce directly in an industrial environment but also provide an opportunity for universities to foster a much closer collaboration between university and industry for accelerated technology development and commercial introduction,” says Dr Hongbin Yu, ASU professor and director of the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) Center for Efficient Vehicles and Sustainable Transportation Systems.

“I have always enjoyed working with students and introducing them to new technologies as well as sharing my 20 years of experience in industry and academic research,” states Arjunan. “It is a pleasure working with professor Yu and Mr Vanjaria through the NSF INTERN and other programs,” he adds. “We are showing Mr Vanjaria how to optimize material growth for multiple projects. We sincerely hope that the experiences he gained at SMI will transition into other facets of his career.”

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