About the Facilities
UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (UDC) FACILITIES RELATED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
UDC is the nation’s only urban land grant university located in the former National Bureau of Standards (present National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST) in the Washington DC area within a five-mile radius from Capitol Hill. UDC is an HBCU that comprises a community college (UDC-CC) and main campus jointly offering two-year associate degrees to PhD-level STEM workforce training focusing on underrepresented communities.
MSDL: Molecular Spintronics
MOLECULAR SPINTRONICS DEVICE LABORATORY (MSDL)
This laboratory focuses on solving technological challenges in developing commercially viable molecular spintronics devices harnessing molecular quantum properties and spin properties of electrons. MSDL houses semiconductor device technologyrelated resources, including a class 1000 clean room, maskless aligners like lithography tools, several sputtering machines, and dry and wet etching. MSDL supports several doctoral research, ~50 UDC-CC, and ~40 undergraduate students attending Nanotechnology training courses. MSDL is leading the mass-producible magnetic tunnel junction-based molecular spintronics (MTJMSD) field, resulting in five nonprovisional patent applications and national and international collaborations. MSDL is reputed to run clean room and nanotechnology resources with negligible operating costs for long-term sustainability.
MNL: Microscopy
MICROSCOPY AND NANOFLUIDIC LABORATORY
This laboratory houses high a Scanning Electron Microscope with a Focused Ion Beam and an Industry grade Keyence Microscope for quantitative material analysis. This laboratory is also actively researching nanoscale microfluidic channels for diverse applications. This laboratory offers dedicated training for UDC graduate and undergraduate students in the field of microscopy-based material characterization.
NML: Nanoscale Measurement
NANOSCALE MEASUREMENT LABORATORY (NML)
NML houses a wide range of nanoscale property and device testing resources, including a remote console to enable real-time access to Penn State material testing capabilities such as TEM. NML is equipped with AFM, Magnetometer, Ferromagnetic Resonance, Cryogenic transport testing, and semiconductor device parameter analyzer. NML has been a major support to UDC STEM faculty starting their research and pursuing grants. NML is the tentative site for UDC’s Museum of Nanotechnology in the Washington DC area for engaging the K-PhD audience in outreach related to semiconductor devices and nanotechnology. NML supports ABET-accredited electrical and mechanical engineering undergraduate students’ research training, producing a diverse workforce.
MTML: Thermal Management
MULTISCALE THERMAL MANAGEMENT LABORATORY
This laboratory innovates novel solutions for heat management in diverse areas, from computers to large-scale space vehicles. Several additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, such as EOS M280 Laser metal sintering machine and 3D printing of electronic circuits, are employed for research and workforce training in materials and system development for electronic packaging and thermal management. This laboratory also possesses atomic layer deposition and state of thermal property testing resources and actively researches with several NASA and NAVY-related federal organizations.