Wei-Shun Chang receives $700K National Science Foundation CAREER Award grant for nanoparticle research

The NSF CAREER Award will support Chang's research on nanomaterial structure and spin behavior to develop new uses

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Wei-Shun Chang recently received $700,066 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a project titled “CAREER: Spin Polarization of Inorganic Hybrid Nanostructures at the Single-Particle Level.”

The prestigious NSF grant that Chang received is part of the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), which supports early-career faculty and their potential to serve as academic role models in research and education in their field.

Chang and his team study nanomaterials, which are extremely small particles that measure one millionth of a millimeter. This project will investigate how the structure, composition, and chirality of nanomaterials control electron transport and spin polarization. The team will develop hybrid nanostructures composed of plasmonic metals and semiconductor metal oxides to find correlations between their physical structure and optical chirality, interfacial electron-transfer dynamics, and spin-dependent behavior.

By studying individual nanostructures rather than large ensembles, the project aims to uncover structure–property relationships of nanomaterials that are often hidden in conventional measurements and establish new design principles for controlling electron spin in inorganic nanomaterials.

This research will aid in advancing the development of nanomaterials for use in renewable energy, chemical and biological sensing, biomedical technologies, next-generation electronics, and advanced manufacturing. The project will also include hands-on nanoscience outreach activities to engage K-12 students in Southern Massachusetts to encourage future participation in STEM fields.