The 2012 WPI-AIMR Summer School of Materials Science (ASSM2012)
-Advanced Materials to Build a Better Future-
July 23rd to July 29th 2012

WPI-AIMR’s top-class international researchers are adding new dimensions to the burgeoning field of materials science, as well as developing innovative functional materials and devices. The interdisciplinary research vigorously conducted there is based on atomic and molecular control. WPI-AIMR was established at Tohoku University in 2007 under the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)’s World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI).

The WPI-AIMR Summer School offers a one-week graduate level summer program focusing on a given theme, such as “Materials Science.” The program was designed to inspire and challenge graduate level students in the fi eld of physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, precision engineering, mechanical engineering, etc. from all over the world. The program provides young professionals with lectures by world-leading researchers and laboratory courses at WPI-AIMR in accordance with the theme, and all instruction is performed in English.

Morning lecture sessions
AIMR world-leading researchers will give a three-hour lecture (including break time) for four days and teach the fascination of Materials Science.

Afternoon laboratory sessions:

1. Candidate students will select from 20 research fi elds (laboratories) at the time of application, and they will be separated into 15 groups in advance.
2. There are two students per group in principle
3. AIMR researchers will supervise the students in their laboratories for four days.

In addition, ASSM 2012 provides various activities that expose students to the attractiveness of Materials Science and enrich their academic experiences.

Application Procedures
To apply for this program, candidate students need to submit the following documents via email.

1. Application Form for ASSM 2012
2. Copy of your passport (PDF)
3. Copy of registration certifi cate at your university (PDF)

Eligibility
Applicants must be graduate students enrolled in full time graduate degree programs at their home universities. This program requires students to be fluent in English.

Credits
Participating students are required to take four lectures and laboratory courses in WPI-AIMR, which equate to 50 hours. On completing this requirement, the 2012 WPI-AIMR Summer School of Materials Science (ASSM 2012) should be two ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)* credits. These credits are not conferred at WPI-AIMR. Students who require credits for this program should inquire at their home universities.

Note: ETCS credits are values allocated to course units to describe the student workload required to complete them. In ECTS, 60 credits represent one year of study (in terms of workload)

Number of Places: 30 graduate students
Location: WPI-AIMR, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Zao Royal Hotel, Zao-cho, Miyagi. Japan

Accommodation and Expenses
Accommodations will be provided, travel expenses (round-trip economy class airfare and rail fare for Shinkansen) will be covered, and costs of stay will be supported by WPI-AIMR.

Application Deadline: May 7, 2012

• Please send us the necessary documents by e-mail.
• If you do not receive a confi rmation of receipt from us, please let us know.

Evaluation
Your application will be evaluated mainly based on your description of “4. Academic Details” and “5. Statement of Motivation” in the application form. We may contact your supervisor as the need arises.

Program Fee

• Free (incl. tuition and fi eld trip)
• Travelers insurance, and daily expenses should be paid individually
• Students are advised to prepare suffi cient money for food and personal expenses.

List of Laboratory Courses at WPI-AIMR

Bulk Metallic Glasses

• B-1 Making nano-sponge metals
• B-2 Preparation of superalloys (metallic glasses)

Materials Physics

• M-1 Angle-resloved photoemission spectroscopy of Dirac-cone electronic states in layered functional materials
• M-2 Tranmission electron microscopy of thin fi lms and nanoparticles
• M-3 Making new materials from heteroepitaxy
• M-4 Fluorescence Microscopy of Bio-Nanosystems.
• M-5 Fabrication and measurements of organic transistors
• M-6 Introduction to advanced Molecular Dynamics (MD) or Monte Carlo (MC) methods
• M-7 Introduction to numerical simulation of scanning probe microscopes (choice: STM, AFM, KPFM)
• M-8 Derivation of a density functional and its implementation to a first-principles calculation program
• M-9 Implementation of a method for the physical property which you want to evaluate using a fi rst-principles calculation program
• M-10 Dynamics and structure of molecular liquids in confined systems: based on classical molecular dynamics simulations

Soft Materials

• S-1 Fabrication and catalytic properties of nanoporous metals
• S-2 AFM-based Elasticity Mapping on Soft Materials
• S-3 AFM-based Force Spectroscopy of Single Polymer Chain
• S-4 Synthesis and Characteristics of Nanoparticles

Device / System

• D-1 Fabrication and characterization of magnetoresistive spin devices
• D-2 Dielectrophoresis technique for microscale organization of cells and microparticles
• D-3 Fabrication of hydrogels for cells encapsulation and drug delivery
• D-4 Preparation of stable single layer graphene oxide solution

Tohoku University WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR)
2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577 Japan
Phone: +81-22-217-5922 / FAX: +81-22-217-5129
E-mail: assm2012@wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp
Website: http://www.wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp/en/index.php

For more information, please visit official website: www.wpi-aimr.tohoku.ac.jp.

• The RIKEN Brain Science Institute (RIKEN BSI) Summer Program 2010, Japan
• International Graduate Program for Advanced Science, Tohoku University, Japan
• Japan Educational Seminar in Indonesia
• King’s Summer School Scholarships, King’s College London, UK
• Master Scholarships in Materials Science Exploring Large Scale Facilities (MaMaSELF), Erasmus Mundus, Europe
• Chonbuk National University International Summer School, Korea
• KIMEP International Summer School Scholarships, Kazakhstan
• International Summer Research Program 2010 in Nanotechnology, The Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), Germany
• Asia Center Graduate Summer Research Grants, Harvard University, USA
• Doctoral Scholarships in Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Japan

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is current and correct. However, applicants should contact the appropriate administering body before making an application, as details do change frequently.