{"id":66253,"date":"2022-06-06T14:33:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T21:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=66253"},"modified":"2022-06-06T14:33:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T21:33:29","slug":"munoz-dod-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/munoz-dod-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the Force: Force microscopy research nets Ph.D. student a scholarship\u2014and a job\u2014with DOD\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jorge Mu\u00f1oz<\/strong>, a Ph.D. student in NAU\u2019s Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science, recently received the U.S. Department of Defense\u2019s SMART Scholarship, which provides tuition and all education-related expenses, a stipend, research and mentoring opportunities. Mu\u00f1oz also will work for the DOD after he graduates. It means, instead of worrying about finding a job, he can focus on his work and his career goals within DOD.<\/p>\n

The award is evidence of the type of scientist he\u2019s become through his years of schooling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we\u2019ve been trained to become is very versatile\u2014to be an interdisciplinary scientist, so we don\u2019t always have to stick to one field,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said. \u201cWe can dip our hands pretty much wherever we can and use our ability to learn so that we can learn whatever it is we need to in any different environment. So I\u2019m very enthusiastic to see what kind of opportunities this will bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, I appreciated Jorge\u2019s willingness to adapt and be open to exploring new research ideas and concepts,\u201d Monta\u00f1o said.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s quickly gained an array of experience in multiple techniques and project coverage that will not only result in very nice Ph.D. research but make him a valuable scientist moving forward. I think this is something the DOD has recognized, and I am so excited for the opportunities this amazing fellowship will bring him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming to NAU<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mu\u00f1oz, who is originally from Puerto Rico but moved to Tucson in 1997, began his life as a Lumberjack in 2013. The journey from there to here, though, is a bit \u201cspicier.\u201d He came as a master\u2019s student in what was the Department of Physics and Astronomy, but he ran into trouble with his thesis, then ran out of money and decided to move back home to Tucson.<\/p>\n

During his grad school hiatus, Mu\u00f1oz became an adjunct faculty and then a lab specialist at a community college. He met a woman who quickly became his wife, and they followed up their wedding with a month and a half roaming through Europe. It was a honeymoon that was interrupted with playing a few shows with Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s metal band. He plays the bass guitar.<\/p>\n

After returning to Arizona, the pair relocated to Deer Valley so Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s wife could attend the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute. When she finished, Mu\u00f1oz decided it was time to finish his master\u2019s degree. He reached out to what is now the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science to see about picking up where he left off.<\/p>\n

His query landed in the inbox of department chair Gabriel Monta\u00f1o, who was impressed with the research Mu\u00f1oz had done up to this point. He offered to be Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s master\u2019s adviser when Mu\u00f1oz reapplied to NAU to finish his master\u2019s; Monta\u00f1o was impressed with his application and his story. It only took a few months before Monta\u00f1o suggested a different route\u2014going straight for a doctorate. Mu\u00f1oz liked the option and transitioned into the Ph.D. program. He is now a year to 18 months from finishing his degree.<\/p>\n

Force microscopy research<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s research is focused on using a type of microscope, called an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), to measure materials properties with extremely high-resolution. The approaches he is utilizing and developing allow him to interrogate a variety of materials ranging from artificial aneurysm models to reRAM technology because they allow him to probe much smaller than the limit of typical optical microscopes. \u00a0To be able to interrogate such systems, Mu\u00f1oz is not just using existing technologies, but developing his own technology along the way in the form of probe design.<\/p>\n

His research has been done through the Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications<\/a> (\u00a1MIRA!), a pioneering research center with a dual focus on materials science and increasing diversity in STEM fields. Jennifer Martinez<\/strong>, a professor and \u00a1MIRA! director who has worked with Mu\u00f1oz in his research, his research was an excellent fit for the DOD.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this DOD SMART fellowship, Jorge will gain valuable experience in the use of force microscopy to understand structure and electronic function at the interface of defects and hard materials,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cUnderstanding not only the structure of nano materials but also their function is incredibly important, and Jorge will take the knowledge and expertise he is gaining here in \u00a1MIRA! And NAU to the DOD. I have greatly appreciated working with Jorge here at NAU, and I am sure his great skill and personality will be greatly appreciated by his colleagues at the DOD.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SMART application process<\/strong><\/p>\n

When he decided to apply for this, Mu\u00f1oz found himself staring down a lengthy and involved application process. That\u2019s not exactly unusual; most large grants and scholarships ask for personal statements and research statements and more. But the DOD, considering they\u2019re actually hiring these scholarship winners, also asked for how the work fit into the DOD projects and what department would sponsor an applicant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that this differs from any of the other applications and grants is it involved more than just a personal statement,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said. \u201cIt involved me answering questions regarding my desire to be part of the DoD workforce, how I might contribute and how they would benefit me, what kind of research I would be conducting that might overlap with any of the sponsoring facilities, and I had to iteratively attack this process with my adviser.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wrote several drafts of each of the necessary statements and getting edits from mentors Monta\u00f1o, Martinez, former postdoc Matthew Rush<\/strong> and Gregory Uyeda<\/strong>, manager of the lab and research facility in APMS. Mu\u00f1oz also did significant research into various DOD facilities to learn what their needs are; from there, he also had to work on framing his research using their vocabulary and addressing the facilities\u2019 unique needs.<\/p>\n

It was a long but ultimately fruitful process. In an average, DOD receives about 2,500 applications, and between 13 and 17 percent are selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that they have a cutoff, it\u2019s just finding a good fit, which I think was the goal here,\u201d he said. \u201cI found a great facility to sponsor me and was able to sell myself in the right way and everything lined up nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mu\u00f1oz also offered advice to future applicants, starting with being a stickler for organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most beneficial thing that one can do is to immediately start with a timeline of what are the required tasks and that you have structured it in a particular way that allows you enough time to work on those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

His other advice:<\/p>\n