The center seeks to provide graduate and postgraduate training in research and other professional skills; to guide hands-on education about materials and Materials Science, provide support for local teachers, and encourage student research at the secondary level.
In their recent publication in Nature Materials, Research Triangle MRSEC professor Ashutosh Chilkoti and graduate fellow Felipe Garcia Quiroz created test motifs to identify the amino acid sequences that determine phase behavior in proteins. They demonstrate that proteins can be designed to exhibit tunable phase transitions, allowing significant control over assembly and disassembly processes.