Intellectual merit: Biomolecular assembly processes involving a competition between specific intermolecular interactions and thermodynamic phase instability have been implicated in a number of pathological states and technological applications of biomaterials.
Intellectual merit: Chemically dissimilar polymers are rarely miscible due to an entropy of mixing that scales as 1/N, where N is the degree of polymerization. As a consequence, the compatibilization of immiscible polymer blends presents a major challenge to plastics recycling efforts.
The approach of using heteroanionic materials (combining oxygen and fluorine) offers a new strategy for realizing cuprate-like physics in nickelates, which could lead to the discovery of new superconducting materials.
A new photoluminescent rhenium chalcohalide cluster compound, Rb6Re6S8I8, with superlative optoelectronic properties has been developed. This material shows strong potential for advanced light-emitting devices due to its high photoluminescent quantum yield and solution processability.
Conventional semiconductor heterojunctions and homojunctions are foundational building blocks of optoelectronic devices including solar cells and light-emitting diodes. Non-centrosymmetric two-dimensional (2D) materials enable the engineering of mixed-dimensional heterostructures with complex optoelectronic properties, such as a polarization-dependent photoresponse.
Moiré quantum materials host exotic electronic phenomena through enhanced internal Coulomb interactions in twisted two-dimensional heterostructures. When combined with the exceptionally high electrostatic control in atomically thin materials, moiré heterostructures have the potential to enable next-generation electronic devices with unprecedented functionality.
Affiliates' Day was an all-day event for all CMI community members to meet and engage with relevant and interested industrial affiliates.
A short course for high school instructors with activities that can be taken back to their own classrooms was hosted by the CMI in July 2024. The intent was to share learning and instructional content based on the same materials and concepts actively being developed in cutting-edge research labs across the globe but with components accessible, usable, and understandable at the high school level.
The CMI-MRSEC Research Experiences for Youth (REY) program is a 7-week residential program for high school juniors. Our Summer 2024 cohort of 9 explored UM’s college of engineering campus through lab visits and Ann Arbor with their residential coordinators. The REY program culminated with their families joining for the Summer Research Symposium.
The Center for Materials Innovation (CMI) is committed to enhancing diversity and improving educational opportunities across STEM fields that comprise materials research at UM and beyond. CMI programs include professional development components to enhance student experiences and prepare them for transitions through academia, industry, and government.
