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Highlights

May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Quantum Leap

Active Control of Long-Range Exciton Transport in Superatomic Materials

Milan Delor, Columbia University Center for Precision-Assembled Quantum Materials (PAQM)

Active control over exciton (electron-hole pair) transport is a much sought-after goal to create reconfigurable excitonic and optoelectronic transistors. The PAQM team achieved the first example of predictive optical control over exciton transport in semiconductors.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Synthetic Materials Biology, Understanding the Rules of Life

Deactivating Viruses Using Self-Assembling DNA Origami Shells

S. Fraden1, G. Grason2, R. Hayward2, M. Hagan1, W. Rogers1, C. Santangelo2,H. Dietz3 1Brandeis University, 2U. Mass. Amherst, 3Tech. Universität München

Researchers have developed programmable DNA origami building blocks that self-assemble into icosahedral shells, with programmable sizes. The shells can be functionalized with antibodies, enabling them to engulf and neutralize natural viruses.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Understanding the Rules of Life

Development of New Active Materials

1,2Z. Dogic ,1G. Duclos, 1S. Fraden and  1B. Goode 1Brandeis University, 2UCSB

Active materials are systems that are driven by nano scale components that consume energy and produce work. In this work, two new biochemically powered active materials were developed with unique properties that will allow for a systematic exploration of emergent non-equilibrium phenomenology.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence, Materials Under Extreme Conditions, Mid-scale Research Infrastructure

Single-Defect Phonons Imaged by Electron Microscopy

Based on the new capabilities of the Nion HERMES 200, the UCI MRSEC team (Pan and Wu) demonstrated, for the first time, exotic atomic vibrations localized at a single stacking fault in cubic SiC, showing by an energy shift of 3.8 meV and an obvious intensity modulation of the acoustic phonon mode.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Materials Under Extreme Conditions

Hierarchical Assembly of Structurally Oriented Metal-Organic Frameworks as Novel Ionic Conductors

Chen, Pascal, Meng; University of California San Diego

Liquefied gas electrolytes enable low temperature operation due to their low freezing point. However, their high vapor pressure poses a safety concern. Can confinement of these gas electrolytes in a nanoscale material enhance electrochemical performance while minimizing the hazards?
May 17, 2021
UC San Diego MRSEC

Research Immersion in Materials Science & Engineering (RIMSE) Spring Break Research Experience

Brydges, Sailor; University of California San Diego

In response to a campus-wide initiative to prevent a surge in COVID19 infections, the Center piloted a special (in-person) RIMSE Spring Break Research Experience to encourage undergraduate students to remain on campus during the 2021 Spring Break.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Quantum Leap

Complementary Methods for Characterizing Excitations in Hybrid Materials

Gundlach, Jungfleisch, University of Delaware

The UD MRSEC team is developing and employing a suite of novel experimental characterization techniques that provide important insights into hybrid materials, in which unique properties arise due to interactions between material constituents.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: NSF INCLUDES

Science and Cooking: Highlighting Indigenous Scientific Innovations and Traditions

David A. Weitz (Physics and Applied Physics) and Michael Brenner (Applied Math)

The Harvard MRSEC is partnering with Navajo Technical University to develop robust pathways to scientific careers for Native American students. The partnership strives to bring to the forefront scientific traditions and innovations of indigenous peoples.
May 17, 2021
Big Idea: Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier

Liquid-induced Topological Transformations of Cellular Microstructures

Joanna Aizenberg (Chemistry and MatSci) and Katia Bertoldi (MechE)

A team at the Harvard MRSEC led by Aizenberg and Bertoldi has developed a dynamic design strategy to achieve topological transformations of two-dimensional polymeric cellular lattices in a reversible and controllable manner through exposure to different liquids.