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Highlights

Highlights

Jul 10, 2017
UChicago Materials Research Center (2014)

New Design Principles for Self-Folding Materials
From the ancient art of origami to modern meta-materials research, a central goal has been to develop the ability to convert a flat, stiff sheet into its final three-dimensional shape with just one single folding motion. Except for a few known cases, general design rules for the required patterns of creases have been elusive.  
Sample images exhibit three regimes: a subcritical regime before the transition; a frozen regime beyond the critical point where the fluctuation remains low; and a growth regime in which fluctuation increases and saturates, indicating domain formation.
Sample images exhibit three regimes: a subcritical regime before the transition; a frozen regime beyond the critical point where the fluctuation remains low; and a growth regime in which fluctuation increases and saturates, indicating domain formation.
Jul 10, 2017
UChicago Materials Research Center (2014)

Universal Dynamics of Bosons Across a Quantum Phase Transition
A Bose-Einstein condensate, when shaken appropriately, shows universal dynamics at a ferromagnetic quantum critical point. By ramping the modulation strength, the emergence and growth of the pseudo-spin fluctuations are universal in the normalized coordinate (bottom graphic, squares), and are in good agreement with theoretical calculations (bottom graph. Line). 
An octobot
An octobot
Jul 10, 2017
Harvard Materials Research Center (2014)

An Integrated Design and Fabrication Strategy for Entirely Soft, Autonomous Robots

Jennifer A. Lewis (BioEng), George M. Whitesides (Chem) and Robert J. Wood (ElecEng)
Soft robots possess many attributes that are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with conventional robots composed of rigid materials. Yet, despite recent advances, soft robots must still be tethered to hard robotic control systems and power sources. 
Photos by Alaina Schraufnagel
Photos by Alaina Schraufnagel
Jul 10, 2017
Harvard Materials Research Center (2014)

NEW.Mech Workshop for the New England Mechanics Community

Katia Bertoldi (MechEng), James R. Rice (EnvSciEng and Geol) and Christopher H. Rycroft (ApplMath)
The MRSEC co-sponsored NEW.Mech, a one-day workshop held in October 2016 at Harvard. The annual conference brings together researchers to explore new directions in the mechanics of materials and structures.
Jul 3, 2017
CRISP: Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (2011)

Developing a Solar Outreach Program for Haiti

Andre Taylor, Yale University
A Solar Outreach Program for Haiti is comprised of an interdisciplinary team of students, professors, university partners, and non-governmental organizations whose goal is to design and build Integrated Energy Centers in energy scarce regions. This year, the program developed a business plan, located investors, and submitted several grant proposals.
Peak width plotted over the (111) peak center as obtained from fitting a simplified Cauchy function. The inset shows that the lowest overpotential is measured at intermediate peak width or strain.
Peak width plotted over the (111) peak center as obtained from fitting a simplified Cauchy function. The inset shows that the lowest overpotential is measured at intermediate peak width or strain.
Jul 3, 2017
CRISP: Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (2011)

Combinatorial screening of metallic glass electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Andre Taylor and Jan Schroers, Yale University
Due to enormous challenges associated with theoretical modeling of multicomponent alloys, there are no reliable theoretical predictions available for their composition-dependent properties and structures. Taylor and Schroers have proposed to use combinatorial materials science to address this challenge. 
High school student Sophie Edelstein, who won the American Society of Metals (ASM) Award, with science fair judge Udo Schwarz. The ASM Award is given for the best project that “uses science to investigate materials interaction, materials response, and materials application to understand and solve problems of interest.”
High school student Sophie Edelstein, who won the American Society of Metals (ASM) Award, with science fair judge Udo Schwarz. The ASM Award is given for the best project that “uses science to investigate materials interaction, materials response, and materials application to understand and solve problems of interest.”
Jul 3, 2017
CRISP: Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (2011)

New Haven Science Fair Participation

Schwarz, Yale University
CRISP continued its interactions with industrial companies that aim to commercialize broadly new and simpler approach for force microscopy measurements.  Separately, CRISP continued to train graduate students in research, writing, and presentation skills by providing the opportunity to attend a number of international conferences.
Perturbation of surface states due to broken local symmetry: Conducting surface states (blue curve, recorded at location III) disappear inside the pit (red curve, recorded at I)
Perturbation of surface states due to broken local symmetry: Conducting surface states (blue curve, recorded at location III) disappear inside the pit (red curve, recorded at I)
Jul 3, 2017
CRISP: Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (2011)

Tailoring Topological Surface States

Schwarz, Altman, Walker, Ismail-Beigi, and Ahn, Yale University
Topological crystalline insulators feature conducting surface states for electrons whose existence is protected by crystal symmetry.  Scanning probe microscopy experiments on SnTe reveal that such metallic topological states can coexist next to semiconducting regions.
Reference 1: Champsaur, A. M.; Velian, A.; Paley, D. W.; Choi, B.; Roy, X.; Steigerwald, M. L.; Nuckolls, C. Nano Lett. 2016, 16, 5273–5277
Reference 1: Champsaur, A. M.; Velian, A.; Paley, D. W.; Choi, B.; Roy, X.; Steigerwald, M. L.; Nuckolls, C. Nano Lett. 2016, 16, 5273–5277
Jun 29, 2017
Center for Precision Assembled Quantum Materials (PAQM)

Programming Dimensionality in Superatomic Materials

Colin Nuckolls, Columbia University Center for Precision Assembly of Superstratic and Superatomic Solids
Featured as one of the “Ten Ideas That Will Change the World” in Scientific American  in 2016, the discovery of assembling site-differentiated, atomically precise clusters into dimensionally controlled materials opens a new way to design and program a next generation of functional nanomaterials.
Jun 29, 2017
Center for Precision Assembled Quantum Materials (PAQM)

Rotating van der Waals Heterostructures

Cory Dean, Columbia University Center for Precision Assembly of Superstratic and Superatomic Solids
IRG1 of the Columbia MRSEC seeks to understand the behavior of van der Waals heterostructures created by assembly of atomically thin layered materials. One important question in this effort is how the relative orientation between the layers affects multiple properties.

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