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Program Highlights

Electron spin coherence of shallow donors in germanium
Princeton University
An international collaboration led by Princeton University IRG3 researchers have measured electron spin coherence in germanium for the first time.

MAPLE of Polymer Films for Morphology Control
Princeton University
Princeton researchers found that deposition temperature can significantly affect the stability of liquid phase PEO in MAPLE (matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation)-deposited films, which results in different crystallization kinetics.

Successful synthesis of novel MOF compositions
Colorado School of Mines
Successful synthesis of novel MOF compositions employing “in-house made” organic linkers.  These MOF compositions  displayed superior catalytic ability in the conversion of fatty acid methyl esters  (FAMEs) into liquid fuel hydrocarbons. Synthesis of microporous carbon membranes derived from metal organic frameworks for natural gas purification.

Electrocatalytic Surfaces Using Bulk Metallic Glass Nanostructures
Yale University
Metallic glass nanostructures provide a new platform for electrocatalytic applications. Several surface modification strategies that remove or add metal species (images, right) improve the catalytic activity of metallic glass nanostructures.   These strategies were demonstrated for three key electrocatalytic reactions important for renewable energy.     

Revealing Hidden Phases in Materials
Yale University

Strong interactions at the interface between a crystalline film and substrate can impart new structure to thin films. Here, a germanium surface (purple atoms) squeezes a BaTiO3 thin film above, revealing a hidden phase not seen in the bulk. The hidden phase of BaTiO3 shows oxygen octahedra cages (shaded in aqua) alternating in size.

Metasurface Generation of Accelerating Light
University of Michigan
Artificially designed planar devices known as metasurfaces can control the output of an incident beam to generate prechosen patterns.

A III-Nitride Monolithic Nanowire Laser for Silicon Photonics
University of Michigan
Present day silicon chips for communication and computing are densely packed with transistors and other passive elements.

Persistent Optical Gating of a Topological Insulator
University of Chicago
An inter-MRSEC collaboration between the University of Chicago and the Pennsylvania State University led to the discovery of a new technique that enables bidirectional control of the chemical potential in a topological insulator (TI).

Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue Lasing Using Colloidal Quantum Wells
University of Chicago

There is an abiding interest in using nanocrystals as laser gain media due to their tunable emission wavelengths, low cost, and solution processability. However, it has been proven difficult to achieve low lasing thresholds suitable for practical applicatons.

Top Chefs at the MRSEC
Harvard University

Harvard hosted its first ever “Top Chef” competition, as part of Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Condensed Matter, now in its sixth year as a highly popular undergraduate course at Harvard.

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