News

A stick-on gel for plants could one day offer a simple, safe and targeted way to treat diseases and pests. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed an adhesive gel that can be loaded with substances, such as small molecule drugs or nanoparticles, and applied directly onto a plant to deliver those materials into its tissues. In tests, a gel loaded with antibiotics cleared a bacterial infection in a plant within about 48 hours.

A new travel award will support up to five MRSEC trainees from any of the 20 current MRSEC Centers or their NSF-funded PREM partners across the United States to attend and present research at the 2026 Materials Research Society Spring Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Applications are due Sunday, March 22, at 11:55 p.m. PST.

Anne Lynn Gillian-Daniel recently received a 2026 Bassam Z. Shakhashiri Public Science Engagement Award. Gillian-Daniel directs the Wisconsin MRSEC’s Integrated Education and Outreach group.

In January, Qiyuan Chen presented MRSEC-supported research at the 40th AAAI-26 Conference in Singapore. Chen’s presentation introduced a new physics-aware generative AI framework designed to decode the complex structure of disordered materials.

Yishu Wang has been elected as one of three new general members to the SNS-HFIR User Group (SHUG) Executive Committee (EC) starting January 1, 2026. SHUG consists of all persons interested in using the neutron scattering facilities at Oak Ridge. It provides input to the management on user concerns, provides a forum for keeping the entire community informed of issues and progress at these facilities, and serves as an advocacy group for neutron scattering science at these facilities.

University of Wisconsin-Madison electrical engineers have dramatically improved a semiconductor-based imaging system that makes near-infrared light visible to the naked eye.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a spray-on polymer coating that could help plants resist harmful bacterial infections and survive drought. The advance, published in ACS Materials Letters, could help strengthen global food security as increased environmental stresses continue to intensify plant disease pressures.

Professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar Pinshane Huang of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering and MRSEC IRG1 Leader has been recognized by Physics World as being responsible for one of the Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year for 2025.

Electrolyte gating uses ions to reversibly modify La0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ, changing oxygen content and electrical, magnetic, and optical properties at 1–2 V. The team achieved ~100-cycle endurance with humidity control and 4 nm films switching in ~0.7 s. Prospects include tunable optics/photonics; future work targets diffusion and surface chemistry; collaborations.

This past summer, about a dozen PREM faculty and students from the University of Central Florida joined MRSEC faculty and students at the University of Washington for their annual retreat at the Pack Forest Conference Center in Washington State. Against the beautiful backdrop of Douglas firs, nearly 85 materials scientists had the opportunity to share research ideas, brainstorm solutions, and collaborate.