A $162 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation will drive the creation of advanced materials capable of remarkable things — from being tough enough to withstand the heat of a fusion reactor to processing information at the quantum level. Nine Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) will each receive $18 million over six years.
Universities that have earned the Materials Research Science & Engineering Centers (MRSEC) grant award are engaged in collaborative interdisciplinary research at the very forefront of the field. Exciting opportunities exist for graduate students, undergraduates, postdoctor scholars, and faculty. This short video summarizes important features of the MRSEC program at all Centers.
A multi-institutional team has just published a new way to “read” an antiferromagnet electrically—that is, a new way to determine what its magnetic state is.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley recently discovered that the venomous bloodworm, Glycera dibranchiata creates its four sharp fangs made of hardened melanin and infused with copper by relying on what’s called a multitasking protein—made primarily of two amino acids. The research was funded by the MRSEC program and was recently published in the journal, Matter as well as covered in the New York Times.
The next time you sink your teeth into a soft slice of bread, think about the material training that went into making that bread. Material training is one of many approaches to designing new materials and involves taking a material and applying a repeated training protocol that modifies small-scale structures in the material. The result is the same material that you started with but with new properties. When it comes to that slice of bread, repeatedly kneading the dough changes its gluten structure and results in a stronger and more elastic version of itself -- and also makes for a truly delicious materials science experiment. That science experiment was one of 19 at the first-ever MRSEC Science Slam, recently held online.
The Division of Materials Science and the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Program are proud to present the first-ever MRSEC Science Slam. With participants from all 19 MRSECs, the Science Slam will feature five-minute long slams on a research highlight or unique broader impact accomplishment. Creativity is key! Non-NSF audience will vote for the winner.
Olga Ricketts-Peart is not what she calls a “science person.” But she loves science anyway.
The 77-year-old has been attending “Science with Seniors,” a program offered at the Levy Senior Center in Evanston that’s gone online in the past few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is awarding 11 MRSECs totaling $200 million over six years. In addition to eight existing Centers successfully recompeting, NSF is establishing three new MRSECs.
Consider a hypothetical scenario: A new faculty member is happy to start her independent university faculty career with a substantial startup package, which allows her to purchase a state-of-the art diffractometer. Research is progressing well, and the group is productive. However, come year four, problems commence.
The analytical facilities at Penn State, the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Minnesota are collaborating on a free seminar series on characterization. One hour Zoom lectures will be held three times per week starting March 30th. The initial lectures will provide broad overviews of various analytical techniques.
Division: Materials Research (MPS/DMR)
Directorate: Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
Job Type: STEM
Appointment Type: Temporary / Rotator
Position Summary
New research by engineers at the University of Illinois combines atomic-scale experimentation with computer modeling to determine how much energy it takes to bend multilayer graphene – a question that has eluded scientists since graphene was first isolated. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Materials.
