The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Minnesota supports an interdisciplinary research program with over twenty faculty participants from the departments of chemical engineering and materials science, electrical and computer engineering, physics, and chemistry. TheCenter's research is organized into three interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs). IRG1, Microstructured Polymers, investigates the use of block copolymers to direct the structure and function of microstructured molecular materials. IRG 2, Crystalline Organic Semiconductors, is a new effort whose goals are to elucidate structure-property relationships and to apply that knowledge to the synthesis of new organic semiconductors with enhanced performance in field-effect transistors. IRG3, Magnetic Heterostructures, aims to understand interfacial spin transport, magnetization dynamics, and exchange coupling in magnetic heterostructures with well characterized interfaces.

The Center's research benefits from extensive materials synthesis and characterization facilities that include microscopy, X-ray scattering, polymer synthesis, rheology, molecular characterization and tissue mechanics. The MRSEC operates a broad education and outreach program that includes summer research fellowships for faculty-student teams from four-year colleges, fellowships for individual Native American students, research experiences for undergraduates and for teachers. The Center also has an extensive industrial partnership program by which member companies participate in collaborative research and education efforts with MRSEC faculty participants.