The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Harvard University supports interactive research in four major groups covering a broad area of condensed matter and materials science. Researchers in the group focused on new materials are concerned with synthesis, characterization, and theoretical studies of superconductors and superhard carbon-based materials. Investigators in the group concerned with interfaces focus on collaborative aspects of interface science including organic monolayers and thin films, wetting and nucleation, mechanisms of interface motion in amorphous materials, and characterization of semiconductor surfaces. The group investigating electronic and photonic nanostructures addresses size effects and new electronic and photonic phenomena in a variety of materials. The group of researchers involved with design and manufacturing issues aims to develop a new paradigm for choosing the optimum materials and processes necessary to manufacture a component. The MRSEC also supports the development, operation and maintenance of shared experimental facilities for materials research. It provides seed funding for exploratory research, has a minority fellowship program, and fosters research participation by undergraduates. The MRSEC administers an industrial outreach program which is likely to be enhanced by the activities in design and manufacturing. The MRSEC currently supports 23 senior investigators, 12 postdoctoral research associates, 9 technical staff members, 16 graduate students, and 8 undergraduates. The Harvard MRSEC is directed by Professor Frans Spaepen.