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Princeton University professor F. Duncan Haldane has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics "for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter." He shares the prize with David Thouless of the University of Washington and J. Michael Kosterlitz of Brown University. Haldane is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics and an IRG-1 senior investigator at the Princeton Center for Complex Materials.

REINVENTING PHOTOVOLTAICS

The Division of Materials Research has a new newsletter, which highlights the department's ongoing events, activities, and research. Hear from DMR Director Linda Sapochak on the department's mission, read about the National Strategic Computing Initiative, get the latest on DMR's partnership building opportunities, and more. Check out the inaugural issue.   

Northwestern Engineering’s Mark Hersam, whose research has led to more effective and sustainable nanomaterials used in electronics, energy storage, and medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Recently researchers met to inform NSF research centers about this effort and large-scale vision for broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields, and invite and encourage them to get involved.

In the world of materials science, researchers are constantly seeking new ways to create more efficient, durable, and adaptable materials. One promising avenue is the study of bottlebrush block polymers, a unique class of macromolecules that self-assemble into intricate nanostructures. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have been at the forefront of this research, uncovering new possibilities for these polymers and their applications.

Through “Mission: Materials Science,” a long-running outreach initiative supported by Penn State’s U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), graduate students from across disciplines have partnered with museum educators and media professionals to transform materials science research into free, hands-on learning activities. The newest collection, recently launched online, adds four experiments designed for children ages 8 to 13.

NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers will conduct frontier research to understand and develop materials with unique properties and applications, from 3D printing living tissue for medical treatments to more efficient mineral extraction

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.

When Allan H. MacDonald, a theoretical physicist at The University of Texas at Austin and a faculty investigator in UT Austin’s Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials, an NSF MRSEC, began exploring two-dimensional materials decades ago, the field was still taking shape. Today, that work has helped define an entirely new area of nanoscience — and earned him one of science’s major international honors.