Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) hold vast promise in science and medicine because of their potential to replicate indefinitely and their capability to differentiate to any cell type found in the adult. Many environmental cues, including soluble factors and intercellular signals, affect hESC differentiation and self-renewal decisions.

The MIT MRSEC, in collaboration with the Materials Processing Center (MPC) and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE), has launched a new MIT-wide materials website...The MIT MRSEC, in collaboration with the Materials Processing Center (MPC) and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE), has launched a new MIT-wide materials website designed to help interested parties navigate the diverse and sometimes confusing labyrinth of departments, labs and centers (and associated user facilities) on campus involved in materials research.

A major goal of organic electronics is the development of new kinds of solution processable organic dielectric materials that can serve as gate insulators in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs).

In semiconductor spintronics, the spin of the electron carries information for both storage and data processing. To some extent, the electron spin can be viewed as a miniature bar magnet that interacts with a magnetic field inside the semiconductor. The orientation of the bar magnet acts as a "bit" of information. Many laboratory demonstrations of spintronics have relied on sophisticated optical techniques for reading out the spin state of electrons.

G. Rohrer and P. Salvador/CMU MRSEC, Carnegie Mellon University, NSF DMR- 0520425 L. Wilson and C. Johnson/National Energy Technology Laboratory

Martin P. Harmer and Shen J. Dillon, Lehigh University Supported by the MRSEC Program of the NSF under award number DMR-0520425

A University of Chicago MRSEC team led by Philippe Guyot-Sionnest and Woowon Kang have been investigating the transport properties of colloidal quantum dots under magnetic field [1].