The Brandeis Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) seeks to create new materials that are constructed from only a few simplified components, yet capture the remarkable functionalities found in living organisms. In addition to opening new directions in materials science research, these efforts will elucidate the minimal requirements for the emergence of biological function.
Research
Our researchers combine elemental building blocks — such as motor proteins, DNA origami and filamentous virus — to understand the emergence of biomimetic functionalities that are highly sought-after in materials science and to synergistically engineer life-like materials.
Education, Outreach and Diversity
The Brandeis MRSEC offers a broad range of education, outreach and diversity programs for K-12 students and teachers, undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs.
Self-Limiting Assembly
While living systems routinely achieve size-controlled assembly, synthetic approaches lag far behind. IRG1: Self-Limiting Assembly adopts a bioinspired approach to develop a suite of building blocks which undergo equilibrium self-assembly that self-terminates at tunable finite-sized structures without requiring external control.
Soft Active Materials
To transform materials science by developing controllable far-from-equilibrium materials that crawl, flow, swim and walk, and thus mimic essential traits of living biological organisms.
