Based on the similarity of the sequences of combinatorially selected peptides that have similar binding characteristics, we developed a bioinformatics approach that provides a general and simple methodology to quantitatively categorize a large number of inorganic binding peptides. The approach also provides a way to knowledge-based design a new set of binding sequences specific to inorganic surfaces with predictable functionalities. De novo designed peptides can then be expressed using genetic tools, such as redisplay, to assess the efficacy of the design via binding affinity evaluation.

Teacher Workshop: Eighteen elementary school teachers participated in summer workshop. Student impact of approximately 200 students.  Summer Camp: Instruction for a summer camp for forty-two dyslexic students. Intervention provided opportunity to experience success in science. 

Center researchers have found liquid crystal phases in systems of circular or spherical particles, a surprise since liquid crystals usually appear in molecules shaped like sticks or plates. The trick is to give hard particles (purple) a soft repulsive "halo" (green) The resulting phase behavior is extraordinarily rich, including "lyotropic" liquid crystal phases and a variety of complex modulated crystal phases.

In MRSEC-sponsored research, Kevin Kelly, Andrew Osgood, Yasuhiro Shirai, James Tour and Yuming Zhao at Rice university have produced a nanometer-scale car with fullerene wheels that rotate about axles and guide the motion of the nanocar across a substrate.

Why are 1-2 nm silicon quantum dots ideal as solar materials?            

Members of IRG-III of the MIT MRSEC have demonstrated a light emitting device application of such quantum dots. They show that white light can be generated in a layered device that combines organic semiconductor layers with a single monolayer of quantum dots. The composition and the sizes of the quantum dots were chosen to cover the color spectrum required for the perception of white light, as in an incandescent light bulb. The ability to synthesize nanomaterials with nearly atomic precision

As electronic devices shrink deep into the nano-scale, low-resistivities become essential.

A collaboration of experimentalists and theorists at the Chicago MRSEC has discovered a new, general route for creating nanoparticle monolayers that retain order across millions of particles, without holes, while staying compact over macroscopic distances[1].