The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of
Chicago focuses on two overarching, intertwined issues: the manipulation of structural properties connected through hierarchies of length scales, and the feedback between structural properties and dynamical response. The understanding and control of these issues provides a foundation for the design of the next generation of functional materials, from cooperative spin systems, self-assembled nanostructures, or microfluidic systems, to bio-inorganic hybrid materials. The Center's research is organized into four interdisciplinary groups (IRGs). IRG1 investigates the Dynamical Formation of Structures in Liquids and Elastic Solids that emerge as one follows coarse, macroscopic features to finer and finer length scales, including phenomena such as droplet break-up, crumpling and mesoscale flows. IRG2 aims to design and implement Hierarchically Assembled Molecular Materials composed of molecular assemblies on surfaces that express novel function. IRG3, Jamming and Slow Relaxation in Materials Far from Equilibrium, develops a unifying framework to understand the complex behavior of large classes of materials, from spin systems to supercooled liquids to granular matter, that become stuck in states far from equilibrium and defy description by conventional statistical mechanics. IRG4, Bio-Interfacial Science, develops new routes for designing and controlling the interface between biological entities and man-made materials, including development of biochips for quantitative characterization of biological activities and the assembly of protein units for novel nanostructured materials.

The Center's research benefits from extensive shared experimental facilities that provide research support and training of students. The MRSEC operates a comprehensive program that integrates research with education that includes a seminar and workshop series, a shared student and postdoctoral associates program, a long-term visitors program, as well as outreach programs such as summer research experiences for undergraduates and links with the K-12 level that emphasize attracting and keeping women and minorities in science. The Center also has an industrial partnership program that includes research collaborations, joint workshops, and joint student training activities, as well as a close collaboration with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Minnesota supports a broad research program foucsed on hybrid materials. The Center is organized through two interdisciplinary research groups, and pursues exploratory research in several seed projects. The MRSEC supports an educational outreach program to the Native American community in a four-state area surrounding the University of Minnesota. The Center maintains shared experimental facilities which are accessible to outside users, and also supports interactive efforts with industry and other sectors. One of the two interdisciplinary research groups is investigating the microstructure of macromolecular materials. This group seeks to employ block co-polymers as key ingredients, but rarely as sole ingredients, in order to control the structure and function of new hybrid polymers. The goal of the second group is to develop a fundamental understanding of the materials science of artificial tissues and to develop materials for use in biosystems. An important aspect of this work is to define systematically the relationships betweeen composition, structure, and mechanical properties of arificial tissues.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of California - San Diego undertakes research related to the performance of magnetic recording materials. The research program is organized through a single interdisciplinary research group. The research group is focused on the experimental and theoretical analysis of hysteresis, dynamics, and spin transport in magnetic particles and thin films. The goal of the group is to provide a quantitative microscopic description of the phenomena underlying the observed macroscopic hysteresis properties of these magnetic systems. The MRSEC is closely associated with the Center for Magnetic Recording Materials (CMRM), which is fully funded by industry. In addition the MRSEC will support a broad range of interactions and collaboration with industry and an expanded range of educational outreach programs. The MRSEC currently supports 11 senior investigators, 4 postdoctoral research associates, 2 technical staff members, 11 graduate students, and 5 undergraduates. The MRSEC is co-directed by Professors Ami E. Berkowitz and Sheldon Schultz.

The Center for Materials Innovation establishes a transformative campus-wide eco-system to accelerate the design, discovery, and deployment of novel materials critical for the Industries of Tomorrow.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Princeton University supports interactive research in three major groups addressing the synthesis and understanding of mesoscopically structured complex materials with the ultimate goal of rational design of materials for industrial applications. The group which is focused on electronic transport in non- Fermi liquid materials combines expertise in theoretical physics and synthesis of electronic materials with a new high magnetic field facility to explore the properties of novel materials with restricted geometries and low- dimensionality. The study of these materials is unified by common theoretical concepts and the prediction of properties not observed in standard materials. The group investigating organic thin films and quantum structures is exploring a new class of engineering structures and materials based on the controlled growth, at the monolayer level, of a wide range of semiconducting organic thin films. Investigators in the group concerned with microstructured macromolecular soft materials deal with materials formed from complex fluids. Soft materialq with complex microstructures are formed by the spontaneous evolution of structure in the liquid state; they are self-assembling. This group seeks a unified understanding of the materials science of such materials. The MRSEC also supports the development, operation and maintenance of shared experimental facilities for materials research. It provides seed funding for exploratory research. The center participates in an undergraduate materials science certification program and in a summer research program for undergraduates. The MRSEC is associated with an educational outreach program with emphasis on attracting and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in materials science and co-sponsors a materials science and engineering training program for K-12 teachers. The MRSEC administers an industrial outreach and visitors program. The MRSEC currently supports 20 faculty, 6 postdoctoral research associates, 1 technical staff member, 22 graduate students, and a significant number of undergraduates through their summer research program. The Princeton MRSEC is directed by Professor Peter M. Eisenberger.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) is a partnership between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Arkansas which supports an interdisciplinary research program on semiconductor nanostructure science and applications. The research is carried out in two interdisciplinary research groups, with appropriate seed projects. Within IRG 1 the focus is on the growth and characterization of semiconductor nanostructures. The IRG also includes study of the novel electronic and optical properties and potential device applications. IRG 2 has its focus on interfaces with particular emphasis on the study of narrow gap semiconductors such as based on InAs and InSb. The center is engaged in a number of educational activities from the graduate to the middle school level, including support for workshops for middle and high school science teachers, and support for production of science videos. The Center supports well maintained shared experimental facilities and also supports interactive efforts with industry, National Laboratories and other sectors.

Participants in the Center include 17 senior investigators, 6 postdoctoral associates, 15 graduate students, 3 undergraduates, and 1technician. Professor Matthew B. Johnson directs the MRSEC.

The UC San Diego Materials Research Science and Engineering Center fosters research, education, and outreach across the disciplines of engineering, physical sciences, and biological sciences, with a focus on new materials and new materials properties.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the State University of New York Stony Brook entitled "Garcia MRSEC on Polymers at Engineered Interfaces" is a collaboration between SUNY Stony Brook, the City University of New York at Queens College and at Staton Island, the Polytechnic University, and North Carolina State University. The Center has its focus the design of polymer properties on macroscopic and microscopic length scales through the precise control of interfacial structure. The engineered interfaces bridge the gap between surface and bulk properties. The goal is to control the surface energies via chemical means with the purpose to design new materials with improved performance. Specific problems that are investigated include role of compatibilizers in clay/polymer blends, enhanced mircro-emulsification of polymers, control of nucleation in crystalline polymers, fractionation of DNA on chemically treated surfaces, as well as modeling and theoretical analyze.

The Center supports well maintained shared experimental facilities and also supports interactive efforts with industry and other sectors. The Center has a large and effective educational outreach effort at the high school level, and sizeable Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs. An annual event, the Garcia MRSEC Open House is held each December at Queens College. The event attracts approximately 400 students from 10 New York area high schools.

Participants in the Center currently include 12 senior investigators, 3 postdoctoral associates, 8 graduate students, 10 undergraduate students and 1 support person. Professor Miriam Rafailovich directs the MRSEC.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Colorado supports a research program on ferroelectric liquid crystals, as well as a wide range of educational activities, including K-8 outreach. The Center supports well maintained shared experimental facilities, which are accessible to outside users and also supports interactive efforts with industry and other sectors. The research is focused on three areas. These include the study of the molecular structure and macroscopic properties of liquid crystals; the control of interfaces and surfaces of liquid crystals with the goal to advance potential device applications; and the study of polymers and gels, which seeks to develop glassy liquid crystals for nonlinear optical applications. Participants in the Center currently include 10 senior investigators, 2 postdoctoral associates, 10 graduate students and 12 technicians and other support personnel. Professor Noel A. Clark directs the MRSEC.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the Pennsylvania State University exploits unique capabilities in materials synthesis and fabrication, microscopy, physical property measurements, molecular synthesis and theory to attain materials with new properties and functions in areas of fundamental scientific importance.

The Center includes several interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs). The Motors IRG designs, synthesizes, and studies molecular, nano- and micro-scale motors that employ chemical reactions to generate force at the nanometer scale. This IRG constrains and controls motor movement via tethers, tracks, rotary bearings, gradients in the fuel concentration, magnetic or electric fields, patterns of light and interactions between motors themselves, to enable long-term applications in systems that sense, respond, organize and adapt to their environment. The IRG on Electrons in Confinement advances our understanding of electrons that are confined to move within precisely defined, narrow one-dimensional single crystals made from a wide range of metals and semiconductors. Interactions between these confined electrons generate new phenomena involving superconductivity, magnetism and the motion of electron spins. The IRG on Electromagnetic Nanostructures organizes and integrates metals and semiconductors in sophisticated patterns. By marrying the ideal media for electrons and photons, it enables a new class of in-fiber devices for the generation, modulation and detection of light. Patterned planar nanostructures generate unusual optical properties such as low, zero and negative refractive index, thereby enabling an unprecedented degree of control over the propagation of light. The IRG on Multiferroics exploits strain, the ability to stretch or compress the atoms within a lattice by depositing them layer-by-layer, to create a new class of materials that couple together elastic deformation, electric fields and magnetism, guided by computational modeling that can predict new materials. Multiferroics promise a variety of new material applications, such as electrically switched magnetic memories. Seed grants, selected through competitive peer review, will lead the Center in new scientific directions by nurturing high-risk, transformative research by both early-career and established faculty. These projects include making new electronic materials by connecting atomic clusters with conductive linker molecules and studying the quantum mechanical aspects of electron transport in one-dimensional systems. All research projects will be regularly competitively reviewed to maintain high levels of innovation, collaboration, productivity and scientific impact.

The MRSEC nurtures a broad range of partnerships with national, international and industrial collaborators. Center research activities are strongly integrated with educational and industrial programs, providing interdisciplinary training within a culture of outreach for a diverse group of students and postdocs. For maximum impact, the Center?s outreach activities couple the scientific expertise and enthusiasm of its members with its partners' expertise in reaching large audiences. The MRSEC develops content on topics of public interest for K-8 summer science camps. With The Franklin Institute, the Center designs and produces hands-on cart-based shows for distribution to a national network of science museums. Center faculty will mentor high school students from the Science Leadership Academy. The Center recruits and supports students from under-represented groups at all levels through close ties with institutions in Puerto Rico, Texas, Louisiana, and (through the NSF Discovery Corps) Africa. The Center reaches a broad range of high schools and middle schools through teacher training workshops and research experiences, and mentors a diverse group of students through Research Experiences for Undergraduates. All major outreach programs are regularly assessed for efficacy and impact.