The Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials seeks to extend the traditional paradigm of materials research beyond the study of behavior in or near equilibrium to encompass the understanding and control of materials over extended temporal and spatial scales. The Center supports research on nanocomposite materials that combine inorganic and organic components, with applications in energy storage and filtration membranes, and on approaches for exploiting light to achieve dynamic, quantum control of materials.
Through the concept of a Materials Community of Practice, the Center integrates interdisciplinary materials research with initiatives in education, outreach, and the promotion of diversity. The Center involves elementary school teachers in materials research to improve teacher efficacy and student engagement with science at a formative age. Outreach to the public via hands-on demonstrations and collaborations between artists and materials researchers brings materials science and technology to new audiences who might not otherwise be engaged. And partnerships with industry and the entrepreneurial community provide participants with experiences and connections to prepare them for success in a broad range of careers.
The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology supports a broad research program organized through five interdisciplinary research groups. The Center has an extensive educational program, ranging from K-12 through the graduate and postdoctoral level. These activities include a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate program, which is nationally advertised and highly competitive. The MRSEC has developed an innovative Science and Engineering Day Camp targeted at seventh and eighth grade students from underrepresented minority groups attending nearby public schools. The Center supports well maintained shared experimental facilities which are made available to the broader scientific community. The MRSEC addresses emerging scientific opportunities by supporting a vigorous program of competitively selected seed projects. There are extensive collaborations with other academic institutions, industry, National Laboratories, and other sectors.
The interdisciplinary research group investigating microphotonic materials and structures is seeking to develop a new class of materials which aims to replace electrons with light as the chief carrier of information in optical devices. These materials, called photonic crystals, will allow the control of the propagation of light in very small dimensions. The group uses theoretical and experimental techniques to develop and test novel approaches. A second group is investigating nanostructured polymers to determine how electronically active polymers organize and behave at the molecular level. The objective of the group is to develop the chemistry and processing needed to achieve the materials properties desired for novel optical and electrical applications. A third group is focusing on mesoscopic semiconductor systems. These systems, involving perhaps a few hundred or thousand atoms, are models for the electronic semiconductor devices of the future. The group seeks to understand the fundamental physical principles which underlie the electronic transport through and between such nanostructures. A fourth group is investigating the microstructure and mechanical properties of polymeric materials. The goal of the group is to achieve large improvements in mechanical properties by tailoring the microstructure of structural polymeric materials. Fundamental physical phenomena are investigated by a fifth group, which focuses on substances called Mott insulators. These materials include high temperature superconductors. These materials hold significant, but yet unrealized, technological promise but also are extremely important from a basic scientific viewpoint. The group seeks to study the effect of doping these solids with other constituents, which will increase the fundamental understanding of these materials and the ability to develop them for technological applications.
Two dimensional electronic systems offer rich possibilities for new phenomena and phases. Single atom thick materials composed of group IV atoms other than carbon offer exceptional tunability of electronic materials. The atomic sheets readily bond atoms covalently, allowing controllable changes in the electronic structure of the sheet that lead to a rich variety of electronic characteristics. IRG-2 brings together diverse experience in materials development, 2D electronic properties, patterning, optical and transport characterization together with theory and modeling to bring these materials to fruition and study their rich physical properties.
Synthesis and Study on the Spin-Charge Interaction in Topological Semimetal/Ferromagnet Heterostructures
Senior Investigator: Luqiao Liu, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The main focus of the proposed work will be to (1) develop the synthesis process which can seamlessly integrate topological semimetal thin film with ferromagnet electrode, and (2) study the mutual interaction between charge and spin at the topological semimetal/ferromagnet interface. For the first part of the proposed efforts, various growth techniques such as sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy will be employed and the obtained film stacks will be characterized. For the second part, nanoscale devices will be fabricated for the magneto-electrical transport measurement. It is expected that the successful implementation of the proposed topological semimetal/ferromagnet heterostructure could be used to reduce the energy consumption (by more than a factor of 100x) of magnetic random access memories (MRAM), which has been extensively studied as a promising beyond CMOS technology for replacing existing electronic memory and logic devices. In the meantime, through the proposed study, deeper understanding will be gained on the spin and charge transport properties at the topological material/ferromagnet interface, which can lay a solid physical ground for the future development of electronic systems such as topological quantum computer, where the mutual interaction between topological ordering and magnetic ordering plays important roles.
The goal of this IRG is to gain quantitative insight into, and predictive capability of, the molecular mechanisms that govern the unique structure and property combinations of complex biological hydrogels. This fundamental knowledge is used to guide the synthesis, fabrication, and evaluation of next generation materials with potentially wide engineering implications, such as the design of self-healing filtration systems for water and food purification, new antimicrobial coatings for implants, or cartilage substitutes with high durability and lubrication capacity. This IRG is divided into three interconnected thrusts. The thrust efforts are designed to investigate the molecular chemistry and structure-property relationships of repeat domains, reversible crosslinking and glycosylation, and use the resulting knowledge to synthesize bio-enabled hydrogels that strategically contain all three elements. Thrust 1 uses the well-defined repetitive domains from the nuclear pore complex hydrogel to study their role for the filtration properties of biological hydrogels. Thrust 2 uses tools from chemical engineering to identify how specific dynamics and chemistry of reversible crosslinks relate to key bulk material properties such as viscoelasticity, self-healing and durability. Building on this knowledge, the IRG is adapting prioritized types of crosslinking to generate hydrogels with controlled behavior. Thrust 3 seeks to determine the biological function of polymer-associated glycan chains in regulating the biomechanical and filtration properties, as well as cellular interactions, of hydrogels.
This Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) is a collaboration between Stanford University, the University of California at Davis and IBM Almaden Research Center. The MRSEC focuses on the interface science of polymeric and surface-active molecules that will enable advances in information technologies. The Center also provides seed funding for new opportunities in materials research. The Center supports regional, national and international outreach efforts that impact education at all levels, including summer research experiences for undergraduates, international exchanges of students and faculty, development of instructional materials for high school students and materials science education of the general public through a regional museum. The MRSEC also supports shared experimental facilities that are accessible to center participants and to outside users, and broad industrial outreach efforts.
Research in this Center, which has been named the Center on Polymer Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies, is organized into two interdisciplinary research groups. One group investigates the structure, dynamics and properties of polymers confined to surfaces and interfaces with the goal of understanding lubrication and adhesion processes at the molecular level. A second group emphasizes the development of thin film polymeric membranes as biomolecular materials for sensor and diagnostic applications.
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