Press Release 12-099 Projects will investigate materials for renewable energy, advanced electronics, biomaterials, organic and polymeric materials The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced six Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) awards as a result of the 2012 PREM competition.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces 14 Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) awarded as a result of the 2008 MRSEC competition (solicitation NSF 07-563). MRSECs support outstanding multi- and inter-disciplinary materials research and education addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering. These centers investigate complex problems that benefit from the scope and level of interactions provided by a center. They foster active collaboration among universities, other MRSECs, industry, and National Laboratories.

Xavier University of Louisiana and New York University have received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to bolster diversity among materials scientists through collaborative research and curriculum development. The award was one of eight awarded this year under NSF’s Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program and funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

NSF today announced awards for 12 Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) for multidisciplinary work that covers all areas of material science, fostering active university, national laboratory, industrial and international collaboration with integral multidisciplinary education and outreach. MRSECs receive $56 million in NSF funding.

For the first time, an experiment has directly imaged electron orbits in a high-magnetic field, illuminating an unusual collective behavior in electrons and suggesting new ways of manipulating the charged particles.  

The Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (CDCM) at UT Austin recently launched The Materials Universe Podcast, a show where researchers discuss the impact of materials science on our lives. Listen to interviews with CDCM researchers working on cutting-edge projects in areas such as nanomaterials, biomaterials, smart materials, and more. Learn about the latest discoveries and innovations in materials science, and how they can impact fields such as energy, medicine, electronics, and beyond.

The National Science Foundation has awarded funding to eight Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) for transdisciplinary work that covers all areas of materials science and helps foster collaborations on a national and international level. These six-year awards represent a significant new investment in material science exceeding $145M.

On June 24, 2013, the White House named UW-Madison a partner institution in its Materials Genome Initiative for Global Competitiveness, a national effort to double the speed with which the country discovers, develops and manufactures new materials.

With an eye toward improving material science through increased diverse perspectives, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded six Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) awards this year, in its fifth such competition since 2004. Whether they focus on new laser treatments that may better target cancer cells, or on exploring new materials that could lead to sustainable energy alternatives, PREM awards couple the expertise of NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) with minority-serving colleges and universities to involve those students in some of the nation's preeminent materials research.

The Fashion Institute of Technology-Columbia University MRSEC collaboration AlgiKnit, run by Professor Theanne Schiros and Professor Asta Skocir (knitwear design), recently received  first-place in the Sustainable Planet category of the National Geographic CHASING GENIUS challenge.