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6 A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 9 TheNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., and its partners in the Nanoelec- tronic Computing Research (nCORE) consortium have awarded funding for a new research center to focus on nov- el materials for advanced computing systems. The Center for Spintronic Ma- terials in Advanced Information Tech- nologies (SMART) will be led by and housed at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and will include research- ers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State Uni- versity, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland. Through nCORE, NIST will provide $7.5 million over four years, funding that will be matched with a $2.8 million contribu- tion from the SMART partners. Spintronics focuses on the mag- netic spin properties of electrons as opposed to their charges. Compared to electronics, spintronics offers ad- vantages such as higher speeds, lower energy requirements, and increased stability under certain conditions. Advances in the materials needed for spintronic devices could enable new computational systems, includ- ing neuromorphic systems inspired by the human brain that promise to dramatically improve the efficiency of important tasks. The new center will bring to- gether top experts in the fields of spintronic materials and device re- search. According to theSMART team proposal, the center will be “driven by the need for innovative memory and processing architectures that promise to significantly improve the energy efficiency, throughput, and overall functionality of tomorrow’s computing paradigms—in particu- lar, neuromorphic computing, prob- abilistic computing, in-memory com- puting, and wave-based information processing.” NIST launched the nCORE con- sortium in 2017 with SRCco, a not-for- profit subsidiary of Semiconductor Research Corp. The $2.5 million/year public-private partnership supports basic research focused on the long- term needs of industry in the areas of future computing and information pro- cessing. The precompetitive research supported by nCORE explores funda- mental materials, devices, and inter- connect solutions to enable future high-performance computing beyond conventional transistor technologies and classical information processing and storage. The first nCORE center, New Limits, was launched in 2018 to develop and study new materials that will be applied in unique logic, memory, and interconnect applications to enable novel computing and storage designs. For more information, visit nist.gov. Synchronized nano-oscillators could lead to smaller and cheaper components for wireless communications. Simulation courtesy of NIST. RESEARCH TRACKS RESEARCH PROGRAMS SUPPORT NUCLEAR STOCKPILE SCIENCE The DOE’s National Nuclear Secu- rity Administration (DOE/NNSA) recent- ly designated four new Centers of Excel- lence at universities across the nation as part of the Stewardship Science Ac- ademic Alliances (SSAA) Program. Two of the programs will focus on materials: • • The George Washington University will receive $12.5 million over five years to manage the Capital/DOE Al- liance Center, which researches high pressure science and technology under Russell Hemley’s leadership. His students will seek to enhance understanding of a broad range of materials in extreme pressure-tem- perature regimes and to integrate and coordinate static compression, dynamic compression, and theoreti- cal studies of materials. • • Texas A&M University will receive $12.5 million over five years to man- age the Center for Research Excel- lence on Dynamically Deformed Sol- ids, led by Michael Demkowicz. The center aims to discover, understand, and predict how material micro- structure influences the mechanical response of 3D-printed multiphase materials at high strain rate. An engineer at Sandia National Laboratories adjusts a microphone for an acoustic test on a B61. NEW CENTER EXPLORES SPINTRONIC MATERIALS