ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | JULY/AUGUST 2023 5 A $162 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will support development of advanced materials at nine Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs), with each to receive $18 million over six years. In total, NSF now supports 20 such centers. The nine just announced will pursue a broad range of projects involving semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, sustainable energy sources and storage, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing and sensing, and other areas of critical materials research: Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: Located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the center will investigate: how strain in materials can be used to control the motion of electrons and can enable novel information storage and processing models in quantum materials as well as for energy production and storage; and how materials with light-controlled conduction of ions will benefit applications in new electrochemical manufacturing, energy, and information technologies. Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: Located at The University of Texas at Austin, the center will design: new soft biomaterials whose structure and function can be actively controlled and used for applications such as synthetic cells and adaptive thermal coatings; and atomically thin materials with novel structures that can be useful for microelectronics, quantum information processing, and other applications. University of Washington Molecular Engineering Materials Center: This center will develop materials in which light can tune the magnetic properties of individual electrons for applications RESEARCH TRACKS A researcher working at the MRSEC at the University of California, San Diego. Courtesy of Erik Jepsen/UCSD. in quantum information processing and sensing, as well as “elastic quantum matter” materials in which strain forces produce and influence quantum-scale effects. Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: This center aims to create bio- inspired materials that can be programmed to perform self- directed functions such as self-healing and shape-morphing, which could be used in food storage or wound care, as well as materials that conduct both electrons and ions, similar to how brain neurons work. Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter: Located at the University of Pennsylvania, the center will develop: new materials that can adapt to their surroundings, with applications ranging from flexible materials that can deflect the energy of a hammer blow to soft robots that can perform complex tasks; and tissue-like synthetic biomaterials made from cellular building blocks capable of controlled release of key molecules inside cells. Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB: Located at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the center will focus on developing: new chemistries and processing methods to enable solvent-free manufacturing of sustainable polymers with improved recyclability; and adaptive biomaterials that mimic living systems with applications in soft implants and haptics. Wisconsin Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: Located at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, the center will develop: new types of glassy materials, such as flexible metallic and thin organic semiconducting glasses with applications from electronic displays to new formulations of drug molecules into pill form; and thin, crystalline-based membrane materials that feature ultrafast magnetic switching properties that can advance information processing, data storage, and quantum computing. Center for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing: Located at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the center is dedicated to: accelerating the design of quantum materials and systems through artificial intelligence, with potential advances in materials for energy harvesting, quantum computing and novel sensing applications; and developing materials that can withstand the extreme temperatures and pressures needed for nuclear fusion and hypersonic defense systems. Center for Materials Innovations at Michigan: Located at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the center will focus on developing: new layered materials with tailored nanoscale structures to enable elusive quantum states for quantum information processing; and new recyclable polymeric materials capable of self- healing with potential applications in additive manufacturing. For more information, visit nsf.gov. MATERIALS RESEARCH CENTERS GET $162 MILLION BOOST FROM NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
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