Research
The Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE) at MIT funds three different levels of research:
- Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs)
- Initiative Projects
- Seed Projects
Highlights of IRG research are reported on an on-going basis to the NSF MRSEC program.
Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs)
IRGs are composed of MIT faculty who, with their students and postdoctoral associates, investigate fundamental scientific questions and pathways to reach significant technological goals that can only be properly explored in a collaborative, multidisciplinary mode. These problems are too large in scope to be addressed by individual faculty members and their students. The research goals and accomplishments are reviewed regularly so that appropriate adjustments can be made to insure the quality of the Center's research effort.
- IRG-I: Design of Nanomaterials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion
- IRG-II: Mechanomutable Heteronanomaterials
- IRG-III: Multimaterial Multifunctional Nano-Structured Fibers
Initiative Projects
The purpose of Initiative funding is to incubate and develop a nascent interdisciplinary group that has the potential to become a future IRG. Typically, an initiative comprises three or four faculty members sharing a common vision for a newly emerging area of research.
The following is a list of current Initiative Projects that were our recent competition winners. Details of these projects coming shortly.
- Initiative-I: High Def Nano Materials: New Routes to 3D Hierarchical Nanostructured Materials and Devices
- Initiative-II: Quantum Optoelectronics and Spintronics with Topological Insulator Nanoscale Devices
Seed Projects
The primary goal of seed funding is to support research that has the potential to redefine the direction of an existing IRG or to lead to the creation of a completely new IRG. The fresh direction may be motivated by a newly appreciated opportunity for scientific discovery or by a specific issue of technological relevance. Strong preference is given to junior and new faculty members to draw them into collaborative interdisciplinary research.
The following is a list of current Seed Projects that were our recent competition winners. Details of these projects coming shortly.
- Seed-I: Bioinspired Environment-Responsive Ligand-Coated Nanoparticles
PI:Alfredo Alexander-Katz, Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering - Seed-II: Ordered Microporous Electrodes for High-Power Sustainable Li-ion Batteries
PI: Mircea Dinca, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry - Seed-III: Engineering and Patterning Multiscale Nanostructures with Synthetic Biology
PI:Timothy Lu, Assistant Professor, Departmen of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Seed-IV: Atomic Layer Deposition for the Design of Novel Catalytic Materials
PI:Yuriy Roman, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering -
Seed-V: Electrical-field Controlled Bio-membranes for Efficient Water Desalination
PI:Evelyn Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
