In a groundbreaking stride toward the future of advanced materials, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeding $162 million to drive the development of materials with capabilities beyond what we have seen before—materials tough enough to survive the immense heat of a fusion reactor and even those that can process information at the quantum level. With a target of transforming scientific discoveries into tangible benefits, this investment is meant to foster significant advancements in several sectors of the U.S. economy and facilitate the birth of future-ready innovations.

The NSF Director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, asserts, "NSF's Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers will help us seize new opportunities in semiconductors, biotech, quantum information, and more, addressing the needs of our society and advancing critical emerging technologies." He anticipates that these initiatives will spur innovation nationwide.

The 2023 MRSECs cohort includes nine centers nationwide, from Tennessee to Washington, thereby expanding NSF's support to a total of 20 centers. The latest additions aim to supercharge a broad spectrum of research initiatives, exploring new territories in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, sustainable energy storage, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing, and more. Not only will these centers power novel commercial opportunities, but they will also mold the next generation of scientists and technological leaders.

Sean L. Jones, NSF Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, said, "Since the 1970s, NSF's Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers have yielded countless breakthroughs, from shape-morphing materials to plastics that conduct electricity." He emphasizes the crucial role these centers play as catalysts for American innovation, reinforcing U.S. scientific and economic leadership.

Beyond accelerating the advancements in materials science, these centers will also serve as training grounds for hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. They will feature educational STEM programs to engage K-12 students and teachers across numerous school districts. Engaging with startups and the business community, the centers aim to fast-track novel materials from the discovery phase to commercialization. Collaboration with a diverse range of institutions, including many minority-serving and emerging research institutions, will bolster these efforts.

The nine 2023 centers are spread across the country, each having a unique focus area:

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• The Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will explore the manipulation of electrons through strain in materials for novel information storage, processing models, and energy production.

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• The Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials at The University of Texas at Austin will design biomaterials that can be actively controlled and atomically thin materials useful for microelectronics and quantum information processing.

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• The University of Washington, Molecular Engineering Materials Center, will develop materials capable of tuning magnetic properties for quantum information processing and sensing alongside "elastic quantum matter" materials.

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• The Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center will create bio-inspired materials capable of self-directed functions and materials that imitate brain neurons' capabilities.

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• The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter at the University of Pennsylvania will develop new materials that can adapt to their surroundings and tissue-like synthetic biomaterials for the controlled release of molecules inside cells.

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• The Materials Research Laboratory at UCSB will focus on developing solvent-free manufacturing of sustainable polymers and adaptive biomaterials mimicking living systems.

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• The Wisconsin Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will develop new glassy materials and thin, crystalline-based membrane materials for information processing, data storage, and quantum computing.

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• The Center for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will use AI to understand, design, and control quantum materials and systems and develop materials that can withstand the extreme conditions necessary for nuclear fusion and hypersonic defense systems.

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• The Center for Materials Innovations at Michigan at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor will focus on developing new layered materials for quantum information processing and recyclable polymeric materials capable of self-healing.

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