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NSF PR 96-58 - October 10, 1996
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NSF Invests $105 Million in New Materials Research
Centers
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has made 13
awards for Materials Science and Engineering Centers
(MRSEC), bringing to 24 the number of centers nationwide
that support materials research and education over
a broad spectrum. NSF support for these new centers
will amount to $105 million over the next five years.
Tom Weber, director of NSF's Division of Materials
Research, explained that the centers encourage research
of broad scope and complexity. "With these awards,
we encouraged investigators to take risks, and to
spot new developments in materials research," said
Weber. The centers will ultimately become a national
network of university-based centers.
The new awards complete NSF's transition to the Materials
Reseach Science and Engineering Centers program, which
replaces the Materials Research Laboratories and Materials
Research Groups. The new centers meet the traditional
criteria of top-notch research and strong interaction
among disciplines, but also stress the relevance of
research to society and technology. "The centers still
do fundamental research, but they are linked much
more explicitly to industry and other sectors," said
Weber. The centers integrate graduate and undergraduate
education with their research, and many of them also
support precollege education.
Awards for the new centers were based on intellectual
breadth of research and the ability to stimulate interdisciplinary
education. They are also fully integrated with the
academic programs of participating institutions.
NSF invests more than $43 million per year in the
24 centers' research and education. Competition was
intense for the new awards, which are made initially
for up to five years, with competitive review at the
fourth year and again every four years thereafter.
The next competition is set for fiscal year 1998.
The new awards at a glance:
- Arizona State University ($4.18 million/56
months): Research addresses new phases of materials,
such as glasses, using high pressure techniques;
investigators are also designing team-taught materials
education courses.
- Brown University ($5.35 million/56 months):
Research focuses on how fracture and deformation
occur by examining micromechanics and nanomechanics
of materials; the center will involve nationwide
outreach to junior high and high school students.
- University of California at Santa Barbara ($13.75
million/55 months): The center's broad program
targets research on molecular and atomic interfaces
of soft materials, such as plastics and colloids,
and complex materials, and supports a vigorous
educational partnership program with area school
districts.
- Carnegie Mellon University ($3.57 million/57
months): Research pursues a greater understanding
of the properties of polycrystalline materials
through the "Mesoscale Interface Mapping Project."
This project uses automated microscopic techniques
to map grain boundaries in metal alloys and ceramics,
which are important in understanding strength,
failure or fracture of materials.
- Cornell University ($17.75 million/54 months):
Research in this center ranges from fundamental
condensed matter science to materials with potential
technological application, such as thin films
on glass, which are important to display materials
and novel optical materials; the center strongly
emphasizes shared facilities accessible to a wide
range of users.
- University of Houston ($4.14 million/56
months): The research advances the basic science
and engineering needed to design, synthesize and
process new materials for fuel cells, catalytic
reactors, and membrane reactors; the center focuses
on the industrial context of new materials developments.
- Johns Hopkins University ($3.45 million/52
months): Research addresses the design of novel
devices and structures, such as granular solids,
as well as magnetic and superconducting materials
with applications in communications; the center
involves undergraduates extensively in its activities.
- University of Maryland, College Park ($8.28
million/57 months): A common theme running through
the center's research is the fundamental understanding
and potential application of thin films and surfaces
for electronic and photonic purposes; the center
emphasizes the involvement of young women and
minorities in science.
- Northwestern University ($13.05 million/54
months): This broad-based program targets research
on ultrahard coatings, novel semiconductors, electroceramic
thin films, polymers and molecular materials.
The center offers research opportunities for high
school science teachers and is developing "Materials
World Modules" for classroom use.
- University of Pennsylvania ($13.5 million/54
months): This interdisciplinary program addresses
research on polymers, liquid crystals colloids
and emulsions, and emphasizes the interface between
biological and materials science; the center offers
wide opportunities for undergraduate research,
and coordinates with the Princeton MRSEC.
- SUNY at Stony Brook ($3.74 million/56 months):
Research focuses on thermal spray coatings, which
are crucial to the operation of many engineering
components and systems; the center collaborates
with MIT and a number of industrial laboratories.
- SUNY at Stony Brook/Polytechnic University/City
University of New York ($3.24 million/56 months):
This diversified center is a partnership between
SUNY, Polytechnic University, three CUNY colleges,
Brookhaven National Laboratory and researchers
at three industrial research laboratories; the
focus is on the design of polymer interfaces and
the program emphasizes research participation
by undergraduates and gifted high school students.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison ($10.56
million/56 months): Research targets the interfaces
of superconducting materials and the growth of
thin films for potential electronic and optical
applications; the center also produces instructional
materials for pre-college, college and graduate
curricula.
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