Science of DMR

Materials research extends from investigations of fundamental phenomena in condensed matter physics and solid state chemistry to research on functional materials including metals, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials, and electronic, photonic and magnetic materials. It addresses the synthesis, processing, characterization, and properties of materials together with the prediction and control of materials behavior, encompassing the discovery and understanding of materials and condensed matter phenomena and the basis for their translation into technological application. Discovery of new phenomena, creation of novel materials, and advances in understanding and control of materials behavior and processing often emerge from a creative interplay among theory, experiment, computer-based modeling and simulation, and the development of new instruments. The practitioners of materials research traditionally include physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and engineers of all kinds. Increasingly, the field benefits from the participation of investigators from an even wider range of disciplines such as biochemistry, biology, earth sciences, mathematics, computer science, and medicine.

DMR supports education, fundamental research and facilities that are critically important to the future advancement of industries and technologies ranging from electronics and communications to information technology, transportation and aerospace, energy, environmental protection, manufacturing, medicine and health care, packaging, and civil infrastructure. The ultimate technological and societal impact of materials research and education is profound - "Materials are the stuff of civilization".