Materials Science
Research in this highly interdisciplinary area explores the properties of matter as function of composition, structure, and processing. The aims of Materials Science are to improve existing materials or to introduce new materials with novel properties for applications in chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering.
Associated Faculty
Linda Doerrer
1D M aterialgs from Coordination Chemistry Building Blocks
The Doerrer Group is synthesizing new compounds that have the potential to be one dimensional (1D) electronic conductors. Highly efficient electron conduction is seen not only in the metallic elements, but also in compounds and materials whose electronic structure is highly anisotropic. In such species the conductivity in one direction can be as much as a million times greater than in the two orthogonal directions. Our goal is to use transition-metal based building blocks to assemble anisotropic systems whose combination will result in stable, processable materials with substantial charge transport. These materials are of great interest for answering fundamental questions about 1D charge transport and have tremendous
potential in nano-scale electronics as nanowires. Such compounds may also exhibit unusual magnetic behavior that could answer questions about postulated Ising-type systems or lead to unusual properties whose unique nature would have novel applications.
Engineered Nanomaterials
The research aim of the Reinhard Laboratory is to develop materials and methods that will advance our understanding of complex chemical and biological systems on a molecular level. One objective of the research is to gain better understanding of the properties and mode of operations of enzymes and complex molecular machines that govern fundamental life processes. The second objective is to develop new and useful products from these "nanotechnologies". The Group combines engineered nanomaterials and selfassembled biological components into useful devices for applications in sensing, biocatalysis and synthesis.
Physics and Chemistry of Novel Materials
The Novel Materials Laboratory, headed by Prof. Smith, uses synchrotron radiation-based spectroscopies to probe bulk, surface, and interface electronic phenomena relevant to issues of physical and technological importance. The primary techniques they use are very high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy, x-ray emission spectroscopy, and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Experiments are performed at synchrotron radiation light sources in New York, California, Germany and Sweden. At present,they are studying low dimensional and highly correlated solids, thin film organic semiconductors and superconductors, and wide band gap semiconductor thin films.
Multiscale Simulation Models
The Wang Laboratory is developing new multiscale simulation methodologies and applying them to model different materials. This modeling includes the study of metal fatigue using the kinetic Monte Carlo method, modeling of surface chemistry of protective layers on metal surfaces using density functional theory. The group is modeling loading dynamics of hydrogen in clathrate based hydrogen storage materials. A force field for metal hydride based hydrogen storage material is being developed.