MIRT: Exploring Unusual Properties of Transition Metal Oxides

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The mission of the Materials Interdisciplinary Research Team (MIRT) is to investigate the unusual properties of transition-metal oxides while producing a next generation of scientists and engineers well-trained in the area of advanced materials. The MIRT integrates materials researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) and the University of Virginia with educational outreach programs involving K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, and the general public.The MIRT consisting of leading scientists with diverse theoretical and experimental expertise will investigate transition-metal oxides on three fronts: (i) developing a thorough and deep understanding of the change of d-electron properties from bulk to surface, which is critical for catalytic as well as insertion-compound electrodes for electrochemical energy conversion and storage, (ii) addressing strategically the long-standing problem of the localized to itinerant electronic transition, which is relevant to high-transition-temperature superconductivity and to the solid-state theory of magnetic interactions in orbitally disordered systems, and (iii) synthesizing new transition-metal oxides by novel approaches including high-pressure synthesis, soft chemistry synthesis, and growing high-quality crystals exhibiting exotic physical and chemical properties. The MIRT also focuses on emerging research topics such as oxide topological insulators, which includes exploring new magneto-optical effects in a sandwiched structure consisting of a topological insulator and a ferromagnetic layer, superconductivity, and new quantum states with potential application for quantum computing. A fundamental understanding of the unusual surface and bulk properties of transition-metal oxides is anticipated to have a profound impact on new materials development for the next generation of electronic and electrochemical energy devices. The project will establish broad collaborations with scientists at synchrotron and neutron facilities in the U.S. and abroad. The project would provide research training to graduate students with advanced equipment/facilities and specialized coursework that offers an interdisciplinary view of the physics, chemistry, and materials science phenomena that drive the key outstanding questions addressed by this MIRT. The graduate-undergraduate research environment, through the Graduates Linked with Undergraduates in Engineering (GLUE) program in partnership with the Women in Engineering Program (WEP) at the University of Texas, will provide not only a graduate-level research environment for female undergraduates, but also career and professional development. The planned recruiting and mentoring of Hispanic undergraduates will motivate them to pursue graduate studies in advanced materials. The undergraduates will receive hands-on training on various instruments available as shared user facilities or in the MIRT faculty laboratories and participate in research projects involving materials synthesis, characterization, and physical-property measurements. The MIRT faculty and students will give lectures and/or demonstrations of clean energy technologies involving oxides to Magnet Program students at middle and high schools as well as to the general public and K-12 students at Explore UT, a campus-wide open house.