UCI MRSEC: Materials Discovery Through Atomic Level Structural Design and Charge Control

摘要：位于加州大学欧文分校（UCI）的材料研究科学与工程中心（MRSEC）基于UCI在多学科科学与工程研究方面的优势，在南加州学术-产业生态系统中建立了一个主要的材料发现与创新研究中心。该MRSEC的主要任务是通过开发具有独特和广泛功能的新型材料，建立材料科学的基础知识。MRSEC由两个跨学科研究小组（irg）组成，每个小组都密切合作，以解决国防和人类健康方面的重大挑战。第一个IRG的目标是创造出具有前所未有的物理特性的材料，例如在国防中应用的承受极端环境的能力。第二个IRG团队正在研究动态、响应性软材料，这些软材料本质上是活体电子材料，作为医疗保健应用中活体系统的接口。通过种子项目，UCI MRSEC吸引新参与者参与令人兴奋的新研究方向。它吸引了来自全国各地的不同群体的科学家，包括女性、未被充分代表的少数群体和残疾人，并培养了所有学术和专业水平的未来领导者，以应对关键的社会挑战。该MRSEC的综合活动——包括新材料研究、与行业和国家实验室的合作、创业创新、职业发展和指导——正在对基础科学、高级应用和劳动力发展产生变革性的长期影响。技术摘要：UCI MRSEC结合了实验、计算和理论框架，通过两个跨学科研究小组（IRGs）追求原子和分子水平的结构和动态响应设计和控制。IRG 1研究了一类新兴的复杂浓缩材料（CCMs）的原子级结构、化学、热力学和界面动力学，这些材料具有高强度、超低导热性和极大介电常数等特殊性能。了解它们的结构-性能关系可以指导下一代结构和功能材料的设计和加工。IRG 2研究耗散自组装策略，以了解基本的电荷-物质相互作用，目标是生产超分子“活”材料。导电活性材料的发展，其组装是由化学、电和其他刺激推动的，为一类新的生物界面和生物计算的活电子材料提供了智力框架。研究团队利用欧文材料研究所最先进的电子显微镜设备，追求仪器创新，以表征原子尺度结构和动态特性。多方面的教育、推广以及与工业界、国家实验室和非营利组织的合作，使MRSEC能够在有针对性的科学进步方面取得重大的、长期的影响。这种影响包括技术创新、劳动力发展以及促进地区和国家经济。协同活动为各个阶段的不同初级科学家提供全面的培训，从K-12，本科生，研究生到博士后学者和非终身教职员工，进一步促进STEM的包容性卓越。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical Abstract: The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) builds on UCI’s strengths in multidisciplinary science and engineering research to establish a major research hub for materials discovery and innovation in the Southern California academe-industry eco-system. The primary mission of this MRSEC is to establish foundational knowledge in materials science by developing new classes of materials that offer unique and broad functionalities. The MRSEC comprises two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs), each working in close collaboration to address Grand Challenges in national defense and human health. The first IRG aims to create materials which exhibit unprecedented physical properties, such as the ability to withstand extreme environments having applications in national defense. The second IRG team is addressing dynamic, responsive soft materials that are in essence living electronic materials serving as an interface with living systems for healthcare applications. Through seed projects, the UCI MRSEC engages new participants in exciting new research directions. It attracts a diverse group of scientists, including women, underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities, from across the nation and trains future leaders at all academic and professional levels to address critical societal challenges. This MRSEC’s integrated activities—including novel materials research, partnerships with industry and national laboratories, entrepreneurial innovation, career development, and mentorship—are enabling a transformative long-term impact on fundamental science, advanced applications, and workforce development. Technical Abstract: The UCI MRSEC combines an experimental, computational, and theoretical framework pursuing atomic- and molecular-level design and control of structure and dynamic response through two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs). IRG 1 investigates the atomic-level structure, chemistry, thermodynamics, and kinetics of interfaces in an emerging class of Complex Concentrated Materials (CCMs) that exhibit exceptional properties such as high strength, ultra-low thermal conductivity, and extremely large dielectric constants. Understanding their structure-property relationships guides design and processing of next-generation structural and functional materials. IRG 2 investigates dissipative self-assembly strategies to understand fundamental charge-matter interactions, with the goal to produce supramolecular “living” materials. Development of conductive active materials, where assembly is fueled by chemical, electrical, and other stimuli, provides the intellectual framework for a new class of living electronic materials for bio-interfaces and biological computing. The research team leverages state-of-the-art electron microscopy facilities within the Irvine Materials Research Institute and pursues instrumentation innovations to characterize atomic-scale structure and dynamic properties. Multifaceted education, outreach, and collaborations with industry, national laboratories, and nonprofit organizations allow this MRSEC to achieve significant, long-term impact with the targeted scientific advances. This impact includes technological innovation, workforce development, and boosting of the regional and national economy. Synergistic activities provide holistic training of diverse junior scientists at all stages, from K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students to postdoctoral scholars and untenured faculty, further fostering inclusive excellence in STEM.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.