MRSEC: UW Molecular Engineering Materials Center

非技术摘要华盛顿大学分子工程材料中心是美国国家科学基金会的分子工程材料中心，从事基础材料研究，旨在推动科学前沿，加速未来先进技术的出现。该中心的研究目标是开发纳米材料，使量子相互作用能够被利用，用于新的“自旋-光子”技术，如量子传感。此外，这项研究还涉及开发原子薄和层状二维晶体材料，其量子特性对外部应变刺激超敏感，以极大地扩大量子材料的覆盖范围，从而为发展量子和能源技术开辟新的领域。这项研究将导致发现和发展新的先进材料，新的实验和理论能力，以及新的量子材料基础知识。同时，该中心帮助参与的学生和博士后研究人员培养成为工业、国家实验室、学术界和其他领域的领先创新者，同时激励年轻人从事科学和工程工作。该中心与国际机构、行业和国家实验室合作，推进其跨学科研究和培训目标。更广泛的影响活动包括为本科生和K-12教师提供形成性的研究经验，促进农村、偏远和资源不足的学区的科学参与，让退伍军人和军人参与研究，以及促进太平洋西北地区的材料研究和教育生态系统。该中心提供开放访问的共享设施，以支持校园和更广泛的研究社区。技术摘要该中心的研究涉及两个协同的跨学科研究小组。第一个目标是开发利用光子和电子自旋之间的交叉耦合的功能性低维材料--自旋-光子纳米结构--以实现未来的经典和量子信息处理、传感和光子学技术，如自旋-光子转换、法拉第光隔离和量子存储器。第二个是建立和研究弹性量子物质--具有对弹性应变超敏感的量子性质的材料，提供了从磁化和超导的全机械控制到创建声子-磁振子电路、动态约瑟夫森结阵列和动态控制催化剂的机会。这两个小组都将材料创新与理论和计算结合在一起，并在一个集中的人工智能核心的帮助下，开发出为帮助解决实际研究问题而量身定做的算法和方法。人工智能核心是该中心更大的开放访问共享用户设施的一部分。竞争性种子计划通过启动新的尖端或高风险研究项目、招募新的和代表性较低的参与者以及利用新兴的优势和机会来扩展中心的核心研究目标。该中心的研究活动得到了广泛影响活动的补充，其中包括本科生的研究经验，K-12学生的NanoCamp，以及旨在扩大参与和增强区域获得材料研究和教育机会的倡议。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-technical abstractThe University of Washington Molecular Engineering Materials Center, an NSF MRSEC, executes fundamental materials research that aims to push the frontiers of science and accelerate the emergence of future advanced technologies. The Center's research targets development of nanoscale materials that allow quantum interactions to be harnessed for use in new "spin-photonic" technologies such as quantum sensing. Additionally, the research addresses development of atomically thin and layered two-dimensional crystalline materials whose quantum properties are ultra-sensitive to external strain stimuli, to vastly expand the reach of quantum materials and thereby open new territory for advancing quantum and energy technologies. This research will lead to the discovery and development of new advanced materials, new experimental and theoretical capabilities, and new fundamental knowledge in quantum materials. In parallel, the Center helps prepare participating students and postdoctoral researchers to become leading innovators in industry, national laboratories, academia, and other sectors, while inspiring youth to engage in science and engineering. The Center partners with international institutions, industry, and national laboratories to advance its interdisciplinary research and training objectives. Broader-impact activities include formative research experiences for undergraduates and K-12 teachers, facilitating science participation in rural, remote, and under-resourced school districts, engaging veterans and military service members in research, and fostering a Pacific Northwest materials research and education ecosystem. The Center offers open-access shared facilities to support the campus and the broader research community.Technical abstractThe Center's research involves two synergistic interdisciplinary research groups. The first aims to develop functional low-dimensional materials that harness cross-coupling between photons and electron spins -- spin-photonic nanostructures -- to enable future classical and quantum information processing, sensing, and photonics technologies, such as spin-photonic transduction, Faraday optical isolation, and quantum memory. The second builds and studies elastic quantum matter -- materials with quantum properties that are ultra-sensitive to elastic strain, offering opportunities from all-mechanical control of magnetization and superconductivity to creation of phonon-magnon circuitry, dynamical Josephson junction arrays, and dynamically controlled catalysts. Both groups integrate materials innovations with theory and computation, aided by a centralized Artificial Intelligence Core that develops algorithms and methodologies tailored to assist solution of real research problems. The Artificial Intelligence Core operates as part of the Center's greater open-access shared user facilities. A competitive Seed program expands upon the Center's core research goals by initiating new cutting-edge or high-risk research projects, recruiting new and underrepresented participants, and capitalizing on emerging strengths and opportunities. The Center's research activities are complemented by its expansive broader-impact activities that include research experiences for undergraduates, a NanoCamp for K-12 students, and initiatives aimed at broadening participation and enhancing regional access to materials research and education opportunities.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.