Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at UCSB

Nontechnical description

The NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at UC Santa Barbara develops and sustains a productive, collaborative, and engaged community that drives a portfolio of transformative materials research and empowers a diverse workforce. The research team addresses fundamental materials challenges at the interface of chemistry, biology, and engineering with applications in advanced manufacturing, and clean and sustainable energy.

The research advances materials synthesis, characterization, measurements, and modeling. A focus on fundamental understanding has sustained impact, for example, through the development of new methods and tools. In addition, given the central role of data-driven discovery, a Data Expert Group has been created whose members have core research expertise in developing artificial intelligence and machine learning and collaborate with all participants.

Shared research facilities promote effective collaboration at all levels, catalyze interactions with industry, and nurture start-ups. The vision of a thriving and engaged community at UC Santa Barbara community helps cultivate a diverse range of participants through a comprehensive portfolio of research, education, and outreach activities. A range of education and outreach activities introduce materials science to schoolchildren and the public, support teachers to develop science curricula, provide undergraduates with high-quality research experiences, and encourage graduate students and other researchers to engage and interact with the public.

Technical description

The two Interdisciplinary Research Groups in the UC Santa Barbara Materials Research Science and Engineering Center advance national priorities in advanced manufacturing and materials for sustainable energy, engineering biology, and materials science. Both projects integrate synthesis, characterization, measurement, theory/computation, and data-driven discovery.

Electrostatically Mediated Polymer Processing develops strategies and design principles for ion-mediated, solvent-free processing of polymers, blends, and nanostructures. The research advances fundamental understanding to link molecular design with material properties in solvent-free or lean systems with implications for polymer sustainability and manufacturing.

Bioinspired Plasticity focuses on water-swollen networks that are critical as biomaterials for soft implants and haptics. Such plasticity mimics living systems wherein cells and tissue reconfigure in response to stimuli with synthetic systems that better adapt and strengthen in response to a range of stimuli through dissipation and deformation. Central to these research efforts in both projects are broader impacts in training a diverse, collaborative, and interdisciplinary next-generation workforce.

Education and outreach activities focus on community building with participants from K-12 students and teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty mentors. A range of activities introduce materials science to schoolchildren and the public, support teachers to develop science curricula, provide undergraduates with high-quality research experiences, and encourage graduate students and other researchers to engage and interact with the public.

Diversity and inclusion are central themes throughout all research, education, and outreach efforts with broader impacts enhanced by the institutional setting of UC Santa Barbara being both a Hispanic-serving and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institution.

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.