Conference: 2025 North American Solid State Chemistry Conference

Non-Technical Summary

The North American Solid State Chemistry Conference (NASSCC) is a biennial meeting to discuss emergent topics in solid-state chemistry broadly defined, including synthesis, characterization, crystal structure, chemical bonding, and properties of inorganic and hybrid extended solids. The 2025 NASSCC is held on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, IA, on July 28-31, 2025.

The conference showcases the cutting-edge research from scientists across all career levels, including distinguished faculty, researchers from government laboratories, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students. The focus topics of this year’s NASSCC are aimed at stimulating interdisciplinary discussions in the area of advancing fundamental materials research as well as education in the field of materials science.

By gaining a deeper understanding of how materials properties are related to their makeup and structure, researchers are driving innovations to advance national health, economic competitiveness, and energy security via the development of materials that reduce reliance on critical elements and minerals. NASSCC promotes the creative exchange of research findings and ideas by engaging scientists from academia and government laboratories.

NSF's Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program in the Division of Materials Research support provides registration and travel support for junior investigators at various career stages, including those from the underrepresented groups in STEM, ensuring knowledge dissemination to the next generation of solid state and materials chemists and contributing to the mission of strengthening and expanding the STEM workforce.

Technical Summary

Solid state chemistry comprises the synthesis, structure, properties, and applications of solid, oftentimes crystalline, materials. At this year’s NASSCC, the scientific discussion centers on four major areas, including: (i) Novel Synthetic Methods, (ii) Theoretical Studies and Computational Modeling, (iii) Energy Conversion and Storage, and (iv) Advanced Characterization.

Novel Synthetic Methods - Discussion of the exciting advances in synthesis that have enabled the development of new materials for exploration of their structure and properties, along with the prediction of new materials, their properties, and the synthetic pathways towards them. Theoretical Studies and Computational Modeling - This section highlights theoretical and computational studies that shed light on the synthesis, structure, and/or properties of complex inorganic solids.

Energy Conversion and Storage - Discussion of advanced materials for energy storage and conversion, including ionic and mixed conductors for batteries and fuel cells, advancements in anode/cathode materials for rechargeable batteries, thermoelectric, photocatalytic, and photovoltaic materials. Advanced Characterization – Focus on advances in characterization methods, including various in situ and operando techniques, that are critical for understanding structure/property relationships in solid-state materials.

Oral presentations set a strong tone for the sessions that extend into a contributed poster session from a broad group of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. To encourage deeper scientific inquiry, the format of the conference provides multiple discussion opportunities during the oral and poster sessions.

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.