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User account menu Log in facebook twitter youtube linkedin Search MIT Materials Research Laboratory About MRL Mission History Faculty Conducting Materials Research Industry Collegium MRL Advisory Board MRL Staff News Outreach Materials Day Seed Funding Building 13 Resources Conference Rooms Resources Request Offices Keys Get in Touch Energy Harvesting Conversion and Storage We are surrounded by weak sources of energy including light, electromagnetic waves, even the glucose in our bodies. This research thrust focuses on harvesting that energy, storing it, and converting it into usable power. Among the applications of this work are devices based on these alternative energy sources that could replace batteries in remote or hard-to-access locations. View Details Solid-state Ionics Charge can be carried through a material in different ways. We are most familiar with the charge that is carried by the electrons that help make up atoms. But there are many important devices that depend on the motion of charged atoms (ions) themselves, rather than just their constituent electrons. Examples include lithium batteries, which depend on the movement of lithium ions during battery charge and discharge. Similarly, fuel cells depend on the movement of hydrogen and oxygen ions in the process of generating electricity. The research thrust of solid-state ionics involves basic and applied research on the movement of ions through materials. View Details Metals Processing New processing methods could help ease looming shortages of the essential metals that power everything from phones to automotive batteries, by making it easier to separate these metals from mining ores and recycled materials. These processing methods could also cut costs and make the processes more sustainable by reducing both the amount of water used and the emissions of greenhouse gases associated with traditional processes. The general principle behind one approach is to extract the elements individually or in the form of alloys in the molten state in an electrolysis cell. Additional work in this research thrust includes using experiments, analytical theory, and computer simulations to explore the processing-structure-property relationships in structural metals. View Details Modeling and Materials Design Work in this research thrust includes using computational tools to tackle design of materials in complex combinatorial search spaces, such as organic electronic materials and energy storage polymers. In addition to screening large numbers of possible candidates, machine learning tools are used to address the inverse design question, that is, given the desired properties, imagine the material. Additional work in this area involves applying and developing revolutionary microscopy techniques to connect the atomic structure and chemistry of defects/interfaces with material properties for applications including quantum computing, energy storage, power electronics, and dielectrics. View Details Flexible Photonic & Electronic Systems Traditionally, photonic circuits, or those that work with light, are fabricated on rigid substrates such as semiconductors or glasses. In this research thrust engineers are developing novel methods to make photonic devices flexible, stretchable, and rugged without compromising their optical performance. They are exploring emerging applications of such devices in biomedical monitoring and high-speed data communications. View Details Complex Biogels Biological living” hydrogels coat all the wet surfaces in the human body, providing a selective barrier that keeps nutrients and information in while keeping pathogens out. One key example is mucus, the slimy goo that lines the mouth, nose, throat, sinuses, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. In this research thrust engineers aim to apply hydrogels to many vexing problems, such as preventing bacterial biofilm formation on materials exposed to living organisms. At the same time, biochemists aim to elucidate the fundamental biophysical principles that allow biogels to act as selective barriers and filters, and the cellular mechanisms involved in building and regulating them. View Details Materials Systems & Sustainability This research thrust aims to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of the materials used in everything from running shoes to transistors in the context of growing global demand and the fight against climate change. Projects range from developing a complete method for characterizing the carbon footprint of manufacturing processes to predicting the impact of novel materials and processes on the environment. Researchers are also working to understand the implications of policy, new technology development, and manufacturing processes on materials supply chains. View Details Quantum Materials and Spintronics Subatomic particles like electrons and quarks behave differently, in ways that are still not fully understood. Enter quantum mechanics, the field that tries to explain their behavior and resulting effects. Quantum materials manifest the exotic properties of quantum mechanics at a macroscopic scale. This research thrust focuses on getting a better understanding of these materials, which in turn is leading to new physics and to devices that could be made with them. Spintronics is a special topic of research in quantum materials that involves the unusual behavior of electrons moving in certain materials and the magnetic field they generate. View Details Photonic Devices and Systems Photonics — the science of guiding and manipulating light — enables applications ranging from telecommunications to medical imaging. In this research thrust engineers are developing new photonic devices such as optical diodes or optical isolators, which allow light to pass through only in one direction, and systems for coupling light signals into and out of photonic chips. Another example is a miniaturized spectrometer that makes it possible to analyze the chemical composition of individual molecules with something small and rugged, to replace devices that are large, delicate, and expensive. View Details Functional fibers Fibers are among the earliest forms of human expression, yet surprisingly have remained unchanged from ancient to modern times. Can fibers become highly functional devices? Can they see, hear, sense, and communicate? This research thrust aims to extend the frontiers of fiber materials from optical transmission to encompass electronic, optoelectronic and even acoustic properties. What makes these fibers unique is the combination of a multiplicity of disparate materials arranged in elaborate geometries with features down to 10 nanometers. View Details Soft Materials Soft materials are materials that can be easily deformed by thermal stresses or thermal fluctuations at about room temperature. Soft materials include liquids, polymers, foams, gels, colloids, granular materials, as well as most soft biological materials. View Details Electronic Properties of Complex Oxides Complex oxide materials are notable for their wide range of magnetic and electronic properties, such as ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and high-temperature superconductivity. View Details Materials Integration Materials Integration is the use scientific tools such as theory, experiment, analyses, simulation, etc. to solve real engineering prob lems found during research and development processes of engineering materials . View Details News Physicists create five-lane superhighway for electrons Physicists discover new way to make strange metal How light can vaporize water without the need for heat Nanostitches” enable lighter and tougher composite materials Roadmap to drive integrated photonics industry forward unveiled Team discovers fundamentally new way to detect radiation involving cheap ceramics more Our Facilities Safe Lab Practices MAX Facility EM Facility Learn More About Our Facilities The SEFs are organized into two units: the Electron...