NSF Funds Major Center at UC San Diego to Make New Quantum Materials

Story by:

• Daniel Kane - [email protected]
• Michelle Franklin - [email protected]

Topics covered:

• Materials Science
• MRSEC
• Quantum Materials

Share This:

• Share this story on Linkedin
• Share this story on Facebook
• Share this story on Threads
• Share this story on Twitter
• Share this story via email

Article Content

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded University of California San Diego researchers a six-year $18M grant to fund a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) focused on making new kinds of quantum materials. Quantum materials show promise for a broad range of national priorities including low-power computing, data encryption, secure communications, medical diagnostics, sensors, stealth materials and high-performance electronics.

The U.S National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers provide the resources and interdisciplinary environment needed for materials research activities of ambitious scope and complexity, and are transformative for the schools that earn them. Supported by the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the centers produce innovations that create a scientific foundation for future technologies that enhance the U.S. economy, strengthen national security and improve quality of life.

At UC San Diego, the MRSEC is a joint initiative between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the School of Physical Sciences. This new grant brings together physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers to collaborate on quantum materials, which are materials that derive their properties from quantum mechanical interactions between atoms, molecules and larger structures.

"This MRSEC grant is a powerful confirmation that UC San Diego stands at the very forefront of materials science and engineering research in this country. This is exactly the kind of bold, cross-disciplinary collaboration that defines who we are - bringing together physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers to tackle the most consequential scientific challenges of our time. This investment by the National Science Foundation will accelerate discoveries in quantum materials that will shape the devices and technologies of tomorrow and it will train the next generation of scientists and engineers to lead that charge," said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.

The quantum materials research themes of the UC San Diego MRSEC stem from two areas of historic strength on campus: metamaterials and two-dimensional superlattices, both of which will be described below.

The UC San Diego MRSEC team is composed of 17 UC San Diego faculty members from engineering and physical sciences. It also includes one faculty member from UC Irvine, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. It is led by Michael Sailor, professor in the Department of Chemistry at the UC San Diego School of Physical Sciences, and co-led by Andrea Tao, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

"Our MRSEC capitalizes on some great strengths at UC San Diego - our leadership in metamaterials and quantum science, our position as a national resource in high-performance computing, our collaborative culture, and our focus on training the innovation workforce of tomorrow," said Sailor.

UC San Diego was awarded its first MRSEC in 2020, also led by Sailor, with a six-year $18M grant from the NSF to bridge disciplines in order to create new kinds of nanomaterials and polymers.

Quantum Metamaterials

One of the two research themes of the UC San Diego MRSEC focuses on the development of quantum metamaterials, which are materials that are engineered at the nanometer scale to exhibit unique optical properties that do not exist in nature. To create these materials, researchers must move beyond classical design rules and instead utilize quantum mechanical effects. By doing so, the team aims to create a new generation of materials that have the potential to support future AI infrastructure and optical computing.

UC San Diego MRSEC researchers in the Quantum Metamaterials research group will employ a bottom-up, self-assembly approach to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing, which cannot currently achieve the precision needed to create these structures.

The Quantum Metamaterials research team is co-led by Zhaowei Liu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Richard Averitt, a professor of physics.

Liu studies nanophotonics, plasmonics and metamaterials. His research focuses on engineering the physics of light at the nanoscale to develop new optical materials and related technologies such as super-resolution microscopy, nonlinear optical devices and ultrafast optical light sources.

Averitt uses ultrafast, time-resolved optical spectroscopy, spanning terahertz through visible frequencies, to probe and actively control the fundamental properties of quantum materials, with the goal of understanding and manipulating novel phases of matter.

Liu and Averitt had to tap into a diverse set of expertise to build their team: nanomaterials, condensed matter physics, optical engineering and quantum theory.

Read more about the Quantum Metamaterials project.

UC San Diego MRSEC researchers Deanna Diaz Aguilara (left) and Luke Herman (right) measure the dynamic response of a quantum metamaterial using ultrafast laser spectroscopy in the laboratory of electrical and computer engineering professor Zhaowei Liu. Quantum metamaterials can exhibit switching times orders of magnitude faster than conventional electronic devices, making them promising platforms for all-optical computing and quantum communication technologies.

Chemically Tailored Two-Dimensional Superlattice Materials

The second research theme of the UC San Diego MRSEC is Chemically Tailored Superlattices. This effort focuses on developing new ways to control the properties of electrons in sheet-like materials that are only a few atoms thick - so thin that they only allow electrons to move through them in uniquely ordered ways. The order imposed on the electrons by these so-called two-dimensional superlattice structures has a profound impact on their behavior, and it has exciting implications for next-generation electronics.

The Chemically Tailored Superlattices research team is co-led by Joshua Figueroa, a professor of chemistry, and Monica Allen, a professor of physics.

Figueroa uses sterically tailored m-terphenyl isocyanide-metal complexes with precisely controlled stability and geometry as molecular building blocks for the bottom-up design of new functional materials with novel electronic properties.

Allen develops novel low-temperature microwave imaging techniques to visualize and manipulate electronic states in quantum materials such as topological insulators, two-dimensional layered structures, and superconductors, with the ultimate goal of harnessing these materials for next-generation quantum technologies.

To meet their ambitious goals, Figueroa and Allen assembled a team of scientists and engineers with a wide range of expertise including inorganic chemistry, theory, nanoengineering, condensed matter physics and materials characterization.

Read more about the Chemically Tailored Superlattices project.

UC San Diego MRSEC

The NSF MRSEC program is open to all accredited two- or four-year U.S. institutions of higher education, making it extremely competitive. The National Science Foundation allows existing MRSEC centers - like UC San Diego - to re-compete for funding every six years, with an expectation that they will shift the focus of their research themes into new or emerging areas of national importance. UC San Diego's new MRSEC award builds on the infrastructure and cross-disciplinary research culture established in the 2020 MRSEC award.

"The fact that UC San Diego has such a deep bench in materials science gave us a great boost going into the competition, because we had a really wide range of experts with exciting research themes to choose from when we assembled the new team," said Sailor.

The team members in the lab of physics professor Monica Allen focused on two-dimensional superlattice materials.

The new UC San Diego MRSEC follows a research and workforce training model that was established by Sailor in the previous funding cycle. "What excites me most about this second MRSEC is what we get to build on. The first center taught us how to weave together disciplines that don't normally talk to each other - chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, computation - and how powerful that can be. Now we get to bring that same approach to quantum materials, which is one of the most scientifically rich and practically important frontiers in all of materials science. No single discipline has the tools to crack these problems alone. We've spent six years learning how to work together in exactly this way. And just as importantly, this center will give students, including those who might never have imagined themselves doing cutting-edge materials research, a real path into that future."

Andrea Tao, professor of chemical and nano engineering, co-led one of the research thrusts in the prior cycle. The new MRSEC adds Tao as co-director.

"The previous MRSEC taught us something fundamental: that the most powerful thing you can do in materials science right now is build bridges between disciplines," said Tao. "What this new MRSEC represents is a chance to take everything we've learned about how matter organizes itself at the mesoscale and apply it to a new set of pressing challenges. We can branch out into new directions and be really creative in how we do it because we have six years to think deeply about the materials we're making and the problems we want to address. No other grant mechanism allows you to do that with such a large, multi-disciplinary group of researchers working alongside you. That's a big part of what makes MRSEC so special here at UC San Diego."

In particular, the new UC San Diego MRSEC is organized to bridge engineering and physical sciences in ways that will drive fundamental discoveries as well as technical advances relevant for a wide range of U.S. industrial partners.

"Winning a second NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at UC San Diego is an extraordinary achievement. It is a testament to Mike Sailor and Andrea Tao's scientific leadership and their ability to build bold, interdisciplinary teams that the NSF trusts with its most prestigious investments," said Albert P. Pisano, Dean of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and Special Adviser to the Chancellor. "This second MRSEC is yet another example of how the Jacobs School enables discovery and drives real-world relevance through ambitious and forward-looking collaborations in research and workforce development."

The NSF MRSEC program supports multiple centers across the United States, with a focus on ambitious research and education that addresses complex fundamental problems in materials science. UC San Diego was one of only six institutions selected for funding by the NSF in this round. The other five centers will be located at Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"For more than fifty years, NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers have helped put America at the forefront of advanced materials discovery," says NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate Head Tie Luo. "These centers will continue to explore the practically infinite number of ways that matter can be formed into materials, bridging the gap between what we can imagine and what we can create."

"This is exactly the kind of achievement that defines UC San Diego's scientific identity. An NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center is a remarkable distinction - a signal to the national scientific community that the fundamental research happening here is not only world-class, but irreplaceable," said Christine Hrycyna, Dean of Physical Sciences at UC San Diego. "Professor Sailor and his team exemplify what we mean when we talk about expanding the frontiers of scientific discovery. This robust collaboration between the School of Physical Sciences and the Jacobs School of Engineering connects the deep questions of physical science to real-world impact in ways that inspire our students and elevate our entire community. I could not be more proud."

UC San Diego MRSEC researchers performing computational work as part of the Chemically Tailored Superlattices team.

Training the Materials Science Workforce

As part of its educational and workforce training mission, the UC San Diego MRSEC has a suite of education programs aimed at enhancing national proficiencies in the quantum materials area. The most distinctive element is the NSF-funded Research Immersion in Materials Science and Engineering (RIMSE) schools, which embed participants in research laboratories, instructing them on advanced experimental procedures, cutting-edge instrumentation and state-of-the-art computational methods.

Stacey Brydges, a professor of chemistry, oversees the educational elements of the MRSEC.

"We have found that one of the roadblocks for students entering research labs is their limited practical experience," said Brydges. "While their coursework may have prepared them with adequate technical knowledge, they haven't yet experienced the challenges of open-ended research, and they are not necessarily prepared to deal with the safety protocols and highly sophisticated instruments and procedures present in research labs."

Sailor echoed this sentiment. "In a research project, the answers aren't written in the back of a book - sometimes the project you have chosen just doesn't work, and even for the projects that do work, you spend 99% of your time failing," he said. "Many people new to the research enterprise are uncomfortable with this."

The RIMSE program is designed to let the students experience both the frustrations of failure and the excitement of success in research. It engages a broad range of skill levels, from high school students, to two- and four-year undergraduate students, to entering master's and PhD students, as well as to senior-level visiting scientists from companies and national laboratories.

"For the junior students, it gives them their first introduction to research," said Brydges. "For the incoming graduate students, it gives them a quick start on their thesis project, and for established industrial and national laboratory scientists, it gives them an update on the 'hot topics' in which our MRSEC researchers are engaged."

UC San Diego MRSEC provides students hands-on research experience through its RIMSE schools.

"Our RIMSE program follows the old adage that experience is the best teacher," added Sailor.

The MRSEC has programming geared to UC San Diego transfer students.

"One of the major challenges for a transfer student is that they often enter UC San Diego with neither the time nor the training to participate in the research enterprise here," said Sailor. "Our RIMSE schools have a specific focus on bringing transfer students into the materials science research community - the intensive workshops bring them up to speed so that they can seamlessly enter a research lab. Engagement of trainees in cutting-edge research is one of the most important activities of our MRSEC, because fluency in research concepts, tools and techniques is a key element of a well-trained STEM workforce."

MRSEC Facilities

The UC San Diego MRSEC oversees a major group of facilities dedicated to materials characterization. Stood up six years ago as an element of the previous MRSEC grant, the center's Materials Characterization Facility (MCF) has had a major impact on the research infrastructure locally and nationally. Since inception, it has engaged more than 100 companies and other external users.

"As it has grown, it has been really gratifying to see the facility nurture our local high-tech and biotech industries, especially the small start-ups," said Ricardo De Luna, who serves as the manager for the MCF. "Many times we have provided measurements or expertise to help these small companies answer questions about their materials that they did not have the time or resources to answer themselves."

One of the more impactful facilities developed by the center is the Mesomaterials Design Computational Facility, led by chemical and nano engineering professor Tod Pascal.

"Both of our integrated research groups face the same bottleneck: there are vastly more candidate structures than anyone can possibly synthesize," said Pascal, who serves as the data director for the new UC San Diego MRSEC. "We're developing machine-learning models trained on curated, purpose-built datasets drawn from first-principles quantum simulations. Those models predict which superlattice and metamaterial architectures are worth making, narrowing an impossibly large search space down to a set of targeted experiments. Our partnership with the NSF-supported San Diego Supercomputer Center lets us do that at a scale no single research group could."

Public Outreach

In reaching out to the public, the UC San Diego MRSEC has benefited from a partnership with the Fleet Science Center, a world-renowned public science museum and planetarium located in San Diego's historic Balboa Park.

"One of the great strengths of our MRSEC's partnership with the Fleet is it has leveraged their broad reach into the community," said Brydges. With their unique perspective on how to engage with and communicate science and technology concepts to the general public, the Fleet's Science Communication Workshops train MRSEC students and faculty in the research-informed practice of public communication.

"The goals of many of the Fleet's community programs and initiatives closely align with the education and outreach goals of the MRSEC," said Dr. Mwenda KudumuBiggs, who serves as the vice president of community service and engagement at the Fleet Science Center. "We are thrilled to continue this partnership and to help connect the public with the exciting research happening right here in San Diego. Through programs like Sharp Minds and Suds & Science lecture series, people have the chance to meet researchers, ask questions and learn about quantum materials in a way that's engaging, approachable and relevant to everyday life."

Team UC San Diego

The MRSEC team's success in winning this award benefitted from the support of many people and organizations throughout UC San Diego, most notably Albert P. Pisano, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering; Christine Hrycyna, Dean of the School of Physical Sciences; Corinne Peek-Asa, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation; Olivia Graeve, Director of the UC San Diego Program in Materials Science and Engineering and faculty in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor.

Read more news about: Physical Sciences

Participants in the RIMSE schools learn various skills and techniques employed in cutting-edge materials science research.