About the Center

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) program provides support for interdisciplinary materials research and education of the highest quality while addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering that are important to society. The centers undertake materials research of a scope and complexity that would not be feasible under traditional funding for individual research projects or small groups.

The U.S. national network of centers for Materials Research encompasses 29 centers funded by the National Science Foundation, including the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) as part of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) program.

The mission of CCMR is to advance, explore and exploit the science and engineering of advanced materials. The unifying theme of our current research is the study of materials purposefully structured at the nanoscale (near-atomic dimensions). Our aim is to be world leaders in the design, control and understanding of the behavior of both crystalline and disordered nanomaterials. This objective is pursued through fundamental experimental and theoretical studies of the assembly and processing of nanomaterials and of their resulting behavior.

Our research is organized around four Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs), a number of smaller groups (Seeds) and seven facilities that utilize specialized, sophisticated equipment to further our collective goals. CCMR also has an active and innovative Educational Program Office (EPO) as well as an effective and growing Industrial Partnerships program. The Center continues to play a leading role in fostering the long tradition of interdepartmental, interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration at Cornell. To this end, new faculty with interests in materials research are invited to become members of the CCMR. Approximately one hundred faculty members from twelve departments are active members of the CCMR; about half received direct research support from the MRSEC last year. Such support generally provides funds for one graduate student or post-doctoral researcher to work with a research group (IRG or Seed), or to support an undergraduate for a summer research project.

The Center is primarily supported by the National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research, but also by generous contributions from Cornell University, the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, by critical Industrial grants and gifts, and by New York State. The University provides all of the funding for the Center's administrative staff, three full graduate fellowships, as well as partial (50%) tuition for all supported graduate students and cash contributions to our research and outreach programs.

Shared Experimental Facilities are crucial to the study of complex materials and our interactions with industry. The CCMR's eight facilities comprise an integrated system for materials synthesis and preparation, analysis, testing and characterization, together with an advanced research computing capability. They are used not only by CCMR researchers, but also by researchers campus-wide, from other universities, and from government and industrial laboratories. Student users are trained in the use of these sophisticated instruments. Other on-campus facilities are central to our mission as well, especially the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility (CNF) and Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS).

Our Educational Programs Office is an essential and outstanding feature of the CCMR. We directly reach thousands of students (K-12), hundreds of parents, hundreds of teachers (K-14), and many undergraduates from across the country each year. Many Cornell faculty (including many non-CCMR members), postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students are important contributors to this highly successful program. The graduate students in particular are enthusiastic and effective ambassadors for science in both the "in-house" programs and our off-campus activities, which have included travel to Syracuse, New York City, Boston, and Virginia. These activities ensure that our graduate students understand their role and responsibility in helping the nation understand and apprecieate the importance of science and engineering to our society.

Industrial Partnerships: Cornell and the CCMR are committed to ensuring that technical innovations and inventions move efficiently from the research bench to the private sector and to developing productive industrial partnerships. In the spring of 2007, Michèle van de Walle, Ph.D., MBA, joined the CCMR team as our Industrial Partnerships Director, a position funded by New York, State in order to coordinate and expand the program. Many industrial collaborations grow directly out of the ongoing research in our IRGs and Seeds, but some are nucleated by industrial partners or by others on campus. Our very successful Polymer Outreach Program (POP), now in its 18th year, provides not only important "bench to bench" collaborations with R&D personnel in industry as well as research support for graduate students and postdocs. Our plan is to make the CCMR facilities and research programs and capabilities more accessible through personal, institutional and web-based contacts.

The Center is managed by a Director, Prof. Melissa Hines, an Associate Director, Jurriaan Gerretsen and an Executive Committee that is elected by the CCMR membership.