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Program Highlights for year 2007

Novel multiferroic thin film memory devices

Electric-field tunable spin valves are being investigated

Discovery of a Pb-free morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in a high Tc piezoelectric perovskite

Piezoeletric materials are used for a variety of actuator and sensor applications. Finding a Pb-free replacement for the popular Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 has been a major challenge for the community.

Graphitic Carbon Produced at Very Low Temperatures During the Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Graphitic carbon - structural forms of the element that are constructed exclusively from carbon atoms having trigonal planar coordination - is ordinarily produced under drastic physical and conditions, typically at temperatures in excess of 500° C. Columbia MRSEC scientists have uncovered a process by which this form of matter can assemble at temperatures as low as 110° C.

Expansion of the McNair CITIES Program

Expansion of the McNair CITIES ProgramThe MRSEC developed a new program to help enhance the curriculum of NYC high schools called the Ron McNair Curriculum Integration To Interactively Engage Students (CITIES) Program. The goals of the program are to increase student engagement and to motivate students to enjoy learning and to educate the public.

Perfectly Hydrophobic Surfaces

"Perfectly hydrophobic" surfaces have been developed by McCarthy and are being applied to low friction motion and lubrication McCarthy and Crosby.

Polymer Nanocomposite Mechanical Properties

Composites of polymers and inorganic nanoparticles offer tremendous promise for the optimization of mechanical properties.

Myelin Figures-- the Instability of Soap

Myelin figures are long thin cylindrical structures that grow when water is added to the concentrated lamellar phase of certain surfactants such as soap.

Spin-Blockade in a Colloidal CdSe Quantum Dot Solid

A University of Chicago MRSEC team led by Philippe Guyot-Sionnest and Woowon Kang have been investigating the transport properties of colloidal quantum dots under magnetic field [1].

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