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A collaboration between the University of Chicago MRSEC groups of Jaeger, Patel, and Rowan showed that the complex modulus of a dense suspension of microparticles can be increased exponentially over several orders of magnitude by applying interval training during oscillatory shear, leading to a structural memory.

Objective: Compare the UV plasmonic response of Al and Mg nanostructures. Light transmission through sub-wavelength aperture arrays shows significant

Objective:  Explore the potential for obtaining very high electron concentrations at the interface between two complex oxides and examine its relevance for terahertz (THz) applications.

Metallic glass nanostructures provide a new platform for electrocatalytic applications. Several surface modification strategies that remove or add metal species (top images) improve the catalytic activity of metallic glass nanostructures. These strategies were demonstrated for three key electrocatalytic reactions important for renewable energy.

Harvard hosted its first ever “Top Chef” competition, as part of Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Condensed Matter, now in its sixth year as a highly popular undergraduate course at Harvard. Created and taught by Michael Brenner and David Weitz, the course enrolls several hundred undergraduates each fall, and is also offered as a free online course through the EdX portal.

We introduced the concept of plate mechanical metamaterials [1] and its initial realization in the form of freestanding corrugated plates made out of ultrathin films. We used atomic layer deposition (ALD) and microfabrication techniques to make robust plates out of a single continuous ALD layer with lateral dimensions of up to 2 cm and a thickness as low as 25 nm, creating the thinnest freestanding plates that can be picked up by hand [1].

We are often taught that the difference between solids and liquids is that in solids, each of the constituent particles has a well-defined average position while in liquids, particles are constantly rearranging and changing their neighbors. In fact, particle rearrangements do occur in solids, and all solids flow under enough stress. Crystalline solids flow via localized particle rearrangements that occur preferentially at structural defects known as dislocations.  The population of dislocations therefore controls how crystalline solids flow.

An inter-MRSEC collaboration between the University of Chicago and the Pennsylvania State University led to the discovery of a new technique that enables bidirectional control of the chemical potential in a topological insulator (TI).

Screening block oligomer chemistry and architecture through molecular simulations to find promising candidates for functional materials requires effective morphology identification techniques. Common strategies for structure identification include structure factors and order parameters, but these fail to identify imperfect structures in simulations with incorrect system sizes.

Researchers at Duke University and the University of British Columbia are exploring whether surfaces can shed dirt without the use of fragile superhydrophobic coatings.