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Princeton researchers found that deposition temperature can significantly affect the stability of liquid phase PEO in MAPLE (matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation)-deposited films, which results in different crystallization kinetics.

Analogous to a superconductor, the quantum anomalous Hall effect can transport electrons in a sample without dissipating any energy. The effect has been proposed as an important element for quantum circuitry, quantum computing and a standard for fundamental constants of physics. Unfortunately, it often emerges only at temperatures near absolute zero (~ 0.1 K).

An international collaboration led by Princeton University IRG3 researchers have measured electron spin coherence in germanium for the first time.

The area of two-dimensional (2D) materials research would benefit greatly from the development of synthetically tunable van der Waals (vdW) materials. While the bottom-up synthesis of 2D frameworks from nanoscale building blocks holds great promise in this quest, there are many remaining hurdles, including the design of building blocks that reliably produce 2D lattices and the growth of macroscopic crystals that can be exfoliated to produce 2D materials.

Study reveals thin film physics also manifests in random nanocomposite geometry. 

An article in the journal MRS Advances documented the outcomes of a summer research program for high school students based at the University of Puerto Rico, in partnership with the Penn MRSEC. Over the past two decades this program has engaged nearly 400 students in hands-on materials science research since 2005, with 84% pursuing STEM undergraduate studies.

Biological cells control spatial and temporal generation of active stresses to achieve diverse sought-after functionalities ranging from motility to cell division. Motivated by these observations IRG2 goal is to control of spatiotemporal patterns of active stresses and to endow soft materials with lifelike functionalities.

Disordered packings like sand piles and metallic glasses have arrangements of their constituent particles that appear very similar to those of a liquid.  It is a very hard and long-standing problem to be able “look” at the particle arrangement and tell if the the system is rigid, and where flow will initiate if the system is deformed.

MIT MRSEC researchers have demonstrated for the first time a selective cold drawing process in multi-material fibers in which one material undergoes cold-drawing while the others do not.