Materials Science and Engineering
Researchers in MIT’s materials science and engineering department are concerned with the design, manufacture, and use of materials including metals, ceramics, semiconductors, polymers, and biomaterials, and with the environmental, health, economic, and manufacturing issues relating to those materials. They explore opportunities for entrepreneurship and venture capital to develop more efficient and cleaner materials for use in applications from non-toxic metallic coatings to nanomechanical medical diagnosis.
DMSE research ranges from the purely scientific to applied studies and involves chemistry, physics, electronics, the artistic and historical aspects of materials, and design. Research areas and their key subjects of focus are:
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Semiconductor materials and low-dimensional systems
Focuses on nanoelectronics and photonics and combines the synthesis, characterization, and integration of low-dimensional systems.
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Cathodoluminescence in transmission electron microscopy
Utilizes MIT-unique microscopy techniques for the direct correlation of structural and physical properties of nanostructured materials.
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Energy and catalysis
Studies electron-transfer reactions with donor, acceptor, and environment/solvent fluctuating in thermal equilibrium.
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Transition-metal complex description
Examines central electrochemical and biochemical reactions related to energy harvesting, such as those involved in fuel cells, photosynthesis, and the formation of natural antibodies.
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Nanostructures of biological materials
Studies the nanomechanics of diseased, aged, and injured tissues, regenerative medicine, and the use of nanomechanical methodologies for medical diagnostics.
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Nanometer-scale structure of alloy coatings
Explores controlling the composition of depositing alloys with millisecond-scale current pulses and its possibility to replace “hard chromium” coatings, avoiding the use of toxic chromium chemicals.
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Bioengineering
Develops new technologies to treat and diagnose diseases and disabilities, measure the mechanical properties of cells and molecules, and enhance human-machine interaction.
