NSF Awards UC San Diego $18 Million to Establish Quantum Materials Research Center

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded University of California San Diego researchers a six-year, $18 million grant to fund a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center dedicated to creating new kinds of quantum materials. The center, a joint initiative between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the School of Physical Sciences, brings together 17 UC San Diego (search)Search term faculty members alongside collaborators from UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara.

Quantum materials derive their properties from quantum mechanical interactions between atoms, molecules, and larger structures. These materials show promise for a broad range of national priorities, including low-power computing, data encryption, secure communications, medical diagnostics, sensors, stealth materials, and high-performance electronics.

"This MRSEC grant is a powerful confirmation that UC San Diego (search)Search term stands at the very forefront of materials science and engineering research in this country," said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. "This investment by the National Science Foundation will accelerate discoveries in quantum materials that will shape the devices and technologies of tomorrow and it will train the next generation of scientists and engineers to lead that charge."

The center is led by Michael Sailor, professor in the Department of Chemistry at the UC San Diego (search)Search term School of Physical Sciences, and co-led by Andrea Tao, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

Quantum Metamaterials

One of the two research themes focuses on the development of quantum metamaterials — materials engineered at the nanometer scale to exhibit unique optical properties that do not exist in nature. To create these materials, researchers must move beyond classical design rules and instead utilize quantum mechanical effects. The team aims to create a new generation of materials with the potential to support future AI infrastructure and optical computing.

MRSEC researchers in this group will employ a bottom-up, self-assembly approach to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing, which cannot currently achieve the precision needed to create these structures. The Quantum Metamaterials research team is co-led by Zhaowei Liu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Richard Averitt, a professor of physics.

Chemically Tailored Two-Dimensional Superlattice Materials

The second research theme focuses on developing new ways to control the properties of electrons in sheet-like materials only a few atoms thick — so thin that they only allow electrons to move through them in uniquely ordered ways. The order imposed on electrons by these two-dimensional superlattice structures has a profound impact on their behavior, with exciting implications for next-generation electronics.

This research team is co-led by Joshua Figueroa, a professor of chemistry, and Monica Allen, a professor of physics. Figueroa uses sterically tailored m-terphenyl isocyanide-metal complexes as molecular building blocks, while Allen develops novel low-temperature microwave imaging techniques to visualize and manipulate electronic states in quantum materials.

Training the Materials Science Workforce

The MRSEC includes a suite of education programs aimed at enhancing national proficiencies in quantum materials. The most distinctive element is the NSF-funded Research Immersion in Materials Science and Engineering (RIMSE) schools, which embed participants in research laboratories for training on advanced experimental procedures, cutting-edge instrumentation, and state-of-the-art computational methods.

"We have found that one of the roadblocks for students entering research labs is their limited practical experience," said Stacey Brydges, a professor of chemistry who oversees the educational elements of the MRSEC. "While their coursework may have prepared them with adequate technical knowledge, they haven't yet experienced the challenges of open-ended research."

The RIMSE program engages participants from high school students to senior-level visiting scientists from companies and national laboratories. The program has a specific focus on bringing transfer students into the materials science research community.

MRSEC Facilities and Public Outreach

The center's Materials Characterization Facility, established six years ago under the previous MRSEC grant, has engaged more than 100 companies and other external users since its inception. "Many times we have provided measurements or expertise to help these small companies answer questions about their materials that they did not have the time or resources to answer themselves," said Ricardo De Luna, manager for the MCF.

The Mesomaterials Design Computational Facility, led by chemical and nano engineering professor Tod Pascal, develops machine-learning models trained on curated datasets drawn from first-principles quantum simulations to predict which superlattice and metamaterial architectures are worth synthesizing.

The MRSEC also partners with the Fleet Science Center in San Diego's Balboa Park for public outreach. "Through programs like Sharp Minds and Suds & Science lecture series, people have the chance to meet researchers, ask questions and learn about quantum materials in a way that's engaging, approachable and relevant to everyday life," said Dr. Mwenda KudumuBiggs, vice president of community service and engagement at the Fleet Science Center.

UC San Diego (search)Search term was one of only six institutions selected for funding by the NSF in this round, alongside Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This marks UC San Diego's second MRSEC award, following its first in 2020, also led by Sailor with a six-year, $18 million grant.