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Faculty work in the Sputtering Lab at the MRSEC.

MRSEC Sparks Collaborative Success

After their Interdisciplinary Research Group meetings are over each week, none of the faculty members rush off to return to their separate offices. They all stay behind to talk with each other about upcoming projects and current research. The cross pollination of ideas has reinvigorated their work and broaden their horizons. 

It’s been one year since the University of Tennessee received a prestigious Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to spark discoveries that will lead to new industries in clean energy, computing, and national security. The months of collaboration have already led to breakthroughs in the lab and an appreciation for a different style of conducting research. A student works in the Sputtering Lab.

The new Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM) at UT received $18 million in NSF funding last year to develop sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and computational tools and deploy them for the design and synthesis of next-generation materials in two areas: quantum materials and materials for extreme environments.  

The center’s Interdisciplinary Research Group 1 brings together materials science, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and computer science to study quantum materials. IRG2 includes faculty and students from materials science, civil, environmental, and nuclear engineering to the mix to develop materials for extreme conditions including temperature, pressure, and radiation.  Yishu Wang works in IAMM.

Several faculty members from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering play critical roles in the MRSEC. 

  • Professor Alan Tennant is the director of the center.  
  • Professor Claudia Rawn is the deputy director and director of education, diversity, outreach, and recruitment.  
  • Assistant Professor Katharine Page is the deputy lead for IRG2 and performs bulk synthesis of compositionally complex ceramics 
  • Associate Professor Haixuan Xu is involved in materials theory for IRG1 and IRG2 
  • Assistant Professor Yishu Wang is involved in quantum materials devices and characterization for IRG1 and is the deputy director of education, diversity, outreach, and recruitment 
  • Assistant Professor Eric Lass is involved in bulk synthesis of compositionally complex alloys for IRG2 
  • Professor Sergei Kalinin is involved in artificial intelligence and machine learning for rapid materials discovery for IRG2 
  • Professor and MSE Interim Head Philip Rack is involved in combinatorial thin film synthesis of compositional complex alloys and ceramics for rapid discovery for IRG2 
  • Assistant Professor Dustin Gilmer is involved in synthesis of compositionally complex carbides for IRG2 
  • Professor David Mandrus is involved in single crystal growth of novel quantum materials for IRG1 

United By Common Goals

The center has more than two dozen faculty, over 25 PhD students, and six postdoctoral students working in a large collaborative team.  

“The common threads that run through and unite the two IRGs within the center include incorporating AI, in situ analysis, and neutron scattering techniques,” Rawn said. “AI and machine learning are guiding the experimentalists as they synthesize and characterize the properties of new materials.” 

As someone involved with both groups, Xu has been gratified to see how well everyone is using their expertise to work together and tackle some of the most complex and pressing challenges in materials research. 

“The interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation have been remarkable,” Xu said. “In IRG2, the ability to integrate fundamental materials science with cutting-edge technologies, like machine learning, advanced simulations, thin-film sputtering, nano-mechanical testing, and characterization techniques using X-rays or neutrons has been truly impressive.” 

Sputtering lab

Page’s focus on compositionally complex alloys and ceramics and their interfaces will be “really important to accelerate exploration and what is essentially an unlimited design space.” 

“It’s definitely something you cannot do without a large team,” Page said. “I think that is what most excites me, is to really be working in a field that requires so many different types of experts. I think that it is an incredibly enriching project for early-career folks to be a part of, and that includes faculty.”  

Xu is proud to be a part of MRSEC, calling the work “critically important” because of the broad implications across many industries. 

By advancing our understanding of materials under extreme environments, MRSEC helps drive innovation in sectors like energy, aerospace, and national defense,” Xu said. “This research paves the way for the development of new structural materials with enhanced properties—critical for applications such as turbine blades in engines, hypersonic technologies, and nuclear energy systems.” 

Katherine Page and students work in IAMM.

Community Outreach

Along with the research in the lab, the UT students have been engaging with the community through events coordinated by Corey Hodge, the center’s education, diversity, outreach, and recruitment coordinator, and Amber Lynn White, the center’s project manager. Groups have visited local schools to conduct STEM lessons and activities.  

“We’re kind of igniting a passion in the next generation,” Page said. “Our own students are learning that it’s rewarding to grow a footprint of materials and how technology is important to society. Even if people don’t go in that career direction, because of this interaction, they have a little bit more exposure and understanding to how technology is so integral to the state of humanity and in the future of our lives.” 

Contact

Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)