1 Title	University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)
2 Website	No web site as on 1/5/06
3 Description	The National Science Foundation has awarded a six-year, $7.5-million grant to establish a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Yale University and Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), with participation by Brookhaven National Laboratory of Upton, New York. The initial scientific focus of the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP) is the surfaces of oxide materials and the “interface” where an oxide material joins together with another material. Oxides are the most commonly occurring materials on Earth; some common examples include sand (silicon oxide) and rust (iron oxide). More exotic oxides that will be studied by CRISP include high temperature superconductors and ferromagnets. “Our MRSEC research will discover new kinds of electronic, magnetic and chemical behavior, and new ways to control and utilize them,” said Charles Ahn, the Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) Leader. Atoms in the layers at the edge of an oxide material can behave very differently from those within the interior of the material. CRISP investigators will study this region with microscopy that can distinguish differences at the atomic level. They will apply a novel electric field technique to alter properties at the interface and then explore possible applications, including new electronic devices and chemical sensors
4 Comments
5 Date	1/5/06
6 Reviewer	John M. Rusin