MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Spectrometers are devices that distinguish different wavelengths of light and are used to determine the chemical composition of everything from laboratory materials to distant stars. Professor JJ Hu works on advancing technology that makes it possible to produce tiny spectrometers that are accurate and powerful, but can be mass-produced easily.    READ MORE

What’s New

Colorful blocks representing a study that describes how the tiniest grains that form most metals form

Researchers unveil a secret of stronger metals

Study shows what happens when crystalline grains in metals reform at nanometer scales, improving metal properties. 

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A philanthropist and founder of the K. Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center at MIT stands with Polina Anikeeva, a professor at MIT.

New research center focused on brain-body relationship

K. Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center to investigate the brain’s complex relationship with other body systems.

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2020 and 2021 MIT alumni pose at a celebration on campus in 2022.

2020 and 2021 DMSE grads return for ceremony and celebration

Their commencement exercises forced online because of the pandemic, alumni join their peers at MIT for in-person festivities. 

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MIT professor Donald Sadoway holds a box in a warehouse.

Sadoway wins European Inventor Award for liquid metal batteries

Work could enable long-term storage of renewable energy.

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Two MIT student work the bellows on a smelting furnace built in an ancient African style.

Ancient African smelting technique sparks anew at MIT

Building and working a clay-and-grass furnace, teachers and students learn more than how to turn ore into metal. 

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Dots on a matrix illustrating the new research on atomic-scale damage in nuclear reactors

A better way to quantify radiation damage in materials

More complete than existing methods, the new approach might enable longer operational lifetimes for nuclear reactors.

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Buds in front of MIT's Great Dome

Materials science and engineering: Areas of impact

Materials research affects nearly every aspect of human life. In DMSE, researchers are working towards a cleaner environment, safer cars, faster communications, and more.

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Spotlight

An analog deep learning processor powered by ultra-fast protonics

Analog deep learning

Engineers have found a way to propel protons through solids at unprecedented speeds.

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MIT facilities manager points to a computer monitor.

MIT's materials research facilities

Some 30 sophisticated tools and six research specialists support a variety of experiments across 16 departments.

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