News: Research | MIT DMSE

MIT’s National Science Foundation grant will advance “socioresilient materials design”

March 15, 2023

DMSE-led effort aims to redirect materials research and development toward more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable materials.

Toward new, computationally designed cybersteels

February 4, 2023

With a grant from the Office of Naval Research, MIT researchers aim to design novel high-performance steels, with potential applications including printed aircraft components and ship hulls.

Engineers invent vertical, full-color microscopic LEDs

February 1, 2023

Stacking light-emitting diodes instead of placing them side by side could enable fully immersive virtual reality displays and higher-resolution digital screens.

“Spleen-on-a-chip” yields insight into sickle cell disease

January 31, 2023

With this microfluidic device, researchers modeled how sickled blood cells clog the spleen’s filters, leading to a potentially life-threatening condition.

MIT engineers grow “perfect” atom-thin materials on industrial silicon wafers

January 18, 2023

Their technique could allow chip manufacturers to produce next-generation transistors based on materials other than silicon.

School of Engineering unveils MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence

December 16, 2022

With the selection of 16 inaugural postdocs, the program seeks to develop the next generation of faculty leaders and help guide the school toward a more diverse and inclusive culture.

Engineers solve a mystery on the path to smaller, lighter batteries

November 18, 2022

Branchlike metallic filaments can sap the power of solid-state lithium batteries. A new study explains how they form and how to divert them.

MADMEC winner identifies sustainable greenhouse-cooling materials

October 13, 2022

Prizes in the materials science competition also went to a waste-monitoring device and a nanofiber-based yarn.

Engineers develop a new kind of shape-memory material

October 5, 2022

The ceramic-based material could be used for highly efficient actuators for aircraft or other uses, with minimal moving parts.

Producing renewable energy that communities want

September 21, 2022

New position paper calls for getting stakeholders involved in wind power projects from the start.

MADMEC semifinals: Greenhouses, garbage, and garments

September 21, 2022

Teams present projects to make in-door gardening energy-efficient, waste streams functional, and clothes biodegradable.

Passive cooling system could benefit off-grid locations

September 20, 2022

Relying on evaporation and radiation — but not electricity — the system could keep food fresh longer or supplement air conditioning in buildings.

A new concept for low-cost batteries

August 24, 2022

Made from inexpensive, abundant materials, an aluminum-sulfur battery could provide low-cost backup storage for renewable energy sources.

Team IDs simple way to increase lifetimes of fuel cells

August 23, 2022

Devices made of solid-metal oxides are promising because they’re low-cost and efficient. But they degrade over time. Now, work by Harry Tuller’s lab solves that decades-old problem.

Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin”

August 19, 2022

The device senses and wirelessly transmits signals related to pulse, sweat, and ultraviolet exposure, without bulky chips or batteries.

MIT team reports giant response of semiconductors to light

August 16, 2022

Materials’ stiffness increases up to 40 percent in reversible effect, the researchers report in a study that also explains the phenomenon's atomic origins.

New hardware offers faster computation for artificial intelligence, with much less energy

July 28, 2022

Engineers working on “analog deep learning” have found a way to propel protons through solids at unprecedented speeds.

A peek behind the curtain: The MIT facilities key to the world’s best materials research

July 12, 2022

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

New research center focused on brain-body relationship established at MIT

May 25, 2022

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

Researchers unveil a secret of stronger metals

May 20, 2022

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

Is it neuroscience? Chemistry? Art? Wulff Lecture shows versatility, diversity in materials science

May 13, 2022

Professor Polina Anikeeva’s innovation in the treatment of neurological disorders highlights the interdisciplinary nature of her field.

Ultrathin fuel cell uses the body’s own sugar to generate electricity

May 12, 2022

Engineers have developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors.

Team creates map for production of eco-friendly metals

May 2, 2022

Work by MIT and SLAC researchers could become important design tool for others.

Flexible fiber battery

January 4, 2022

The rechargeable battery can be woven and washed, and could provide power for fiber-based electronic devices and sensors.

Engineers report a major advance in creating a new family of semiconductor materials

November 5, 2021

Ultrastable and made of inexpensive, nontoxic elements, chalcogenide perovskites could find applications in solar cells, lighting, and more.