The UC San Diego Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) is a major research center focused on research and education in materials science.  One of 20 MRSECs funded by the National Science Foundation, the UC San Diego MRSEC encompasses two major research themes on quantum materials, which are materials that derive their properties from quantum mechanical interactions between atoms, molecules and larger structures. The research themes, organized into Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs), stem from two areas of historical strength on campus: metamaterials and two-dimensional superlattices. 

IRG1: Quantum Metamaterials focuses on the development of quantum metamaterials, which are materials that are engineered at the nanometer scale to exhibit unique optical properties that do not exist in nature. 

IRG2: Chemically Tailored Superlattices focuses on developing new ways to control the properties of electrons in sheet-like materials that are only a few atoms thick — so thin that they only allow electrons to move through them in uniquely ordered ways.

At UC San Diego, the MRSEC is a joint initiative between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the School of Physical Sciences. This new grant brings together physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers to collaborate on quantum materials. It also engages partners from industry, and national laboratories. These interactions are enabled by immersive educational and training experiences, and they harness a strategic partnership with San Diego’s Fleet Science Center for community education and outreach to benefit a broad cross-section of society.