New MRSEC at the University of Utah

On September 8, 2011, the NSF awarded the University of Utah a new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) in: Next-Generation Materials for Plasmonics and Spintronics.

The University of Utah MRSEC will foster interdisciplinary research on new materials in two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) entitled "Plasmonic Metamaterials from the Terahertz to the Ultraviolet" and "Organic Spintronics."

IRG-1 will focus on exploiting the properties of artificially structured materials (metamaterials).

IRG-2 will advance our understanding of the role of spin interactions in organic materials and develop a range of different spin-related organic devices.

The MRSEC's Education, Outreach, and Diversity Group (EODG) will focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and outreach, including:

  • Training the next generation of scientists and engineers,
  • Creating curiosity and excitement in science and engineering among youth, and
  • Attracting the brightest students from diverse segments of the population.