NSF Awards Materials Teams And Centers

NSF announced that it plans to invest some $150 million in 12 teams and centers as part of its Materials Research Science & Engineering Centers program. The largest portion of that investment—$144.9 million over six years—will support three new Centers of Excellence in Materials Research & Innovation and six existing centers that have been renewed. Three new Materials Interdisciplinary Research Teams will also receive a total of $9 million over three years. “These multidisciplinary awards will especially promote areas such as next-generation electronics and photonics and bio- and soft materials,” Janice Hicks, deputy director of NSF’s Division of Materials Research, said in a statement. As part of the requirements for the centers, participants must come from different disciplines and must include an international collaboration. Participants may be from industry. “We are especially excited about the collaborations internationally and with industry that will give the students and postdocs in the centers experiences valuable to their lives as scientists and engineers,” Hicks said.