$18M NSF Grant Funds UC San Diego Quantum Materials Center

University of California San Diego researchers will develop new quantum materials with an $18 million grant from the National Science Foundation, funding a six-year Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. The new center unites the Jacobs School of Engineering and the School of Physical Sciences, focusing research on materials with potential applications ranging from stealth technology to high-performance electronics. The center aims to benefit industrial areas of focus and train a new generation of scientists and engineers.

This work expands on research conducted during a previous six-year $18 million MRSEC grant, which utilized a bottom-up, self-assembly approach for nanomaterials and polymers. The MRSEC team is composed of 17 UC San Diego faculty members and includes one faculty member from UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara.

UC San Diego Receives $18M NSF MRSEC Grant for Quantum Materials

This substantial investment underscores the growing national interest in materials capable of revolutionizing technologies ranging from computing to national security, and signals UC San Diego’s prominence in the field. Beyond basic research, the MRSEC’s focus is explicitly aligned with national industrial priority areas, including applications in stealth materials, high-performance electronics, and secure communications. This strategic alignment reflects a deliberate effort to translate fundamental scientific breakthroughs into tangible benefits for the economy and national defense.

The center builds upon a previously awarded six-year $18 million MRSEC grant received in 2020, also led by Sailor, demonstrating a sustained commitment to interdisciplinary materials science. “This is exactly the kind of bold, cross-disciplinary collaboration that defines who we are — bringing together physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers to tackle the most consequential scientific challenges of our time,” said Sailor. The new MRSEC will concentrate on two primary research themes: quantum metamaterials and chemically tailored two-dimensional superlattices.

Researchers working on quantum metamaterials aim to engineer materials at the nanoscale, leveraging quantum mechanical effects to create unique optical properties. This approach seeks to overcome limitations in traditional manufacturing, potentially enabling the development of materials for future AI infrastructure and optical computing.

Simultaneously, the superlattice research team will focus on controlling electron behavior within ultra-thin, two-dimensional materials, with implications for next-generation electronics. Leading this undertaking are Michael Sailor, professor, and Andrea Tao, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering, who will serve as co-leaders of the MRSEC. “Our MRSEC capitalizes on some great strengths at UC San Diego — our leadership in metamaterials and quantum science, our position as a national resource in high-performance computing, our collaborative culture, and our focus on training the innovation workforce of tomorrow,” said Sailor.

Quantum Metamaterials Enable Next-Generation Optical Computing

The pursuit of faster, more efficient computing has driven materials scientists toward increasingly intricate designs at the nanoscale. Current silicon-based technology faces inherent limitations in speed and energy consumption, prompting exploration of alternative materials and architectures. Quantum metamaterials, artificially engineered structures exhibiting properties not found in nature, are emerging as a promising pathway toward overcoming these constraints and enabling a new generation of optical computing systems.

This new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) focuses on developing quantum metamaterials, designed to circumvent the precision limitations of traditional manufacturing techniques. Researchers aim to harness quantum mechanical effects to create materials with unique optical properties, potentially supporting future artificial intelligence infrastructure and fundamentally altering how computations are performed.

The team, co-led by Zhaowei Liu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Richard Averitt, a professor of physics, recognizes the need for diverse expertise to realize this vision. Liu’s research centers on engineering light at the nanoscale, while Averitt utilizes ultrafast optical spectroscopy to probe and control the fundamental properties of quantum materials. The collaborative spirit extends beyond these principal investigators; the team intentionally assembled experts in nanomaterials, condensed matter physics, optical engineering, and quantum theory.

Researchers are particularly focused on achieving a level of precision previously unattainable. By leveraging self-assembly techniques, they hope to create structures with tailored optical responses, effectively manipulating light at the nanoscale. This approach is not merely about miniaturization, but about fundamentally changing the way information is processed.

Chemically Tailored Two-Dimensional Superlattices Control Electron Behavior

This precise control over electron behavior promises to dramatically alter material properties and open doors to novel device designs. The Chemically Tailored Superlattices research team, co-led by Joshua Figueroa, a professor of chemistry, and Monica Allen, a professor of physics, aims to engineer these materials at the atomic level. Figueroa’s work centers on utilizing sterically tailored m-terphenyl isocyanide-metal complexes as molecular building blocks, allowing for the bottom-up design of functional materials with tailored electronic properties.

Allen, meanwhile, develops low-temperature microwave imaging techniques to visualize and manipulate electronic states within quantum materials like topological insulators and superconductors, ultimately seeking to harness these materials for quantum technologies. To achieve their ambitious goals, Figueroa and Allen intentionally assembled a team encompassing inorganic chemistry, theory, nanoengineering, condensed matter physics, and materials characterization expertise.

The significance of this approach lies in its ability to move beyond simply shrinking existing electronic components. By controlling the order imposed on electrons within these two-dimensional superlattice structures, researchers anticipate profound impacts on electron behavior and exciting implications for future electronics.

The team’s work builds on the approach used in a previously awarded MRSEC grant, which focused on nanomaterials and polymers. “The fact that UC San Diego has such a deep bench in materials science gave us a great boost going into the competition, because we had a really wide range of experts with exciting research themes to choose from when we assembled the new team,” said Michael Sailor, the center’s director.

Sailor further emphasized the lessons learned from the previous grant cycle, stating, “What excites me most about this second MRSEC is what we get to build on. The first center taught us how to weave together disciplines that don’t normally talk to each other — chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, computation — and how powerful that can be.” He believes this interdisciplinary approach is crucial for tackling the complex challenges inherent in quantum materials research, adding, “Now we get to bring that same approach to quantum materials, which is one of the most scientifically rich and practically important frontiers in all of materials science.”

This isn’t UC San Diego’s first foray into large-scale, interdisciplinary materials research. The university was awarded its initial MRSEC grant in 2020, a six-year $18 million grant that proved invaluable in shaping the current center’s structure and approach. Complementing this work is the Chemically Tailored Superlattices team led by Joshua Figueroa and Monica Allen. This collaborative spirit, combined with a focus on national priorities, positions UC San Diego as a key driver of innovation in the rapidly evolving field of quantum materials.

National Science Foundation Supports Materials Research & Workforce Development

The pursuit of novel materials often conjures images of solitary researchers, but increasingly, breakthroughs demand a different approach. This isn’t a random pursuit; the NSF’s MRSEC program is intensely competitive, open to all U.S. institutions of higher education, and expects centers to evolve their research focus toward areas of national importance. UC San Diego’s successful re-competition for funding demonstrates the strength of its existing infrastructure and collaborative culture.

The MRSEC team is composed of 17 UC San Diego faculty members and includes one faculty member from UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara, led by Michael Sailor and Andrea Tao. This emphasis on workforce development is crucial; the center isn’t just about creating new materials, but also about training the next generation of scientists and engineers to lead in this rapidly evolving field.

The Quantum Metamaterials group, co-led by Zhaowei Liu and Richard Averitt, is using a bottom-up, self-assembly approach to overcome limitations in traditional manufacturing, aiming for materials with switching times orders of magnitude faster than conventional electronics. This collaborative spirit, honed during the previous six-year $18 million MRSEC grant, is central to the center’s success.