The Building Blocks of the Future

December 16, 2015

UCSB engineers receive their sixth DMREF grant from the National Science Foundation to research and develop advanced materials.

Better, more efficient batteries and photovoltaics. High-performance materials that withstand extreme temperatures and conditions. High-tech devices that require only minimal amounts of energy. There seems to be no limit to the technology we can imagine to solve global problems, improve life in developing countries or enhance our day-to-day activities.

To realize that vision for the future, UC Santa Barbara materials scientists are working hard today. With more than $6 million from the National Science Foundation in the form of DMREF (Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future) grants, UCSB researchers are collaborating with research and industry partners to develop not only next-generation materials, but also the design and manufacturing systems that surround them.

In the latest round of funding, UCSB materials professor and department chair Tresa Pollock, along with professors Anton Van der Ven, Matthew Begley, Linda Petzold and Frederic Gibou, will continue ongoing research into the design and synthesis of complex multicomponent, multilayered high-temperature materials that could lead to the development of higher-performance aircraft engines and higher-efficiency natural gas-based power plants.

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