Signature Topics in Materials Research

What is Materials Science?
It's about designing a better world.
Soft Matter and Biomaterials
Ongoing interests include the molecular design of soft materials, nanomaterials, immune-active materials, scaffolds for tissue engineering, and basic investigations into the complex mechanisms by which materials engage biology.
Computational Materials Science
Accelerating the discovery of new materials by creating computational models based upon the theories of molecular dynamics or quantum mechanics—enabling the prediction and modification of fundamental materials properties.
Metamaterials
Duke is home to a globally-recognized group of researchers dedicated to the exploration of artificially structured materials and their potential impact across a broad range of technologies.
Energy Materials
Our approach to the development of energy materials solutions is to couple basic chemistry and materials design into high-performance prototypes of new devices and applications.
Electronic, Photonic and Quantum Materials
A research area that has the potential to address many of the grand challenges currently facing society, including better diagnostic tools, creating better chemical and gas sensors, and other novel electronic and photonic technologies.