Funding the frontiers of materials science

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Dec 22, 2010

When it comes to funding dollars, the National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research (DMR) is one of America's most important backers of materials science.

Next year, this government agency will allocate close to $320 million on a wide-ranging programme of advanced materials research and technology innovation.

In this exclusive physicsworld.com video interview, Ian Robertson, the DMR's incoming director, talks about growth areas – nanoelectronics, photovoltaics and data-enabled science among others – and what the agency is doing to encourage high-risk, high-payoff interdisciplinary research.

As for the "next big thing", Robertson doesn't have a crystal ball, but he does predict a pivotal role for computational materials science and simulation in areas like synthesis, processing and the modelling of next-generation materials.

"My feeling is that it is not going to impact one area of materials science, but the entire field," says Robertson, who is also a Donald B Willett professor of engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

This interview forms part of a series filmed at the Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting in Boston. See also "Living in a material world".

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Advent Research Materials Ltd

We are an Oxford-based company which provides a fast, efficient and friendly catalogue mail order service selling metals, alloys and polymers in small quantities, for research development and industry. Aluminium to Zirconium.

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A 'Special Orders' service is available for those items not listed in the catalogue.

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Advent provides a fast, friendly & efficient catalogue mail order service for metals and alloys in small quantities for research, development and industry.

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View the original article here

Advent Research Materials Ltd

We are suppliers of metals and alloys, Aluminium to Zirconium. We offer same day despatch and competitive pricing, online pricing and ordering.

Advent provides a fast, friendly & efficient catalogue mail order service for metals and alloys in small quantities for research, development and industry.

A 'Special Orders' service is available for those items not listed in the catalogue.

Order online at www.advent-rm.com

Free printed catalogue, 800 stock lines, 4500 standard packs, 31 metals and alloys, low, medium and high purities are available from 99.0% - 99.999%.

Forms Available:
Foil, Sheet, Plate, Wire, Insulated Wire, Wire - straight cut lengths, Woven wire mesh, Rod, Tube, Pellet, Lump, Ingot, Polymers.

View the original article here

Topical Research Meetings on Physics: Graphene and Related Two-Dimensonal Materials

The Institute of Physics is launching a new conference series entitled "Topical Research Meetings on Physics". The opening meeting of the series will focus on "Graphene and Related Two-Dimensional Materials". The meeting will focus on the physics and applications of graphene and related materials, and will consist of approximately ten invited talks from international research leaders, plus some shorter papers and posters on late-breaking news. There will be ample time for lively and interactive discussions. The following have already agreed to speak at the meeting:
Professor P Avouris (IBM Yorktown Heights)
A K Geim (University of Manchester)
Byung Hee Hong (Sungkyunkwan University, Korea)
P Kim (Columbia University, USA)

View the original article here