NSF Funds Major Center at UC San Diego to Make New Quantum Materials Published Date Story by: Topics covered: Share This: Article Content Key Takeaways - The new center links fundamental and applied materials science research with education and workforce development - The center's focus on quantum materials could benefit low-power computing, data encryption, secure communications, medical diagnostics, sensors, stealth materials and high-performance electronics - The new center at UC San Diego brings together the Jacobs School of Engineering and School Physical Sciences for maximum relevance in a series of industrial priority areas for the nation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded University of California San Diego researchers a six-year $18M grant to fund a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) focused on making new kinds of quantum materials. Quantum materials show promise for a broad range of national priorities including low-power computing, data encryption, secure communications, medical diagnostics, sensors, stealth materials and high-performance electronics. The U.S National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers provide the resources and interdisciplinary environment needed for materials research activities of ambitious scope and complexity, and are transformative for the schools that earn them. Supported by the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the centers produce innovations that create a scientific foundation for future technologies that enhance the U.S. economy, strengthen national security and improve quality of life. At UC San Diego, the MRSEC is a joint initiative between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the School of Physical Sciences. This new grant brings together physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers to collaborate on quantum materials, which are materials that derive their properties from quantum mechanical interactions between atoms, molecules and larger structures. "This MRSEC grant is a powerful confirmation that UC San Diego stands at the very forefront