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2614708

Cooperative Agreement

Overview

Grant Description
CENTER: ATOMICALLY ENGINEERED MATERIALS (ATEM) CENTER -NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ATOMICALLY ENGINEERED MATERIALS (ATEM) CENTER, A MATERIALS RESEARCH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CENTER (MRSEC) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN, ADVANCES THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF NOVEL MATERIALS WITH EXCEPTIONAL CONTROL AT THE ATOMIC SCALE. BY ESTABLISHING HOW ATOMIC-SCALE STRUCTURE GOVERNS MATERIAL PROPERTIES, ATEM ENABLES NEW PATHWAYS TOWARD NEXT-GENERATION ELECTRONICS, COMPUTING, SENSING, AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES. ATEM BRINGS TOGETHER RESEARCHERS FROM PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, ENGINEERING, AND MATERIALS SCIENCE IN TWO INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH GROUPS (IRGS). IRG 1 STUDIES HOW CAREFULLY DESIGNED AND PRECISELY TWISTED STACKS OF ULTRATHIN MATERIALS CREATE NEW ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC BEHAVIORS THAT DO NOT EXIST IN THE INDIVIDUAL LAYERS. BY CONTROLLING ATOMIC INTERFACES, DEFECTS, AND MAGNETIC ORDER, RESEARCHERS AIM TO DEVELOP MATERIALS FOR FASTER, MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT, BRAIN-INSPIRED COMPUTING SYSTEMS, AND SPIN-BASED ELECTRONIC DEVICES. IRG 2 DEVELOPS A NEW FAMILY OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL MATERIALS KNOWN AS MXENES WITH TAILORED OPTICAL, ELECTRICAL, AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES. BY MODIFYING THEIR CHEMISTRY AND ATOMIC STRUCTURE, RESEARCHERS CREATE FLEXIBLE MATERIALS FOR ADVANCED ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDING, TUNABLE OPTICAL DEVICES, ADAPTIVE ELECTRONICS, AND LIGHTWEIGHT MULTIFUNCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES. ATEM COMBINES ADVANCED MATERIALS SYNTHESIS, NANOFABRICATION, ATOMIC-SCALE CHARACTERIZATION, THEORY, COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, AND MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS TO ESTABLISH PREDICTIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES. THESE EFFORTS ARE SUPPORTED BY WORLD-CLASS INSTRUMENTATION AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH NATIONAL LABORATORIES. ATEM EDUCATES AND TRAINS THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS. STUDENTS GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WITH ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION AND AUGMENTED REALITY TOOLS THAT MAKE COMPLEX CONCEPTS MORE ACCESSIBLE WHILE STRENGTHENING WORKFORCE READINESS. THROUGH ITS INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION MISSION, ATEM ADVANCES U.S. LEADERSHIP IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AND ACCELERATES TECHNOLOGIES THAT ADDRESS IMPORTANT NATIONAL NEEDS. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ATOMICALLY ENGINEERED MATERIALS (ATEM) CENTER, A MATERIALS RESEARCH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CENTER (MRSEC) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN, ADVANCES THE SYNTHESIS AND ATOMIC-SCALE ENGINEERING OF NOVEL MATERIALS AND HETEROSTRUCTURES TO ESTABLISH STRUCTURE?PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS AND TRANSLATE FUNDAMENTAL DISCOVERIES INTO TRANSFORMATIVE ELECTRONIC, SPINTRONIC, PHOTONIC, AND QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES. ATEM INTEGRATES SYNTHESIS, THEORY, COMPUTATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND NANOFABRICATION THROUGH TWO INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH GROUPS (IRGS). IRG 1, QUANTUM AND TOPOLOGICAL STATES AT FERROIC INTERFACES, INVESTIGATES EMERGENT QUANTUM PHENOMENA IN ENGINEERED OXIDE AND VAN DER WAALS HETEROSTRUCTURES. RESEARCH FOCUSES ON DESIGNING FERROIC AND MULTIFERROIC INTERFACES, ENGINEERING TOPOLOGICAL SPIN TEXTURES AND TUNABLE ALTERMAGNETIC STATES, AND CONTROLLING DEFECTS AND POLAR PHASE BOUNDARIES TO ESTABLISH STRUCTURE?PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS THAT ENABLE EMERGENT FUNCTIONALITIES FOR PROGRAMMABLE MEMRISTIVE DEVICES, NEUROMORPHIC COMPUTING, LOGIC-IN-MEMORY ARCHITECTURES, AND SCALABLE SPINTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES. IRG 2, TUNABLE OPTOELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MXENES AND THEIR HETEROSTRUCTURES, DEVELOPS CHEMICALLY FUNCTIONALIZABLE TWO-DIMENSIONAL TRANSITION-METAL CARBIDES, NITRIDES, AND CARBONITRIDES WITH TUNABLE OPTICAL, ELECTRONIC, AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES. RESEARCH ESTABLISHES A VERSATILE MXENE PLATFORM INTEGRATING NONLINEAR OPTICAL RESPONSE, CHIRALITY, AND MAGNETIC ORDER IN HETEROSTRUCTURES AND COMPOSITES, ENABLING FLEXIBLE AND PRINTABLE ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDING, TUNABLE PHOTONIC DEVICES, AND ADAPTIVE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. BOTH IRGS COMBINE MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY, PULSED LASER AND SPUTTER DEPOSITION, CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS, ADVANCED NANOFABRICATION, AND MULTISCALE CHARACTERIZATION USING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY, SPECTROSCOPY, TRANSPORT MEASUREMENTS, AND QUANTUM SENSING. MACHINE LEARNING, THEORETICAL MODELING, AND SIMULATION ESTABLISH PREDICTIVE STRUCTURE?PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS CONNECTING ATOMIC-SCALE STRUCTURE TO EMERGENT FUNCTIONALITY. THESE EFFORTS LEVERAGE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE NEBRASKA CENTER FOR MATERIALS AND NANOSCIENCE AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH NATIONAL LABORATORIES, INCLUDING ACCESS TO ADVANCED LIGHT SOURCES AND NEUTRON-SCATTERING FACILITIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.
Funding Goals
THE GOAL OF THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, "MATERIALS RESEARCH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CENTERS", IS IDENTIFIED IN THE LINK: HTTPS://WWW.NSF.GOV/PUBLICATIONS/PUB_SUMM.JSP?ODS_KEY=NSF26500
Place of Performance
Lincoln, Nebraska 68503-2427 United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Board Of Regents Of The University Of Nebraska was awarded Advanced Materials Engineering for Next-Generation Technologies Cooperative Agreement 2614708 worth $6,000,000 from Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences in September 2026 with work to be completed primarily in Lincoln Nebraska United States. The grant has a duration of 6 years and was awarded through assistance program 47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers.

Status
(Ongoing)

Last Modified 8/25/26

Period of Performance
9/1/26
Start Date
8/31/32
End Date
0% Complete

Funding Split
$6.0M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$6.0M
Total Obligated
100.0% Federal Funding
0.0% Non-Federal Funding

Activity Timeline

Interactive chart of timeline of amendments to 2614708

Additional Detail

Award ID FAIN
2614708
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Public/State Controlled Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
490307 DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH
Funding Office
490306 MPS MULTIDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES
Awardee UEI
HTQ6K6NJFHA6
Awardee CAGE
4B842
Performance District
NE-01
Senators
Deb Fischer
Modified: 8/25/26