Illinois Materials Research Laboratory

05/29/2026

🔬 What's the right material for building a quantum computer? A quantum sensor? The quantum internet?

The answer depends on the job. Now, thanks to Illinois MatSE Assistant Professor Chris Anderson, researchers have a new tool to figure it out: a "periodic table of quantum coherence."

Anderson's research on optically active spin qubits, tiny quantum bits that interact with light, has just landed the cover of MRS Bulletin, the flagship journal of the Materials Research Society. His work maps the full landscape of materials that can host these qubits and introduces guidelines for designing better ones from scratch, including this new periodic table that tells engineers which elements to choose and which to avoid when building robust quantum systems.

It's the kind of foundational work that could shape quantum technology for decades to come.

⬇️ Read more about Anderson's research through the comment below. ⬇️

05/26/2026

🚀 Illinois is working toward a future where we don't just launch structures into space, we build them there.

The Grainger College of Engineering's DARPA-funded NOM4D program, led by Prof. Sameh Tawfick, will send a manufacturing system to the International Space Station this year to produce a carbon fiber structural component on orbit using a self-sustaining chemical process that needs no external power. If it works, it'll be the first true in-space composite manufacturing demonstration in history.

Behind that effort is SpaceMaRS, a center bringing together eight Grainger faculty to develop the materials, structures, and testing infrastructure that in-space manufacturing will ultimately require.

"We believe that Grainger Engineering is uniquely positioned to become the leader of space manufacturing." — Prof. Sameh Tawfick

⬇️Read more on this initiative in the comment below⬇️

05/21/2026

🔭 Calling all puzzle-solvers, science lovers, and anyone who wants to save the planet!

LabEscape's brand-new escape room mission, "Dark Matter Disaster," is now open to the public at the Digital Computer Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign!

Your mission: a rogue asteroid is headed for Earth, knocked loose by a primordial black hole. Use quantum sensing and computing to measure it, map it, and blow it to pieces. The puzzles are challenging, the science is real, and no physics background is needed.

Created by Prof. Paul Kwiat and his students, LabEscape has been captivating and educating audiences for years. This mission is their most ambitious yet.

⬇️Book your experience and learn more in the comment below⬇️

05/20/2026

🧩 LabEscape, the world's first quantum-themed, science-based escape room, received a $2.5 million gift from Wei-Hwa Huang, one of the most accomplished competitive puzzlers in the world (four-time World Puzzle Championship winner, to be exact).

Huang visited LabEscape in 2025 and was struck by how it used genuine scientific innovation in every puzzle, not just as a gimmick, but as the whole point. His gift will fund a brand-new LabEscape location in Chicago and allow the program, led by Illinois Physics Professor Paul Kwiat, to reach far more students and communities.

⬇️Read the full story through the link below⬇️

05/12/2026

🎉 We are thrilled to congratulate Prof. Vidya Madhavan on her election to the National Academy of Sciences!

A professor and the Head of the Department of Physics at Illinois, Prof. Madhavan is one of the world's leading researchers in quantum materials, using cutting-edge microscopy techniques to probe the properties of systems like topological superconductors and charge-density wave materials.

NAS membership is one of the highest honors in science, awarded by peers for outstanding contributions to original research. We are so proud to have Prof. Madhavan as part of our community.

⬇️Read the full story through the comment below⬇️

05/11/2026

🎨⚛️ What happens when a physicist is also a playwright, a storyteller, and a community builder?

In Professor Smitha Vishveshwara's case, you get three major awards in a single year.

Prof. Vishveshwara of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been recognized with the AIP Andrew Gemant Award, the APS Five Sigma Physicist Award, and the UIUC Excellence in Public Engagement Award for her extraordinary work bringing physics and art together for public audiences. She was also celebrated as a guest of honor at one of the world's most prestigious physics conferences at Rutgers University.

Her productions, including Quantum Illuminations performed in Chicago in April, have inspired audiences across the country and redefined what it means to share science with the world.

Illinois Physics Professor Smitha Vishveshwara's science-art-engineering public engagement was recognized by AIP, APS, and U. of I. awards—her scientific achievements were celebrated at a Rutgers’ Statistical Mechanics Conference.

04/08/2026

🔬 A first for the field! Illinois Grainger engineers have created the first artificially generated charged domain wall in a 2D ferroelectric material. The implications for future computing technology are exciting. Think of it as a new kind of wire, one that could eventually be used in brain-inspired computing devices.

"We've essentially opened up an entire new class of ferroelectric material interfaces that never existed before," van der Zande said.
Read the full story: https://matse.illinois.edu/news/81578

04/07/2026

🧪 Science is better when it's shared, and we've been sharing it all year.

Last winter, MRSEC visited Franklin Middle School week after week to lead hands-on materials science activities with students. Then in March, those students came to us for an MRL Field Trip Day on campus: a chance to see where real research happens.

Now it's your turn! 🎉

Engineering Open House is this Friday and Saturday, April 10–11, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and both MRL and MRSEC will have booths. Come explore the science of materials with our researchers through hands-on activities for all ages. No background in science required, just bring your curiosity!
EOH is the nation's largest student-run STEM fair. This year's theme? Forging the Future. 🛠️
🌐 Find out more: https://www.eohillinois.org/

02/19/2026

Metal alloys crack and fail through a mechanism called “fatigue” when repeatedly loaded and strained. This is both a problem and safety hazard for areas such as transportation, energy, and more.

Researchers led by assistant professor Jean-Charles Stinville demonstrated that fatigue resistance can be greatly enhanced by controlling how metal plasticity, or irreversible deformation, localizes at small scales. The research represents a new design strategy for engineering metallic alloys that are resistant to fatigue.

02/10/2026

Solid-state batteries store more energy, charge faster, and last longer than standard cells. They could eventually revolutionize the EV market, but one company claims the technology is already here and will be on city streets in a matter of months. Researchers, including MRL's Paul Braun, have their doubts.

New batteries in electric vehicles could store more energy, charge faster and last longer, while lowering fire risk

02/09/2026

If you or someone you know is looking to do undergraduate research this summer, here's an opportunity! Applications are due February 15th.