****Technical Abstract**** This project provides partial support for the National Research Council's (NRC) Condensed Matter and Materials Research Committee (CMMRC). The CMMRC is a multidisciplinary group with membership drawn from universities, industry, and government laboratories. The areas of expertise represented on the committee are intended to cover the breadth of the condensed matter and materials research fields. Nominees for committee membership have been and will continue to be selected on the basis of demonstrated intellectual leadership in these areas and thoughtful consideration of cross-cutting issues. The operating guidelines of CMMRC include the following objectives: (1) to respond to requests for technical information and assistance, both from within the National Academies and from outside federal research agencies; (2) to initiate and oversee ad hoc studies in these fields and their multidisciplinary connections to other fields of science and technology; (3) to serve as long-term stewards for studies initiated under CMMRC's direction; (4) to act as an educational resource for the condensed matter and materials research communities and the agencies that support them; and (5) to provide a forum for discussion among condensed matter and materials scientists and Washington D.C. policymakers. To carry out those objectives, CMMRC meets on an annual basis and between those meetings, conducts its business through telephone conferences.
CMMRC's impact goes beyond the confines of the condensed matter and materials research communities. First, these activities engage a group of leading scientists from across the subfields of condensed matter and materials science in joint deliberations and provide a learning environment for that body regarding the public-policy process for science and the position of those fields in the broader context of the physical sciences. Second, CMMRC activities lead to an improved understanding of condensed matter and materials science by the broader scientific and policy-making communities. By holding workshops and town hall meetings, and initiating studies, CMMRC will continue to educate researchers, policy makers, and the general public about advances in condensed matter and materials science and their beneficial impact in other fields of science and technology and for society, in general.
