The Harvard MRSEC focuses on highly collaborative multidisciplinary research with participants drawn from five departments across the university. The overarching goal of the Center is to perform transformative research that significantly advances the state of knowledge in several areas of soft matter science, and to educate the next generation of leaders in materials science and engineering. The MRSEC has three interdisciplinary groups focused on very large deformations in soft materials, creating new materials for 3D printing and creating novel forms of soft machines. An essential contribution of the Center is to increase diversity of participants in its science at all levels, from undergraduate through graduate and postdoctoral to faculty. The Harvard MRSEC also sponsors a robust suite of activities to share the excitement of its science with the broader scientific community, and with the public at large. By combining soft matter science with cooking the Center elicits exhilaration through a public lecture series that combines science with talks by famous chefs; these are also posted online where there is an avid following, with the videos already attracting over 1.5M hits. The MRSEC is also developing special initiatives to bring returning veterans into STEM fields. By pooling resources for shared experimental facilities, the MRSEC supports a more extensive research effort. The resultant teamwork enables the Center to address problems that are larger in scale, and to produce results that are truly transformative. The MRSEC sets a standard of excellence for highly collaborative, multidisciplinary research.
The Harvard MRSEC supports highly collaborative, interdisciplinary research in several areas of soft matter science. These include investigations of the properties of soft materials subjected to very large deformations; development of fundamental knowledge essential to create and rapidly transform diverse classes of soft materials into 3D functional architectures; and development of the science of soft, non-linear unstable elastomeric materials and the use of these material instabilities to develop devices with high-value performance at lower cost. The Center also supports seed projects to enable rapid response to new developments; currently it supports an effort in developing tough fabrics to elicit interest among returning veterans, a group targeted by the MRSEC to help integrate into STEM careers. The MRSEC establishes a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy through industrial partnerships and formation of numerous start-up companies, creating more than 350 new high-tech jobs based directly on NSF support. Graduates of the Harvard MRSEC continue to be leaders in materials science and engineering, both nationally and internationally.
