The Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) at Harvard University supports interactive and interdisciplinary materials research in three primary thrust areas. Phase Transitions and Failure Mechanisms: Metals, Ceramics and Superconductors represents a synthesis of core materials science efforts in phase transitions and superconductivity with ongoing collaborative work in micromechanics. Activities in the thrust span a range of materials scales from atoms to grains to polycrystals to composites; the research addresses the relationships between macroscopic properties and microstructural features. The thrust on Thin Films, Interfaces, and Surfaces focuses primarily on the links between chemistry and physics, and deals with the fundamental properties of a wide range of thin-film materials and structures. These include liquid-crystal films, polymerized membranes, self-assembled monolayers, liquid helium films and liquid metal surface morphologies, surface reconstructions, and two-dimensional arrays of Josephson junctions. A newly organized effort on Microelectronic Materials addresses the electronic properties of compound semiconductor heterostructures with graded composition; novel approaches to synthesis and characterization of epitaxial semiconductors and liquid metal mediated crystal growth; and atomic transport semiconductor materials. The Harvard MRL also supports the development, operation and maintenance of major central research facilities including a surface facility operated in collaboration with the MIT MRL. The MRL provides seed funding for new faculty and for high-risk projects in materials research that are related to its overall program. The MRL program currently involves 24 faculty members, 8 postdoctoral research associates, 18 graduate students, 8 undergraduates through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, and 7 other scientific and technical professionals. The Harvard MRL is directed by Professor Henry Ehrenreich. //
