Tackling grand challenges in the materials science of liquids and glasses and non-equilibrium magnetism.
Through our strong outreach partnerships, MRSEC faculty, students and staff bring cutting edge research concepts to the public through research-inspired and tested activities that spark curiosity and exploration, and occasionally a little get messy! Research teams discuss the synthesis, structure, and properties of materials, utilizing hands-on inquiry-based activities to engage the public and K-12 audiences.
The Wisconsin MRSEC launched the Forward Fellows program in 2025 with 10 incoming graduate students from 9 departments. The program promotes students’ sense of self-efficacy in research and belonging at the university, and provides the opportunity for students to join the campus community and immerse themselves in research one month before their program’s official start date. Admitted students who would especially benefit from the experience were nominated by faculty in departments affiliated with the MRSEC.
Wisconsin MRSEC researchers investigated how metal ions of palladium and copper, stabilized in zeolites, rearrange when exposed to high temperatures or reactive environments. They used cutting-edge X-ray characterization to ‘see’ structural changes in real time. Metal ions rearrange when exposed to reactive environments and agglomerate into clusters over time, which no longer work as well. These clusters can be returned active catalysts through controlled high-temperature treatments. These insights inform the design of efficient catalysts for energy applications.
Researchers in the Wisconsin MRSEC have shown that bilayer electron crystals exhibit a variety of magnetic states depending on the distance between the two layers and the number of electrons in each layer. These state include ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic arrangements of electron spins, as well as exotic states like the valence-bond solid and spin-nematic. These results establish bilayer crystals as a promising platform for studying quantum magnetism and provide guidance for experiments characterizing electron solids realized in 2D materials.
Wisconsin MRSEC researchers have demonstrated that strain can dramatically alter the magnetoelastic properties of a two-dimensional material, CrSBr. Magnetoelasticity is the interaction between magnetism and strain. The researchers developed a nanoscale mechanical resonator device to measure the material’s magnetoelastic coupling. Using it, they showed that 2D CrSBr has a particularly large coupling, and that it can be tuned by 50% by stretching the 2D membrane.
Researchers in the Wisconsin MRSEC have developed a nanomechanical resonator device to measure strain in thin membranes. It uses laser interferometry to measure how much the membrane moves when it vibrates, then scans the vibration frequency to find the largest response, called resonance. This new method can measure changes in the membrane size as small as 0.01%.
Wisconsin MRSEC researchers have developed a coarse-graining technique called AniSOAP (for anisotropic smooth overlap of atomic potentials) that gives the beads shapes that reflect the shape of the molecules they represent. This simple idea – carefully implemented to be mathematically rigorous and account for how molecules typically interact – can used for high-accuracy coarse grained simulations or to understand materials behavior that depends on molecular shape or orientation. AniSOAP is also particularly useful for machine learning analysis of molecular behavior using simple, physically-interpretable algorithms, producing new insight for researchers.
Wisconsin MRSEC researchers have developed a new way to see how molecules fit together with an electron microscope. They used the method to see how molecules rearrange when an organic semiconductor is heated. A modest change in temperature creates significantly improved molecular alignment. The improved alignment is reflected in both larger aligned regions and straighter lines of molecules inside each region.
Researchers in Wisconsin MRSEC IRG 2 have developed instrumentation to use light to study magnetism, vibrations, and their couplings in thin crystal membranes as they are pulled and bent. These phenomena cover a range of wavelength from nanometers to millimeters and they respond in as little as 10-15 s (a femtosecond). The instruments developed by IRG 2 cover this entire range of wavelengths and timescales, making them a powerful suite of tools for MRSEC research.
The Wisconsin MRSEC has partnered with the Morgridge Institute for Research to bring scientific outreach to underserved communities. Afterschool programs, especially programs that serve economically disadvantaged students, can face major barriers to bringing students to campus for STEM outreach activities. To increase access, the Morgridge Institute has created Afterschool Expeditions, a program that brings UW-Madison research-inspired STEM outreach to students in their programs instead asking them to come to campus.