Winter 2009

Mehmet Sarikaya explains how a sea shell was instrumental in the development of molecular biomimetics, an exciting new approach to engineering that draws on Mother Nature for inspiration. Intel Research Seattle and three MSE professors team up on organic photovoltaics, a promising technology that may one day help meet the world's growing demand for energy.

Spring 2008

Alex Jen, Guozhong Cao and Christine Luscombe are part of a UW team that won a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to research more cost-effective solar cells. Cao led a team that doubled the efficiency of dye-sentitized solar cells using a "popcorn-ball" design. The Japanese National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) opened an office at the UW.

Autumn 2007

The Micron Laboratory for Combinatorial Materials Exploration opened in Roberts Hall, offering a unique approach to testing materials. Miqin Zhang and her team use nanoparticles to diagnose and treat brain cancer, develop poylmer nanofibers to repair cartilage, and design biosensors for use in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Spring 2006

The department welcomes new faculty members Christine Luscombe and Vitaly Podzorov. Luscombe proposes a research program that builds on the expertise she has gained in organic synthesis, materials and surface chemistry. Podzorov plans to study the charge carrier transport and photophysical properties of organic semiconductors.