A new Materials Innovation Platform (MIP) program funded by the US National Science Foundation recently made its first awards to PA State University and Cornell University with the aim to "significantly accelerate materials research and development," according to a news release. The institutions will serve as "platforms" to develop new bulk and thin-film crystalline hard materials through state-of-the-art instrumentation in an environment that "combines multidisciplinary expertise with the best tools available, providing access to the instrumentation, data and new materials created," the release explains. Penn State will focus on developing new materials for next-generation electronics that are faster, use less energy, and can be built on flexible substrates as well as other applications at its new facility, the 2-D Crystal Consortium (2DCC). Cornell University will focus on the interfaces between oxide-based and 2-D materials with its Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, and Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM). To read more, please visit: www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505133
