Materials Science
Materials Science
The materials that make up the world around us hold unforeseen advantages and have lasting implications for our planet. How do we look beyond convention and create the next revolution of materials to propel our inventions and society further?
From healing fractured ribs with novel adhesives to harvesting solar power with renewable cells 100 times lighter than existing technology, materials scientists at Duke aim to amplify engineering discovery and development to make our world perform better for people today and generations to come. With research priorities in biomaterials, sustainability, metamaterials, and computational materials, and our proven ecosystem of collaboration across disciplines, we are championing engineering for a future that solves unimaginable problems with devices, tools and applications of unparalleled societal good.
Duke’s Big Bets
Biomaterials
Developing new materials to help the body heal faster and better.
Sustainability
Improving our energy and climate future through safer, cleaner, more efficient materials.
Metamaterials
Creating new technologies with materials not found in nature to transform agriculture, eliminate auto accidents and more.
Computational Materials
Improving the speed, ease and cost of creating advanced materials used to solve problems in medicine, electronics, transportation and sustainable energy.
Shaping a better future? Challenge accepted.
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Materials Science
Using Physics to Understand Biology
Recent discoveries from the lab of Michael Rubinstein, PhD, the Aleksander S. Vesic Distinguished Professor, could one day allow cystic fibrosis patients to breathe easier and perhaps live longer.
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Materials Science
Growing Triple-Decker Hybrid Crystals for Lasers
By controlling the arrangement of multiple inorganic and organic layers within crystals using a novel technique, researchers at Duke University and Purdue University have shown they can control the energy levels of electrons and holes (positive charge carriers) within a class of materials called perovskites.
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Materials Science
Building a Better Solar Cell
Why isn't solar energy more widely used? After all, photovoltaic cells generate electricity out of sunlight, a free and essentially infinite resource.
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Materials Science
Watching Primordial Neural Cells Grow in 3D Scaffolds to Heal Brain Injury
Tracking how neural progenitor cells respond to biochemical signals while moving and growing through a biocompatible jungle gym could help develop brain-healing biogels
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Materials Science
Upside-Down Design Expands Wide-Spectrum Super-Camera Abilities
New design for plasmonic metasurfaces increases their frequency range while protecting them from the elements
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Materials Science
Sharon Gerecht: Engineering Stem Cells for Blood Vessel Growth
New faculty member Sharon Gerecht uses biomaterials and other engineered environments to help stem cells evolve into vascular cells, the foundation of blood vessels
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Materials Science
Reversing Bone Loss Due to Osteoporosis
Current drugs for osteoporosis can only slow or stop progression of bone loss. What's gone is gone. Duke University Professor Shyni Varghese has built a new molecule that rebuilds bone—and may transform osteoporosis treatment.
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Materials Science
Smooth as Glass
Patrick Charbonneau, professor of chemistry and physics, is using complex computer simulations to unlock the hidden secrets of science—in glass.
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Materials Science
A Gel That Regrows the Brain? Ingenious.
Tatiana Segura, professor of biomedical engineering, is changing outcomes for stroke patients.
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Materials Science
Food Sustainability in Focus
Crops around the globe face climate change and pollution, threatening our food security. With her multispectral imaging camera, Duke professor Maiken Mikkelsen sees how we can more sustainably feed the world.
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Materials Science
Better Preclinical Drug Testing and More with Organs-on-Chips
More than 90% of pharmaceuticals fail in clinical trials, despite the fact that by the time a drug is ready to be tested in humans, it's typically already been studied in Petri dishes and animal models for years. That represents a lot of dead ends and dashed hopes.
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Materials Science
Using New Materials to Treat an Old Problem
A shared lab leads to a game-changing solution.
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Materials Science
Beyond Materials: From Invisibility Cloaks to Satellite Communications
Our researchers are poised to make these devices a household name.
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Materials Science
Using Quantum Rules to Move Chemistry into Uncharted Territory
Unshackling chemical transformations from the constraints of the classical rules of chemistry
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Materials Science
Re-Engineering the Consumer Product Life Cycle
Making raw materials more sustainable and reimagining how we deal with harmful waste
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Ready to learn more?
We're ready to answer tomorrow's challenges right now. Your investment in team research and discovery science through Duke Science and Technology will have exponential impact on people and our planet, delivering unheard of results.
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