Meeting the Challenge

MSE Researchers Are Shaping What Nature Cannot Provide

University of Arizona MSE researchers have achieved international recognition for their advancements in optical materials, biomaterials, tissue engineering, nanotechnology and computational modeling of materials.

They are employing sound waves for quantum computing, experimenting with organic polymers to improve bioelectronics, and developing high-temperature ceramics for aerospace vehicles.

UA MSE products are moving out of the lab and into the world. MSE-produced materials and findings are used at the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands to preserve cultural artifacts and on the International Space Station to protect equipment from its extreme environment. Further, researchers are commercializing inventions such asa concrete substitute made from mine tailings and a non-absorbent sunscreen.

Focus Areas

MSE faculty conduct research in the following primary areas:

• Heritage conservation
• Integrated computational science and engineering
• Materials for energy conversion and heat control
• Materials synthesis, processing and fabrication
• Optical materials

Research Centers and Facilities

MSE has a broad reach on campus, in the community and throughout the world. Faculty and students collaborate in UA labs and research centers, including the following:

• Arizona Materials Lab
• Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy
• BIO5 Institute
• Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Kuiper Materials Imaging and Characterization Facility

Center and lab capabilities are extensive:

• Carbon nanoscience
• Composites processing and characterization
• Computational modeling and simulation
• Glass processing characterization
• High-temperature ceramic processing
• Mechanical testing
• Microfabrication and nanofabrication
• Optical and spectroscopic analysis
• Polymer synthesis and processing
• Surface chemistry and electrochemistry
• Thermal imaging 

See UA College of Engineering-affiliated Research Centers and Institutes.