DMSE at MIT

The automated platform ELLIE, developed by MIT researchers, makes and tests different electrolyte formulations to help researchers identify promising battery electrolytes. Watch the robot prepare an electrolyte and dispense it into a testing cell for impedance measurements.

The fall edition of DMSE Digest: Frontiers is here!

MIT has a new NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, while new DMSE research explores AI-designed stable materials and a low-carbon approach to ammonia production. Read the latest: buff.ly/xduLTgB

Join the next MSE Seminar with Jianguo Mei, who will discuss advances in electrochromic technologies and manufacturing—and explore whether electronics can become part of living systems.

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MIT’s engineering program continues to lead the U.S. News rankings of undergraduate engineering programs at doctoral institutions. The Institute placed first in five disciplines, including materials engineering. Read more: buff.ly/6glzyZU

Robots are still far less efficient and adaptable than living organisms. At an MSE Seminar on Sept. 22, @NorthwesternU’s Ryan Truby discussed how his group is developing new materials that could help robots move, sense, and adapt more like animals.

Researchers @MIT developed an automated system called the Electrolyte Laboratory for Integrated Experimentation (ELLIE) that can quickly make and test different electrolytes, the liquids that help batteries move electrical charge. More in @ACSEnergyLett: buff.ly/vJrxLEY

The University of Chicago’s Shuolong Yang spoke @MIT on Sept. 15 about his group’s work using ultrafast light to create and control new phases of quantum materials.

Researchers @WashU, @MIT, and other institutions developed an approach that could make it easier to build photonic chips with a wider range of functions. Read more in @Nature. Read more in @Nature. buff.ly/qff8uOZ

Join the next MSE Seminar with Northwestern University’s Ryan Truby, who will explore a “body-up” approach to robotics — one in which actuation, perception, and learning are materialized in the bodies of robots themselves. buff.ly/42HdMZm

Key to electrochemical ammonia production is a metallic catalyst. “If we can somehow find a catalyst that reduces the energy needed and is more selective for ammonia production,” says Constantine Athanitis, “then we could essentially hit the jackpot.” buff.ly/X9yb5o6

An @MIT team earned second place in the ASM Materials Education Foundation’s 2026 Undergraduate Design Competition for using computer modeling to design a promising new high-strength, crack-resistant steel for naval ships. @ASM_MEF

In a special seminar September 10 @MIT, Stefano Martiniani of @nyuniversity explored how AI and the study of disordered materials could help accelerate the discovery of new materials.

Sodium-metal batteries could offer a lower-cost alternative to lithium-ion batteries—but their high reactivity is a challenge. In a @Joule_CP paper, MIT researchers led by Ju Li show how the right electrolyte could help solve it. buff.ly/zN4LTQu

MSE Seminar: Engineering quantum materials at the atomic scale — through epitaxial growth or mechanical exfoliation — has driven a remarkable era of discovery in 2D electronics and quantum physics. Join us for the first talk of the semester. buff.ly/KyGD4nH

The way to a sodium-ion battery’s heart is through its cathode. DMSE researchers discovered that changing how a promising cathode material is made makes it much more stable, opening a path to longer-lasting, lower-cost batteries. buff.ly/9JXQKFT

A student in @MIT’s Materials Genome Camp pours a molten alloy over a mold with shape memory wires to make “Frankensteel,” a material that can heal itself after damage. The camp trains middle and high school teachers in experiments they can bring back to their classrooms.

Assistant Professor Thomas Rose, an expert in ancient metallurgy in DMSE, died Sept. 2 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident in Cambridge, Mass. He was 37. @MITEngineering buff.ly/VNYGCuj

The MIT Quantum Initiative’s new postdoctoral fellowship encourages researchers across physics, chemistry, materials science, and more to connect quantum approaches with emerging applications. @RLEatMIT buff.ly/yZ2aOSy

It’s not too late to check out the @MIT News summer reading list! Two DMSE faculty are featured: Lorna Gibson, author of “Birds Up Close,” and Eugene Fitzgerald, author of “The Invisible Engine.” Check out the full list of books by MIT faculty and staff: buff.ly/ONukqIH

MIT spinout @FormEnergyInc—co-founded by DMSE alum William Woodford and Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang—has raised another $750 million in venture capital, bringing funding to over $2 billion. The new funds will scale up its iron-air battery systems. @mitenergy buff.ly/imD5AZX