Image of toughened elastomer sample Credit: Matt Perko, UCSB
Credit: Matt Perko, UCSB
  1. Home
  2. Research

Overview

CNSI researchers are leading the discovery and optimization of advanced materials for energy management, water purification, quantum science, healthcare and robotics. The discovery pipeline combines innovations in design, computation, manufacturing, characterization and analysis to develop enhanced processes and materials targeted for specific applications. This work leverages the cutting-edge infrastructure for materials science at UC Santa Barbara, provided by the NSF-sponsored Quantum Foundry and BioPACIFIC MIP, as well as the Materials Research Laboratory, an NSF MRSEC.

 Affiliated Researchers

Chris Bates

Assistant Professor
We are interested in the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of new soft materials.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Irene Beyerlein

Professor
Multiscale modeling of mechanisms and microstructure/property relations in high performance alloys, hcp metals, and nanostructured materials.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

John Bowers

Distinguished Professor
Quantum dot lasers, silicon photonics, optoelectronics, and the development of novel low power optoelectronic devices for the next generation of optical networks.
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies

Michael Chabinyc

Professor
Our group studies organic and organic-inorganic hybrid semiconducting materials for flexible electronics.
Advanced Materials

Phillip Christopher

Professor
Analysis and design of catalytic processes that promote sustainable chemical production and conversion.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Raphaele Clement

Assistant Professor
Our research endeavors to elucidate the structure-property relationships in electrochemical materials used, for instance, in rechargeable batteries.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Samantha Daly

Professor
Research at the intersection of experimental mechanics, materials science, and machine learning.
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Steven DenBaars

Professor
Research interests include growth of wide-bandgap (GaN based) semiconductors and their application to blue LEDs as well as laser and high power electronic devices. This research has led to the first U.S. University demonstration of a blue GaN laser diode.
Advanced Materials

Glenn Fredrickson

Distinguished Professor
The Fredrickson group has pioneered the development of field-theoretic simulations and pursued applications of the technique to understand complex classical polymer and quantum many-boson systems.
Complex Systems
Sustainability
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Craig Hawker

Distinguished Professor
Co-Director, CNSI
Developing advanced polymerization methods for new applications by combining traditional organic and polymer chemistry.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Elliot Hawkes

Assistant Professor
We work at the intersection of design, mechanics, and materials. We develop innovative design concepts and apply non-traditional materials to solve challenging problems in robotics, medicine, and biomechanics.
Advanced Materials

Trevor Hayton

Professor
Bottom-up Assembly of Nanomaterials.
Advanced Materials

Jonathan Klamkin

Professor
Integrated photonics; silicon photonics; optical communications; nanophotonics; microwave photonics; compound semiconductors; photonic integration techniques; and electronic-photonic integration.
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies

Sriram Krishnamoorthy

Assistant Professor
We explore and engineer next-generation (ultra)wide band gap semiconductors such as Gallium Oxide. Our efforts span epitaxial growth, electronic transport, design/modeling, micro/nano fabrication, and characterization of electronic/optoelectronic devices for applications such as power electronics, high frequency electronics and ultra-violet optoelectronics.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Bolin Liao

Assistant Professor
We develop ultrafast electron microscopy to image nanoscale energy transport. This knowledge can lead to better renewable energy systems.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Galan Moody

Assistant Professor
Professor Moody’s research group develops integrated quantum photonic technologies for computing, communications, and metrology.
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies

Daniel Morse

Distinguished Research Professor
Discovery of biophysical & genetic surrogates for phosphorylation controlling amyloid formation, protein assembly, structure & function.
Biotechnology
Complex Systems
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Thuc-Quyen Nguyen

Professor
Research interests are doping and transport in organic semiconductors, materials characterization, bioelectronics, and device physics
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Angela Pitenis

Assistant Professor
Soft, biological, and bio-inspired materials and interfaces.
Biotechnology
Complex Systems
Sustainability
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Javier Read de Alaniz

Professor
Director, NSF BioPACIFIC MIP
The goal of our research is to develop robust and efficient synthetic approaches for applications in functional materials.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials
BioPACIFIC MIP

Jon Schuller

Associate Professor
We study subwavelength light-matter interactions to better understand and exploit nanoscale optical properties.
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Rachel Segalman

Edward N. Kramer Professor
Dept Chair of Chemical Engineering
Bioinspired polymer synthesis and self-assembly to control properties.
Advanced Materials
Sustainability
Center for Materials for Water and Energy Systems

Ram Seshadri

Professor
Work in the Seshadri lab broadly addresses the topic of structure–composition–property relations in crystalline inorganic and hybrid materials, with a focus on magnetic materials and materials for energy conversion and storage.
Advanced Materials

Susanne Stemmer

Professor
Our lab focuses on quantum materials, in particular, thin films and heterostructures of correlated oxides and topological materials.
Advanced Materials

Ryan Stowers

Assistant Professor
Engineering biomaterials for mechanobiology.
Biotechnology
Advanced Materials

Dmitri Strukov

Professor
Dmitri’s research broadly concerns different aspects of computation, in particular addressing questions on how to efficiently perform computation on various levels of abstraction.
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies

Megan Valentine

Professor
Co-Director, CNSI
Mechanics of cells and tissues; design of bio-inspired materials with applications to packaging, healthcare and robotics; instrument development.
Biotechnology
Complex Systems
Advanced Materials
Discovery Tools

Chris Van de Walle

Professor
Van de Walle develops and employs first-principles computational techniques to model structure and behavior of materials.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials

Yon Visell

Associate Professor
Research on haptic science and engineering, soft robotics, and additive manufacturing.
Biotechnology
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies

Vojtech Vlcek

Assistant Professor
Dr. Vlcek's research enables an accurate quantum description of realistic nanoscale systems.
Complex Systems
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies

Max Wilson

Assistant Professor
We use photo-switchable proteins to precisely control how information flows through biological networks to understand how cells make decisions.
Biotechnology
Complex Systems
Advanced Materials

Stephen Wilson

Professor
Director, NSF Quantum Foundry
Synthesis and advanced characterization of new quantum materials.
Complex Systems
Advanced Materials
Information Technologies
Discovery Tools
Quantum Foundry

Yangying Zhu

Assistant Professor
Micro and nanoscale thermo-fluid engineering for sustainable energy and electronics.
Sustainability
Advanced Materials