Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) are university based research centers supported by the MRSEC Program of the Division of Materials Research at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The centers support interdisciplinary research on materials science."MRSEC Program Overview" MRSECs are a significant component of NSF's center-based research portfolio. MRSECs were established by NSF in 1994 but their roots go back to the post-Sputnik era. These centers required significant changes in the conduct of materials research and education.
Since much of the information regarding current MRSECs is available from websites only a brief overview of the current program is provided. The main purpose of this article is to review the historical aspects of MRSECs and the significance of their impact on materials research and education in the U.S.
Program summary Research in MRSECs is carried out in interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs), teams of six to a dozen or more researchers. MRSECs range in size from two to four IRGs. The topics of the IRGs within a center may be focused on closely related scientific or technological topics or can cover distinct areas of research.
MRSEC awards are for six years with competitions held every three years. Competitions are open to all US academic institutions. Only one award is made per institution. Funding levels for a given MRSEC currently range approximately several million dollars/y. Each center has considerable flexibility to distribute its funds consistent with its proposed and approved research and education proposal. Typical MRSECs allocate funds for support of "seed projects,"
MRSECs feature partnerships with other academic institutions, national laboratories, and industry as well as international collaborations. The centers also feature extensive experimental and computational facilities, which are generally accessible to outside users.
A key mandate for these centers is workforce development. The largest component of the center's funding supports students (undergraduate and graduate), and postdoctoral researchers. In addition, MRSECs have outreach activities involving K - 12 students and public education through collaborations with museums and other public institutions.U. Strom, "Garcia Center Leads Students from the Laboratory to the Real World", MRS Bulletin 32, 728-730 (2007).
Historical background Pre-1960 The modern study of materials intersects many of the traditional scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, engineering, and increasingly the biosciences and mathematics. Until the middle of the 20th century these various disciplines approached the study of materials with their own distinctive methodologies. Interdisciplinary collaborations, especially at academic institutions, were not the norm. Past exceptions were the successful collaborative approaches leading to the intense technological developments during the Second World War, including the military and peaceful applications of nuclear energy production.W.O. Baker, "Advances in Materials Research and Development" in Advancing Materials Research (P.A. Psaras and H. D. Lanford, eds., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 1987), pps. 3-24.
The late 1950s the U.S. government increased its support of interdisciplinary, collaborative research at academic institutions. The launch of the Russian space satellite Sputnik on October 4, 1957, profoundly impacted how scientific and technological research was conducted in the United States. Two new agencies were founded: The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA, later DARPA) within the Department of Defense. NASA was to define US-supported space exploration. ARPA was tasked more broadly with technology and science, often with potential military applications. In addition, the National Defense Education Act of 1958 sought to increase the number of trained engineers, scientists, and mathematicians.
The post Sputnik enthusiasm for more investment in science research led to a broader recommendation in March 1958 for coordinating materials research in the United States by President Eisenhower's Science and Advisory Committee (PSAC). A subsequent report entitled "Strengthening American Science", was submitted to President Eisenhower in December 1958. This report led, by Executive Order of President Eisenhower on March 13, 1959, to the formation of the Federal Council for Science and Technology. One of the early actions of this council was the establishment of a "Coordinating Committee on Materials Research and Development" (CCMRD), which was chaired by John W. Williams, Director of Research of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The ultimate outcome was the establishment of three university based Interdisciplinary Laboratories (IDLs) in mid 1960 under the supervision of ARPA.,
The idea of an interdisciplinary laboratory in the solid state and materials sciences had already proved extremely successful in industrial laboratory settings (such as the Bell Laboratories and others) leading, for example, to the development of the transistor and the laser. The establishment of such laboratories in an academic environment arose naturally from the demands of the post-Sputnik era for a large, highly trained, scientific workforce.
Interdisciplinary Laboratories (IDLs) 1960-1972 MRSECs evolved from the Interdisciplinary Laboratories (IDLs) initiated by the Department of Defense in 1960.R.L. Sproull, "Materials Research Laboratories: The Early Years" in Advancing Materials Research (P.A. Psaras and H. D. Lanford, eds., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 1987), pps. 25-34.L.H. Schwartz, "Materials Research Laboratories: Reviewing the First Twenty-Five Years" in Advancing Materials Research (P.A. Psaras and H. D. Lanford, eds., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 1987), pps. 35-48. The creation of three Interdisciplinary Laboratories, at Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University, was announced by ARPA on July 11, 1960. The contracts required that these universities "shall establish an interdisciplinary materials research program and shall furnish the necessary personnel and facilities for the conduct of research in the science of materials..." In the following year (1961) eight additional IDLs were created: Brown University, University of Chicago, Harvard, University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of North Carolina, Purdue University, and Stanford University. A 12th IDL was added at the University of Illinois in 1962, which was administered by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Subsequently, there were three more AEC contracts and two contracts through NASA. The role of the AEC in establishing a strong materials research community was well known since the advent of nuclear reactors and the importance of materials in reactor cost, efficiency, and safety. As early as 1955 John von Neumann, renowned mathematician and contributor to the Manhattan Project, in his role as commissioner of the AEC and member of the AEC General Advisory Committee (GAC), strongly endorsed a materials-focused institute in an academic setting.
The impact of the IDLs on the training of students was significant. By 1969 over 360 new doctorate degrees were awarded. A report by the National Academy of SciencesNational Academy of Sciences, Committee on the Survey of Materials Science and Engineering (COSCMAT), Materials and Man's Needs: Materials Science and Engineering, Vol.III (National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1975), pp. 7–209 - 7-210 concluded that these center based programs were instrumental in defining "materials science and engineering" as a new interdisciplinary activity which was evidenced by a rapid increase of materials science departments between 1960 and 1970 and beyond. In addition, to the building of new facilities infrastructure these centers of excellence led to the training of not only materials scientists, but also physicists, chemists, engineers and other professionals.
The National Academy study noted that though the IDLs were considered a success, there was room for growth of interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty from disparate university departments. However, it was acknowledged that joint block funding and joint use of shared experimental facilities by students and faculty from diverse departments had planted the seeds for increased interdisciplinarity in materials research.
The Materials Research Laboratories (MRLs) 1972-1994
In late 1969 an amendment to the Military Authorization Act, sponsored by Senator Mike Mansfield, placed restrictions on the funding of long-term basic research by agencies of the Department of Defense, including ARPA/DARPA.The National Science Board: A History in Highlights 1950-2000; "The 1970s: The Mansfield Amendment"The National Science Board: A History in Highlights 1950-2000; "The 1980s: The Debate over Centers" (ARPA was changed to DARPA in 1972). Consequently, a decision was made in 1970 to transfer the IDLs to the National Science Foundation. The block type IDL grant for multidisciplinary research and shared facilities would mean a distinct departure of NSF's funding approach at that time which was support of predominantly small, single investigator grants in a particular discipline. After an in-depth review by NSF of the IDL program a transfer of the then existing 12 IDLs to NSF was recommended. However, the transfer came with several major critical provisions. These included the following:
"The laboratories, now renamed 'Materials Research Laboratories', would retain locally administered block (or 'core') funding intended to 'facilitate research in materials science and engineering which is either difficult or unfeasible to carry out under traditional funding of individual research.' Most importantly, the new component added by NSF was that 'scientific excellence is viewed as a necessary, but no longer sufficient, condition to qualify for MRL core support.' In addition, the MRLs would be judged by their ability to foster 'coherent, multidisciplinary and multi-investigator projects requiring the expertise of two or more materials related disciplines.' These so-called thrust groups are the heart of the current core funding at MRLs; at their best they have achieved a transformation in the way materials research is done at universities and in the way graduate education proceeds."
Acceptance by NSF of the new materials laboratories in 1972 led to the creation of the Division of Materials Research (DMR). Its initial portfolio consisted of the MRL program as well as individual investigator programs closely related to materials science which were drawn from other parts of NSF. Initially, the MRL program made up approximately 40% of the DMR budget. By 1985, with the growth of individual investigator and small group programs, the MRL program was funded at a level of about 20% of the total DMR budget.
Between 1972 and 1985, a number of additional MRLs were added and some of the existing centers were phased out. The following table summarizes this information:The National Science Foundation's Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers Program: Looking Back, Moving Forward, (The National Academies Press, 2007) "Read-only link"
TABLE 1 Interdisciplinary Laboratories (IDLs) and Materials Research Laboratories (MRLs) 1960–1996. Laboratories were identified as IDLs between 1960 and 1972 and MRLs starting in 1972. Laboratories terminated in 1994 and 1996 were eligible to participate in competition with other institutions for the new Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) in 1994 and 1996, respectively.