Materials Science and Engineering

Recent advances in nanoscience continue to push the boundaries of how we understand and manipulate matter at extremely small scales. A new study published by the Royal Society of Chemistry introduces an innovative technique for controlling superconducting vortices—tiny whirlpools of electrical current that form inside certain materials at very low temperatures. Superconductors are remarkable beca…

MRS/OSA will hold it’s 19th Annual Poster Competition on April 2nd in the AMIC Atrium. The Seminar featuring Dr. Peter Schultz begins at 3:30 PM in AMIC 1101. The registration deadline is March 20th. MRS/OSA will hold it’s 19th Annual Poster Competition on April 2nd in the AMIC Atrium. The Seminar featuring Dr. Peter Schultz begins at 3:30 PM in AMIC 1101. The registration deadline is March 20th.

Two grad students in Dr. Kimberly Weirich’s research group have won 3 travel awards to the APS Global Summit in Denver, Co. this March. There are more than 14,000 people that attend this meeting, so it is a honor to get one of these awards in a research group. Megan Janquart – APS Division of Soft Matter Student Travel Award and the American Physical Society’s Braslau Family Travel Grant. Carolyn…

Electric vehicles (EVs) and many portable electronics depend on lithium-ion batteries. But one big challenge remains: slow charging speeds. Most lithium-ion batteries take too long to charge because the materials inside don’t let lithium ions move quickly enough. A new study explores a cutting-edge way to fix this problem using laser engineering on a common battery material called NMC811 (nickel-…

Thank you to our fabulous MSE alumni: - Robbie Lake of Dodge Industrial - John Nickles of AVX/Kyocera - Bernadine Daichendt, and Dammy Busari, of Polymed Their time in meeting with and talking with MSE undergrads at the Spring MSE Mini-Career Fair was invaluable!

Thanks to the generosity of MSE Alumnus and MSE External Advisory Board member, Russ Esmacher, and his wife Julie Esmacher, MSE is proud to announce the Esmacher Scholars Program. This scholarship program is for current MSE majors or General Engineering students planning on majoring in Materials Science & Engineering and who are passionate about Materials Science and Engineering, and want to deve…

We are excited to announce the opening of the new Center for X-Ray Advanced Imaging of Materials & Structures (X-Ray AIMS) in the AMIC building on Clemson’s campus (Fig. 1A). Located on the first floor, this state-of-the-art facility is equipped with a newly installed ZEISS Xradia Versa 615 micro-CT system, enabling non-destructive three-dimensional imaging of ceramic, polymeric and biomaterials …

Dr. Olga Kuksenok’s group’s article “Transforming Waste Cooking Oil into Linear and Branched Polyethylene Mimics” published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society appears in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric. The article discusses how this research group has developed a new way to turn waste cooking oil into high-performance, recyclable plastics and strong adhesives,…

Why Some Perovskite Solar Materials Fall Apart Under Thermal Evaporation — And What It Means for Solar Tech Metal halide perovskites are a class of materials that have captured huge interest in solar energy research because of their remarkable ability to convert sunlight into electricity. In less than a decade, perovskite solar cells have achieved efficiencies close to traditional silicon panels,…

Bright new light from old material: Zinc Oxide + PVA Scientists have long known that Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is a useful material — it’s cheap, abundant, and has been used in everything from electronics to sunscreens. But ZnO’s natural glow is mostly in ultraviolet (UV), which isn’t helpful for everyday lighting. SpringerLink+1 A recent study, that included MSE Professor Dr. Luiz Jacobsohn, took a fresh…

If you’re interested in energy technology, materials science, or sustainable engineering, this research conducted by Dr. Kyle Brinkman and his research group members, Rahul Rajeev and Dr. Abhaya Mishra, is a great example of how clever chemistry and materials processing can unlock next-generation battery performance. It’s not just about “make something new” — it’s about […]

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering is pleased to welcome our newest external advisory board member, Dr. Ramesh Kesh, Senior Vice President of the Textiles Division at Milliken & Company. The external advisory board meets each semester to provide guidance on strengthening our curriculum, enhancing student recruitment efforts, expanding industry partnerships, and supporting the […]

MSE students, faculty, and alumni gathered for great food, fun activities, and plenty of conversation. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces—and to meet new ones, too. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello, and a special shout-out to our Materials Advantage officers for their help and support. Your energy […]

Most of the time, when we think about lasers and light, we imagine them heating things up—not cooling them down. But a recent study shows that certain optical fibers can cool when illuminated with the right kind of laser light. This effect, called anti-Stokes fluorescence cooling, could someday help control heat in high-power lasers and […]

Three students from Clemson’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) have been recognized as 2025–2026 AATCC Foundation Scholars. In addition to receiving financial support for their studies, each scholar will enjoy complimentary registration for the Fabricating the Future Conference and a one-year AATCC membership—offering valuable opportunities to connect with industry profession…

Cells rely on networks of biopolymers (like Actin filament) that are organized by special proteins to carry out functions such as changing shape, moving, or transporting cargo. RSC Publishing+1 A newer idea is that protein “condensates” (liquid-like droplets of proteins) can join in this organization. MSE professors, Dr. Kim Weirich, Dr. Konstantin Kornev, and their […]

Butterflies and moths are admired for their colorful wings, but it’s their feeding tube — the proboscis — that’s catching engineers’ attention. A 2025 study involving MSE Professor Dr. Kostya Kornev and his research team revealed that this delicate structure acts like a miniature hydraulic spring, offering inspiration for advanced micro-scale technologies. The proboscis is […]

The officers of the Clemson Materials Advantage chapter had the incredible opportunity to attend the Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) 2025 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, alongside students and professionals from across the nation. During the conference, the officers participated in student-focused symposia featuring the poster competition, as well as the always exciting ceramic mug drop […]

Scientists from Clemson University Materials Science & Engineering and several international collaborators — Md. Shamiull Alim Munna, Md. Mazharul Islam, Mohammad Ahasanur Rabbi, O. Thompson Mefford (MSE), Alexander Malaj (Mefford Group), Md. Shahidul Islam, Hasan Ahmad, and Md. Mahbubor Rahman — recently published a study in RSC Advances that combines magnetism and fluorescence into a […]

A new study co-authored by Y. Wang, Jacob Jeffries, Dr. Enrique Martinez Saez, S. Mathaudhu, E. Marqui and Fadi Abdeljawad and published in the Journal of Materials Science explores how atoms arrange themselves at the tiny boundaries between crystals in advanced metal alloys. These boundaries—called grain boundaries—play a major role in determining a material’s strength, […]