Totals may not add due to rounding. DMR supports research and education to advance the fundamental understanding of materials, to enable the development of materials with superior properties, and to enhance the understanding of the interconnections among synthesis, processing, composition, structure and properties of materials and how these factors affect their performance.
Materials research integrates a wide range of activities spanning both science and engineering.
It extends from investigations of phenomena in condensed matter physics and solid state chemistry to research on functional materials including metals, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials, and electronic, photonic and magnetic materials. Its practitioners include physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and engineers, and, increasingly, it benefits from the participation of researchers from an even wider range of disciplines such as biochemistry, biology, earth sciences, mathematics, computer science, and medicine. The technological and societal significance of the field is far-reaching. DMR supports education, fundamental research and facilities that are critically important to the future advancement of industries and technologies ranging from electronics and communications to information technology, transportation and aerospace, energy, environmental protection, manufacturing, medicine and health care, packaging, and civil infrastructure. NSF provides about half the total federal support for university-based research in materials.