Video showing students and faculty in the Materials Science and Engineering department engaged in research, lab work, and classroom activities.
Home of UT
Materials Science and
Engineering

Core Faculty
TMI's core faculty lead cutting-edge research by running their grants through the institute, fostering collaboration and resource sharing.
Learn More

Graduate Program
Our Materials Science and Engineering program is one of the best in the nation, and our graduates go on to be leaders in their fields.
Learn More

Research
TMI supports interdisciplinary research at UT Austin, with over 100 faculty focusing on clean energy, nanotechnology, and advanced materials using our state-of-the-art facilities.
Learn More
Home
With New Grant, Physicist Explores Using Sound to Transmit Data in Quantum Computers
UT Austin’s Keji Lai has received a Moore Foundation award reserved for the country’s top experimental physicists.
Dr. Deji Akinwande: New Cockrell Family Regents Chair
Recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to nanomaterial science, nanoelectronics, and biosensors; Professor Deji Akinwande has been appointed by the University leadership as the 'Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering #8'. This appointment is in recognition of his outstanding research, teaching, and service sustained over a decade at the University.
Hypothermal Opto-Thermophoretic Tweezers by Zheng Lab
In their new Nature Communications paper entitled “Hypothermal Opto-Thermophoretic Tweezers” (HOTTs), Professor Yuebing Zheng and his students (Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara – leading author, Jingang Li, Zhihan Chen, Hongru Ding, Youngsun Kim, Suichu Huang) along with collaborators (Xiuying Li and Professor Zhenpeng Qi) have achieved low-power trapping of diverse colloids and biological cells in their native fluids.
TMI Welcomes a New, Cutting Edge Ion Microscope
In 2022 Texas Materials Institute (TMI) has purchased a new, state-of-the-art time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometer (TOF-SIMS), an outstanding addition to the analytical capabilities at TMI. The new ion microscope (ionTOF M6, Fig. 1) has been installed in June 2023 in the Engineering Education and Research Center (EER), located in the main campus at UT Austin, and it is available to all users since July 2023.Page 51 of 54
Texas Materials Seminar Series
The Texas Materials Seminar Series features MSE 397 Seminars, TMI Distinguished Lectureships, and TMI Special Seminars, where leading faculty and professionals from around the world share cutting-edge innovations and advancements in materials engineering with our students.
Learn More

$12M+
In Grant Funding
20+
Research Patents
10K+
Sq. Ft. of Research Labs
News
Zhantao Chen Publishes New Article on AI-assisted Tool
Zhantao Chen, an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and a TMI-affiliate, has published an article on an AI tool in Nature Machine Intelligence. The article used AI to help researchers in ways that would assist in experimental tasks that are often labor-intensive and tiresome.
Terry Zheng & Yu Group Publish New Work on Water-Based Electrolytes
Materials Science and Engineering graduate student Tianrui (Terry) Zheng, under the supervision of Dr. Guihua Yu has published research in Advanced Materials introducing a biphasic electrolyte architecture that combines the strengths of water-based (aqueous) and organic-based electrolytes for long-duration, high-rate zinc metal batteries.
Get Better Sleep With Ultrasound Patch That Boosts REM Rest
A wearable bioelectronic device increased REM sleep in real-world trials, without invasive surgery or medication.
Published by UT News.
Yuebing Zheng Awarded 'New Directions' Seed Funding from UT OVPR
Yuebing Zheng was awarded seed funding through the University's Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors. The 'New Directions in Research' grants are one time payments that give faculty an opportunity to obtain proof-of-concept or pilot data for future, larger grants.
Terry Zheng Awarded UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowship
Tianrui (Terry) Zheng, a Materials Science & Engineering graduate student working with Dr. Guihua Yu, is a recipient of the 2026-2027 UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows Award from UT's Energy Institute.