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Core Faculty
TMI's core faculty lead cutting-edge research by running their grants through the institute, fostering collaboration and resource sharing.
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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.
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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.
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Home
Donglei Emma Fan Inducted as Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors
Dr. Donglei Emma Fan from the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and Texas Materials Institute, has been inducted into the 2025 Class of Senior Members of the National Academy of Inventors, a prestigious honor recognizing her significant contributions to innovation and technology.
Dr. Deji Akinwande's Group Publishes in ACS Nano
Dr. Deji Akinwande’s research group has just published new research in ACS Nano. The team developed a novel method using UV-Ozone to create precisely engineered defects in graphene membranes. This breakthrough solves a major challenge in ultrathin hydrogen fuel cell membranes, improving their performance without affecting the material’s strength or stability.
A Path to Safer, High-Energy Electric Vehicle Batteries
Nickel’s role in the future of electric vehicle batteries is clear: It’s more abundant and easier to obtain than widely used cobalt, and its higher energy density means longer driving distances between charges.
Graphene Double Moiré System Revolutionizes Quantum Materials Research
An international research team, led by scientists from The University of Texas at Austin, has unveiled a groundbreaking double moiré system made of four graphene layers. In this innovative structure, the top and bottom pairs form small-twist-angle bilayer graphene, while the middle interface is characterized by a large rotational mismatch. Fabricated using opto-thermoplasmonic nanolithography, this system introduces a new platform for exploring independently tunable flat bands in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) structures.
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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.
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News
Smoothing Over Rough Edges in Batteries
Texas Engineers have discovered a new phenomenon in modern batteries, one that could be used to improve their life cycles.
Battery performance suffers over time, like when a phone needs to be charged more frequently after years of use. A thin film that forms on the metal anode when the battery is charging and discharging plays a part in that issue. This film has benefits, but its roughness gradually wears the battery down.
Hand-paintable electrodes to study the brain
Measuring brain waves could become easier with electrodes and wires that researchers can paint on the scalp through parted hair using a paintbrush. Made with a conductive polymer ink, the micrometer-thin painted films stick strongly to the skin for up to 3 days, and then peel off, leaving hair intact.
Jin Yang Wins NSF CAREER Award to Study Viscoelastic Materials
Jin Yang, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin, was selected to receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award for 2025.
Dr. Jin Yang Receives NSF CAREER Award
Dr. Jin Yang, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and faculty member of the Texas Materials Institute (TMI), has been awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, one of the most prestigious honors for early-career faculty in science and engineering. This five-year award, totaling approximately $650,000, will support Dr. Yang’s research on the fracture and material failure behavior of soft viscoelastic materials such as polymers, hydrogels, and biological under different loading rates and temperatures.
Controlling Failure in Anode-Free Solid-State and Sodium Metal Batteries
A group of researchers, led by David Mitlin and Yixian Wang, have recently published impactful research in Advanced Materials and in Angewandte Chemie, both articles making the journals’ front cover.
$12M+
In Grant Funding
20+
Research Patents
10K+
