B. Definition of Thematic area We propose a research focus defined within the identified theme of “Matter Science and Engineering: from theory to application” for the campus: Next Generation Materials – Active Multifunctional Nano and Bio Materials. This theme will focus on responsive and reconfigurable materials that will combine the functionalities of its constituents in a synergistic manner. Broadly, these multifunctional materials will fall into two categories: (a) Hybrid Nano Metamaterials (HNM) – assembled from nanoscale artificial atoms (metallic, magnetic and semiconducting), HNMs will be responsive “superlattices” with functionalities beyond naturally occurring materials. Their properties will be tunable by application of external controls, such as electric fields, mechanical stress and optical stimuli. (b) Biological and biomimetic materials (BBM) – assembled from soft materials (such as polymers) to mimic complex biological systems, BBMs will offer the versatility and adaptability of nature but be controllably variable to perform desired functions. Both these sub-topics are inherently multi-disciplinary as they combine research techniques and fundamental knowledge of Physics, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Systems and Molecular Biology, Materials Science and Engineering, Bioengineering and Applied Mathematics. In particular, additional SAF initiatives led by faculty in Chemistry (CCB) and Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) will have considerable overlap with these research areas and will contribute substantially to its development. C. Intellectual components of the strategic initiative The design, fabrication and characterization of new materials built from the “bottom-up” or “top-down” have long been a part of the innovation of Matter Science and Engineering. With rapid progress and improvement in fabrication and characterization techniques, such as ultrafast optics, electron microscopy, nano-lithography, electron and x-ray scattering, etc. the research community has been able to push the boundaries of capabilities of existing materials. Engineering novel active multifunctional matter (materials that can combine many functions – such as magnetic semiconductors capable of both information storage and processing, and can be responsive to external control) is the next step in this progression. As any research topic conceived in the 21st century, design of these materials is very multidisciplinary. However, at the very heart of this research are fundamental questions such as: (a) HNM specific research problems: 1. Identification, basic design and predictive theory: What are the most compelling multifunctional capabilities that will revolutionize material physics? How do we experimentally design and theoretically model the required functionalities to create a robust platform for macro-scale bottom-up assembly of specific nanoscale constituents? How do we improve on nature? 2. Material compatibility at the interface of hard and soft matter: How do we select and/or synthesize compatible nanoparticles and host matrices to achieve seamless integration and uniform functional properties? 3. Making ‘active’ metamatter: How do we optimize external control to tune material response? Example of our contribution: One very good example of an HNM is a cloaking device being developed at UC Merced by some Physics and Chemistry and Chemical Biology faculty (or the ‘invisibility cloak’, as it is popularly labeled by researchers, who have all read Harry Potter). A typical cloak consists of hundreds of micron-scale split-ring resonators that result in altering the path of light incident on it. This robust design, however, is static, extremely fabrication intensive and incompatible with anything on a realistic length scale. Here, we are addressing this status quo by designing amorphous cloaks, where gold nanoparticles are dispersed in electro-optically liquid crystalline material. Not only is our fluid-based HNM amenable to scaling up, it is actively switchable by temperature and electric field. The success of this project is incumbent on the integration of hard and soft condensed matter, optics, and organic chemistry. The primary design and execution are being handled by faculty with expertise in optics, spectroscopy and microscopy (physics and MSE), the nanoparticle synthesis involves Chemistry (CCB) faculty and the theoretical modeling is being led by Applied Math faculty. This multidisciplinary research is a great strength of UC Merced’s research programs and this is an example of how we are in a strong position at UC Merced to leverage our unique interdisciplinary programs to advance cutting edge research. (b) BBM specific research problems: Biomaterials have evolved to operate under extreme conditions with high fidelity and enviable tunability and self-assembly. Synthetic approaches to mimic their functional properties are a promising avenue to realize multifunctional active matter. This research will have a big impact on the healthcare industry as we face an ageing population and increasing healthcare costs. In this topic, the important fundamental questions that require addressing are: 1. What specific physical properties of biomolecules are responsible for particular functions? 2. How do we mimic these properties based on an understanding of the underlying physics? 3. How do we modify these biomimetic materials to operate on varied length scales for different applications (ex. nanorobotics, cellular transport, microfluidics) both in vitro and finally, in vivo? Our contributions: As in the case of HNMs, we have a unique blend of expertise that allows us to make invaluable contributions to these questions. Our soft condensed matter and biophysics faculty collaborate extensively with molecular and quantitative systems biology researchers to model, simulate and characterize biological systems on different scales. Examples include collaborations between faculty in QSB, BEST, CCB and also with biology and bioengineering departments at other institutions including Stanford, Kent State, UCSC, UIUC to name a few. The research touches on a wide variety of topics ranging from studying model lipid membranes and vesicles, to biopolymer aggregates to molecular motor functioning and intracellular transport to highly specific gating mechanisms. A specific example of this type of research would be computational and polymer physics modeling of the poorly understood gating mechanism of the nuclear pore complex in collaboration with members of QSB and CCB. This led to a fundamental understanding of polymer properties necessary for gating that could be realized in appropriately designed synthetic polymer gates and is currently being worked on in collaboration with a lab in MIT. Thus not only does this research contribute to answering basic questions of biological and medical relevance but understanding the basic underlying physics and materials science in these systems is a necessary prerequisite for building a new generation of bio-inspired multi-functional materials. D. UC Merced – unique strengths in this theme UC Merced is uniquely positioned to allow the growth and firm establishment of a multi-disciplinary research area. The lack of traditional departments and related divisions have already allowed several of the faculty who fall under the purview of this proposal to develop strong collaborations. This proposal will foster these collaborations further. E. Participants The following faculty will be participating in this initiative: Physics: Raymond Chiao, Chih-chun Chien, Sayantani Ghosh, Ajay Gopinathan, Linda Hirst, Lin Tian, Jay Sharping, Kevin Mitchell, Michael Schiebner, Roland Winston, and Jing Xu. Chemistry and Chemical biology: Erik Menke, Jason Hein, and Tao Ye. Materials Science and Engineering: Christopher Viney, Jennifer Lu, and Vincent Tung. Bioengineering: Wei-chun Chin. This proposal is not a single discipline/bylaw unit/graduate group oriented. As the above schematic lists, faculty from several groups will come together for development of this theme. The Physics faculty will focus on understanding the fundamental interactions that lead to new properties of the nano- and bio- metamaterials; the CCB faculty will lead the effort in synthesis and fabrication of the building blocks of these materials; and finally, Materials Science and Engineering and BioEngineering faculty will bridge the important gap between fundamental science and technological applications. Note: Almost all Physics and CCB faculty listed are also members of BEST graduate group. F. Resources realistically needed to address these important research themes. Personnel: Between now and 2020, we would like to add by 2 faculty each year, which will build critical mass in this research theme. These faculty will be divided between theory/computational and experimental hires in each of our thrust areas, and will include researchers from diverse academic backgrounds – Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, MSE, BioE and Sytems Biology. Space: • Experimental faculty will require labs, each about 1000 sq. ft. This will be inclusive of space for their graduate students (total: 10,000 sq. ft – 6000 dry, 4000 wet lab space) • Theory/computational faculty will each need 400 sq. ft. of office space for their graduate students (total: 1200 sq. ft.) • All faculty will need offices • A shared “materials synthesis laboratory” which has fume hoods, microscopes, lithography tools, absorption spectroscopy, etc. A materials synthesis laboratory would be efficient by reducing the need for fume hoods in a large number of individual labs (est. 1000 sq. ft.) • A shared “electronics laboratory” with test and measurement equipment. The electronics laboratory should feature lockable cabinets with windows so that currently unused but shareable instruments owned by a particular group can be displayed. This enables sharing of equipment and creates useful space within the research laboratory. (est. 1000 sq. ft.) • Server room space for computation needs of theory faculty (est. 200 sq. ft) Total space: 13000 sq. ft. of research space and offices for 12 faculty. Additional office space will be needed for post doctoral researchers.