Condensed Matter Physics Research in the DOE-BES Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering

The Materials Sciences and Engineering Division (MSED) in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES), supports research that explores the origin of macroscopic material behaviors and their fundamental connections to atomic, molecular, and electronic structures. At the core of the Division is the quest for a paradigm shift for the deterministic design and discovery of new materials with novel structures, functions, and properties. To accomplish this goal, the portfolio stresses the need to probe, understand, and control the interactions of phonons, photons, electrons, and ions with matter to direct and control energy flow in materials systems over multiple time and length scales. Research supported by the Division is divided topically into three teams, the Materials Design and Discovery Team, the Scattering and Instrumentation Sciences Team and the Condensed Matter Physics Team. In the Condensed Matter Physics team, research is supported to understand, design, and control materials properties and function. These goals are accomplished through studies of the relationship of materials structures to their electrical, optical, magnetic, surface reactivity, and mechanical properties and of the way in which materials respond to external forces such as stress, chemical and electrochemical environments, radiation, and the proximity of materials to surfaces and interfaces. An overview of the BES-MSED program will be presented, emphasizing recent accomplishments and future research directions in the area of Condensed Matter Physics.