NIST Launches Combinatorial Methods Center |
| National Kick-Off Meeting January 23, 2002 |
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On Thursday, January 23, 2002, in San Diego, CA the National Institute of Standards and Technology launched, a collaborative research center devoted to advancing the state-of-the-art in high-throughput methods that can rapidly accelerate development of new materials. The inaugural meeting for the new NIST Combinatorial Methods Center, to be based at NIST’s Gaithersburg, Md., campus, was held in conjunction with Combi 2002, an annual conference on combinatorial approaches to discovering new materials. At the NCMC kick-off meeting, NIST materials scientists and engineers explained the structure, functions, and capabilities of the new center. They also described opportunities to participate in center efforts to develop research tools, data libraries, and methods for efficient storage, retrieval, and use of information—all aimed at speeding materials development. The range of materials addressed was broad, from polymers to biomaterials to optical-electronic inorganic materials. In contrast to traditional, "one-at-a-time" testing of materials properties, combinatorial methods allow researchers to explore simultaneously—or in rapid sequence—combinations of materials characteristics and formulations on a miniaturized scale. These still-evolving methods enable researchers to quickly evaluate how variables such as thickness, process temperature, and composition influence a material’s performance. With combinatorial tools, they can pinpoint optimal processing conditions, screen for novel properties, and build comprehensive data sets for constructing predictive models. The NCMC will concentrate on devising and testing emerging high-throughput approaches to investigate the properties, structure, and processing requirements critical for development of promising new materials. For instance, the NIST team has demonstrated success in developing combinatorial methods for measuring adhesion, an area of critical importance to a broad spectrum of chemical and manufacturing industries for developing new products. During the morning session of the meeting, NIST experts outlined the major measurement and quality-assurance challenges posed by combinatorial materials research. The afternoon session focused on targets of opportunity for collaborative research. Businesses, universities, and other organizations can become involved in center activities in several ways, from attending regular updates on developments in combinatorial methods to formal participation in joint research projects.
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| NIST Materials Science & Engineering Laboratory - Polymers Division |