Everything is made of something.
Making a more sustainable and healthier world starts with imagining new materials. Everything from renewable energy to medical devices to consumer electronics can be advanced by improving the materials they are made from.
Our Programs
Studying the properties of materials and their applications is ideal for those who are excited to work at the forefront of industries like electronics, energy, and healthcare.
Strategic Areas of Research
-
![Eric Dufresne Research image of Droplets]()
Bioinspired Materials and Systems
Bioinspired composites, engineered protein films for adhesion, lubrication and sensing applications, molecular tools for in-vitro and in-vivo imaging, and biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery.
-
![Andrej Singer Research Image of bright spectrum of colors across a rectangle]()
Electronics and Photonics
Oxide semiconductors, 3D integration, materials beyond silicon, high K and low K dielectrics, plasmonics, spintronics and multiferroics.
-
![Research Image from Julia Dshemuchadse's group]()
Energy Production and Storage
Photocatalysis, photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, phononics, batteries and supercapacitors.
-
![Crosspolarized microscope image of cholesterol acetate crystals with added quarter waveplate]()
Green Technologies
We have targeted green composites and new systems for CO2 capture and conversion as areas of future growth.
News Highlights
-
![]()
Never lose your sense of wonder: Advice for the Class of 2025
Lara Estroff, chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Industrial Chemistry, delivered the following remarks at her department’s graduation ceremony on May 24, 2025.
-
![Jill Tarter]()
Jill Tarter ’65 keynotes celebration of women engineers at Cornell
Renowned astronomer and engineer Jill Tarter ’65 delivered the keynote address at a two-day symposium celebrating 140 years of women in engineering at Cornell, which also featured panel discussions and remarks from women leaders.
-
![Seth took a decidedly DIY approach for Solar-Tune by using barbecue bags, Glauber’s salt, Gorilla Glue and metal shavings.]()
Solar solutions: ‘MacGyver engineering’ extends PV panel life
A materials science and engineering student and his professor devised a low-cost, DIY way to increase the lifespan and efficiency of commercial photovoltaic modules: by lowering the panel’s operating temperature with phase-change materials.
-
![Clear molecules]()
X-ray study sheds light on cost-effective fuel cell materials
Cornell researchers have captured an unprecedented, real-time view of how a promising catalyst material transforms during operation, providing new insights that could lead to replacement of expensive precious metals in clean-energy technologies.
