We discover, design, and characterize
the advanced materials humanity needs.
At UC San Diego, we leverage our cross-disciplinary expertise to discover, design, and characterize advanced materials needed to address global societal challenges. Our materials work is relevant for developing zero- and low-carbon energy and transportation systems; cost-effective healthcare advances; solutions for natural-resource sustainability; and next-generation information technologies.
This work is grounded in our ability to control materials at the level of atoms and electrons.
Equally important, we are world-leaders in characterizing the structure and function of materials at the nanoscale level using a suite of cutting-edge analytical and theoretical tools, many of which we have developed here at UC San Diego.
Learn more on the "About" page.
Download the IMDD brochure.
About
At the UC San Diego Institute for Materials Discovery and Design (IMDD)
we discover, design, and characterize the advanced materials humanity needs.
Learn more about IMDD here.
In July 2020, we celebrated our first big IMDD win: we landed an $18 million NSR MRSEC grant.
Recent News

Nanoengineers Develop a Predictive Database for Materials
November 28, 2022
Nanoengineers at the UC San Diegothe Jacobs School of Engineering have developed an AI algorithm that predicts the structure and dynamic properties of any material—whether existing or new—almost instantaneously. Full Story

Nanoengineers receive $4.3M from NIH to continue studies using plant viruses to treat cancerOctober 17, 2022
Researchers led by Nicole Steinmetz, professor of nanoengineering at the University of California San Diego, have received $4.3 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance their research using plant viruses to develop cancer immunotherapies. Full Story

Setting the stage for solid-state battery successAugust 2, 2022
Battery researchers and other engineers from University of California San Diego, with collaboration from the LG Energy Solution, have published a forward-looking perspective article in the journal Joule. In the article, the researchers outline three categories of engineering challenges that must be solved in order to transition all-solid-state batteries from the laboratory toward large-scale industrial manufacturing. These three challenges are that of precursors, processing and pressure. Full Story
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