The Materials Research Society (or MRS) is an interdisciplinary professional organization for materials researchers from academia, industry, and government. It is a recognized leader in the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and brings together scientists and engineers from across 90 different countries.

Twice a year, in Spring and Fall, the MRS hosts their conference meetings that act as an international stage for the examination and dissemination of current and emerging materials research, as well as skills and training for the development of well-rounded members. These meetings are held in Boston, MA, every fall, and in different cities (on the west coast) every spring. Each meeting incorporates more than 50 technical symposia as well as many Broader Impact sessions. Each of these meetings is attended by about 5,000 – 6,000 materials scientists, from across a range of scientific fields, backgrounds, and employment sectors – from students to Nobel Laureates.

The Spring 2024 MRS Meeting and Exhibit was held in Seattle, Washington, between April 22-26, with a virtual portion being held between May 7-9, and IMOD had a large presence at the meeting, participating in designing and hosting two symposia, one technical and one broader impacts, as well as multiple members presenting their work in spoken and poster presentations. IMOD also shared a table in the exhibit to act as a hub for discussions around the Center’s work.

The Technical session, part of the Electronics, Optics, and Photonics Section, was called “Towards Atomically Precise Colloidal Materials for Conventional and Quantum Optoelectronics”. This session was organized and hosted by IMOD students and postdocs, and included 10 sessions over four full days with 56 talks, 26 invited speakers and two poster sessions. This symposium also had a presence in the virtual conference. Multiple IMOD researchers, from across the entire Center, attended and spoke at this session. (See the program for this Symposium here).

The Broader Impacts session, part of the Broader Impacts Section, was titled “Broadening Participation in Materials Research and STEM”, was the result of a collaboration amongst a number of Science and Technology Centers (STCs), to discuss best practices and explore ideas for effective practices for integrating technical knowledge with inclusive practices in materials research outreach. This one-day event included 15 diverse international speakers, from PhD candidates to an 85-yr-old emeritus professor, and a poster session. This event brought together teams from IMOD, the Center for the Science and Technologies for Phosphorous Sustainability – STEPS, the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration – COLDEX, and IMOD’s partners at UC Merced. It also included participants from other NSF Centers, including The NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, a Center for Chemical Innovation. The symposium engaged over 200 attendees, as well as those who tuned in for the virtual section. Following up from this symposium the organizing team are putting together their findings on the best and promising practices and plan to publish this in an upcoming special issue focus on broadening participation in an MRS journal. (See the program for this Symposium here).

Thank you to all of the IMOD members who made this presence at the MRS Meeting possible!