Discovering New Materials for Tomorrow's Technologies
Now accepting applications for Fall 2024:
MS Materials Science program
See the Catalog Description of the two tracks in the program.
Apply Now!
Applications due July 31, 2024 and are reviewed when received.
The Center for Advanced Functional Materials scholars have the opportunity to participate in summer research programs, academic year-long research and research abroad. Scholars will receive research stipends while working with our faculty members. CAFM also partners with community colleges such as College of the Desert, Victor Valley College, and San Bernardino Valley College providing students with a chance to get familiar with the CSUSB community while gaining research skills working alongside fellow STEM peers. We also partner with CSUSB Upward Bound program to provide high school students with hands-on University level research experience. There are many opportunities to attend national conferences for a chance to present research findings, all-expense paid research trips, summer internships with NASA, and many more!
Vision Statement
The Center for Advanced Functional Materials will support the development of new materials with interesting properties, and promote understanding of structure/function relationships in a range of functional materials. At the same time, we will promote educational and professional development opportunities for faculty and students on multiple sites, enhancing the quality of the experience and progress through synergistic collaboration.
This vision will be addressed through the following objectives:
- Improve on our quality undergraduate research mentoring and a pipeline from high school, to the baccalaureate degree to a graduate education;
- Enhance our successful research student recruiting and mentoring, focusing particularly on women;
- Move forward with an interdisciplinary Master’s program in Materials Science, whose need was clearly demonstrated by a professional assessment during CREST I;
- Expand our local CREST faculty team by at least 2 additional CSUSB faculty;
- More tightly integrate the research performed on Community College (CC) campuses, with the materials research at CSUSB and expand CC outreach program from two to three Minority-Serving campuses;
- Continue to build partnerships with existing (University of Nebraska, Lincoln--UNL; University of Buffalo--UB; NASA Armstrong) and new (NIST Center for Neutron Research--NCNR, Cal Poly Pomona--CPP) research collaborators through personnel exchanges and joint research projects, and
- Build on the fundamental predictions, preparations, and property evaluation of functional materials towards application in formulations and function.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 1914777.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.