Michelle Foley, Illustration Editor

Yale recently received its first Research Traineeship award from the National Science Foundation to create a new doctoral training program in quantum materials.

The program, which is supported by a $3 million grant from the NSF and led by faculty at the School of Engineering & Applied Science, is an effort to develop advanced research and studies in materials science. Quantum materials is a smaller field of study focusing on materials that do not follow the classical laws of physics, such as complex magnets, superconductors and ultra-cold atoms. Alongside new classes and research opportunities, the program will also include professional skills training and internship opportunities at partner companies such as Meta and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

“The research program is not dissimilar from what is already being carried out at Yale in individual laboratories, but what is quite new is the ability of a large number of researchers to work collectively on one set of quantum materials problems,” Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, a SEAS professor and a co-investigator for the grant, wrote to the News. 

Ismail-Beigi explained that Yale does not currently have a standalone doctoral degree program in materials science. The new program is designed to train more than 30 doctoral students to work toward their doctorate in departments such as Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science while also completing the requirements for a Quantum Materials Science and Engineering, or QMSE, certificate.

Participating students take a one-semester introductory course on quantum materials as well as classes on quantum mechanics, solid-state physics and data science. Students will also be able to research the growth, structure and electronic properties of quantum nanowires grown at Yale with the help of machine learning.

“This program will also catalyze the formation of a Ph.D. degree-granting program in materials science and engineering,” Corey O’Hern, co-principal investigator for the grant, explained. “It will enable the formation of a strong cohort of doctoral students, who are trained to tackle cutting-edge and interdisciplinary research questions in quantum materials science and engineering via coursework, professional skills development and interactions with industry.”

The program will favor applications from students who are underrepresented in STEM. Ismail-Beigi predicted that the program will be able to continue to favor applications from underrepresented groups despite the recent affirmative action Supreme Court decision. 

“This NRT program is aimed at graduate students and not about college admissions so, perhaps, due to the different policies, evaluation criteria and approaches for graduate versus undergraduate admissions the direct recruiting of underrepresented STEM applicants may not be affected,” Ismail-Beigi wrote to the News.

The program will also teach skills such as mentoring, outreach, team building and science communication. This supplemental skills training is intended to guide students toward more successful careers in STEM. 

Emma Carley, the program’s coordinator, explained that program activities would include “workshops about best practices in science writing and presentation, outreach events with local K-12 students, and networking opportunities with scientists from a range of careers in QMSE-related fields.” 

Yale’s School of Engineering & Applied Science is located at 17 Hillhouse Ave.