Center for Functional Materials

The Center for Functional Materials was established in 2012 using funds received from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense. The Center is the interdisciplinary focus of materials science research as applied to biology, chemistry and catalysis and responds to the needs of modern STEM research as well as the education of undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs and visiting scientists. The Center has also provided support for its members' collaborations with scientists from the USA, Canada, Belgium and Germany.

In addition to academic activities, the Center continues to create opportunities for the University via IP activity, also viewed as an integral part of training students for future industrial employment. Several students are listed as co-inventors on University and Department of Defense patents. STEM training at the undergraduate level included research proposals writing, an activity that resulted in competitive grants from PS&G, New Jersey Space Consortium, INCFNJ, Clare Booth Luce Foundation, Novartis Science Scholarship, and Sol J. Barer Scholarship in Life Sciences (Celgene).

The Center also coordinates the activities of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory, important for the characterization of molecular structures in solution, as well as interactions with several X-ray facilities, important for the characterization of molecular structures in the solid-state. Publications in leading journals acknowledge the contributions of the Center.