IUCRC Phase III University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Center for Metamaterials (CfM)

The Center for Metamaterials (CfM) at University of North Carolina in Charlotte (UNCC) focuses on the research and development of metamaterials. Metamaterials are man-made materials that and offer new ways to control the flow of light and enable sophisticated filtering and detection. Metamaterials are making an impact on sensing, imaging, antennas, and energy harvesting. The Center's primary focus is on optical, infrared and radar applications of metamaterials. The projects conducted within the CfM are developed collaboratively. The research is conducted by graduate and undergraduate students under the guidance of CfM professors and Center members. Students, many of whom come from under-represented groups in science and engineering, obtain mentorship from the industry members; this mentorship prepares them for professional careers after graduation. The CfM contributes to the workforce development of trained and highly skilled scientists and engineers. The faculty and students at CfM work in close collaboration with members (industry and government) to develop new knowledge, new materials' capabilities, and software tools for the fundamental understanding and practical design of metamaterials. The technology roadmap provides a framework for the clustering of project objectives into more specific goals. To ensure the long-term success and viability of the Center, efforts focus on metamaterials research for a broad range of commercially relevant applications. CfM goals are to better understand and exploit the new properties associated with these structured materials. Within the CfM there are many foundational scientific questions to be addressed, concerning understanding and modeling the physical processes that occur when electromagnetic or mechanical waves interact with subwavelength sized structures. Resonant behavior combined with effective medium descriptions can be used to predict unusual material properties such as negative or zero refractive index. Exploiting resonant behavior in subwavelength elements, surface patterns, and composites, all demand more complete descriptions and a deeper understanding of field-matter interactions. The emerging long-term challenge is to engineer material properties that are low loss, broadband, tunable, low-cost, and manufacturable at scales relevant for technological applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.