News

It wasn’t the most direct path to becoming a materials scientist, but Younan Xia ended up in his “dream job” with a bit of persistence, flexibility and appreciation for foundational science.   The self-described “accidental” chemist was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in materials…

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington have figured out a new way to use living cells as tiny factories for building a specific protein. Working with cells derived from human kidney tissue, the results could inform how…

To the naked eye, a piece of metal is just a piece of metal. But researchers like Tim Rupert, a professor of materials science and engineering and the Director of…

Cancer has a sweet tooth—and that craving might be more revealing than scientists once thought.

A team led by MatSci Department Head Michael Kessler is planning to convene the University Materials Council to discuss the future of materials science research and education.   The University Materials Council is made up of roughly 150 department heads, chairs, directors, and leaders…

Materials science undergraduate Mareham Yacoub has been named the 2026 National Leader of the Year for Service to Campus and Community by Omicron Delta Kappa (OΔK), a national collegiate leadership honor society.   The Omicron Delta Kappa recognizes…

Baltimore students of all ages came to the Homewood campus last month to be wowed by materials science. At a series of booths outside Levering Hall, they made slime, played with hydrogels, built…

Alex Patterson, a materials science PhD student in the Spicer Lab, recently received a Whiting School of Engineering Graduate Leadership Award. This award honors a doctoral student who has made…

A group of undergraduate researchers led by MatSci seniors Vara Gunananthan, Tyler Lee, Andrea Wat, and Jay Kim, received the prestigious WSE Dean’s Design Award for Materials Science and Engineering…

A group of undergraduates set out to develop a biodegradable pancreatic and bile duct stent for patients healing from one of the most complex types of surgery for cancer.

The five-year award will support her research into improving zinc batteries, a potential next-generation, grid-level energy source.

Doctors insert more than 2 million tiny wire mesh tubes, or heart stents, into Americans’ blood vessels a year to treat heart disease, according to health care market research firm iData Research.  Stents are one of many implants…