Materials Research Seed Grant Program

The OSU Materials Research Seed Grant Program (MRSGP) is jointly funded and managed by the Center for Emergent Materials (CEM), an NSF MRSEC [NSF DMR-2011876], the Center for Exploration of Novel Complex Materials (ENCOMM), and the Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research (IMR).

2025–2026 OSU Materials Research Seed Grant Program Awardees

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025–2026 OSU Materials Research Seed Grant Program (MRSGP), a joint initiative of the Center for Emergent Materials (CEM), the Center for Exploration of Novel Complex Materials (ENCOMM), and the Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research (IMR).

This year's cohort reflects the strength and breadth of materials research at Ohio State, spanning quantum materials, biomaterials, microelectronics, and next-generation energy storage. 

Multidisciplinary Team Building Grants (MTBG)

  • Yiying Wu (Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) — "Salt Designs for Polymer Electrolytes: Plasticizer-in-Anion Strategy for High-Conductivity Solid Electrolytes" — $70,000
  • Sarah Wolff (Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) — "Additive Manufacturing of Ferroelectric Oxides for Microelectronic Devices" — $70,000

Exploratory Materials Research Grants (EMRG)

  • Alexander von Hoegen (Assistant Professor, Physics) — "Terahertz Cavity Engineering of 2D Quantum Materials" — $50,000
  • Blaise Kimmel (Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) — "Engineering Metalloenzyme Biomaterials for Rare-Earth and Heavy-Metal Recovery" — $50,000
  • Kaveh Ahadi (Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering / Electrical and Computer Engineering) — "Extreme Electron Density in Heterogeneous Heterostructures (EXEDE H2)" — $50,000

 

Materials Research Proto-IRG Seed Program

2026-2027 Request for Proposals

We are pleased to announce the 2026-2027 Proto-IRG Seed Grant Program Request for Proposals (RFP), which is open to The Ohio State University (OSU) materials community. The goal of this program is to seed innovative, collaborative directions and teams in materials research that will position OSU as a world leader in emerging fields. These teams are expected to form the basis of Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs) for the FY29 National Science Foundation (NSF) supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) competition.

Download the 2026-27 RFP here.

 

Key Dates

  • Request for Proposals Issued: Thursday, July 23rd, 2026
  • Team-Building Materials Brainstorming Lunch: Tuesdays, August 4th, August 18th, September 1st, 12-1pm, CBEC 267
  • Team-building Poster Session: Wednesday, August 26th, 2026, 4138 PRB, 4:00-6:00 pm
  • Letters of Intent Due: Thursday, September 3rd, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
  • Notice of Proto-IRG Appropriateness: Friday, September 4th, 2026
  • Proposals Due: Monday, September 25th, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
  • Awards Announced (anticipated): October 15th, 2026
  • Funded Projects Start Date (anticipated): January 1st, 2027 (12-month project period)

Additional Information

Joanna Gardner
Research Development Manager
Joanna leads pre-award proposal development, post-award program management, and seed grant administration for IMR faculty, while coordinating international research partnerships and events supporting the institute’s mission.
Joanna Gardner headshot