Page 12 - CEMS News Winter 2023

FACULTY NEWS
Chris Leighton leads Materials
Research Science and Engineering
Center (MRSEC)
Leighton replaced Regents Professor Timothy Lodge, who had served as MRSEC director since late 2005.
Professor Chris Leighton has been appointed by College of Science and Engineering Dean Andrew Alleyne as the new director of the National Science Foundation- sponsored Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). The four-year appointment that runs through September 2026 was approved by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Leighton, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Distinguished University Teaching Professor, replaced Regents Professor Timothy Lodge who served as MRSEC director since late 2005.
Leighton said, “I’m truly excited to take over as MRSEC director. I’ve inherited a wonderful set-up from Professor Lodge, and the center is in great shape. I’m looking forward to strategically positioning the Center in the strongest possible way for eventual renewal. We
have a phenomenal team of faculty, staff, post-docs, and students involved, world-leading research, and extraordinary efforts in education, outreach, and DEI, which puts us in an ideal position.”
“Professor Leighton is ideally positioned for the role of MRSEC director,” Lodge said. “He has played a major role in the MRSEC for many years and has led our world- renowned Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) on Ionic Control of Materials for almost a decade. He brings a wealth of experience in the field and has a well-deserved international reputation for the creativity and vision of his research program.”
Leighton’s research focuses on a wide variety
of materials, such as nanostructures, thin films, heterostructures, and single crystals. The MRSEC research group previously led by Leighton aims to access novel electronic and magnetic properties by direct application of strong local electric fields to
Professor Chris Leighton is the new director for the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). Photo credit: Rebecca Slater, By Rebecca Studios.
promising new materials. This Quantum Leap-aligned research realizes extraordinary materials control, thereby enabling new approaches to low-power magnetic data storage and processing, neuro-inspired computation, and nanophotonic devices.
Leighton has received numerous research and teaching awards and has published almost 250 research papers. He has previously held the Amundson Chair and Shell Chair in CEMS.
The NSF-sponsored MRSEC was established at the University of Minnesota in 1998. In 2020, the University of Minnesota was awarded $18 million from NSF in renewed funding over six years for the MRSEC. This was the fourth renewal of the University of Minnesota MRSEC, with cumulative total funding exceeding $79 million from NSF.
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