With NSF-funded DMREF project, Chang-Beom Eom puts a new twist on complex oxide research

Chang-Beom Eom, the Raymond R. Holton Chair for Engineering and Theodore H. Geballe Professor in materials science and engineering, and Mark Rzchowski, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are part of a four-year project selected by the National Science Foundation Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program.

The team involves collaborators from the University of Nebraska and the University of Pittsburgh. They will use the $2 million in funding for a project called “Moire-Engineered Oxide Membrane Heterostructures by Design.”

The project focuses on structures made by stacking layers of extremely thin, free-standing membranes of materials called complex oxides, which have unique electrical, magnetic and optical properties. The layers are then twisted and stacked. This creates a repeating moiré interference pattern that changes the local atomic arrangement and the electronic environment of the materials. This can dramatically alter their properties, leading to materials with new functionalities that could spawn useful applications. 

The research combines state-of-the-art theoretical modeling approaches, advanced synthesis techniques for creating oxide membranes, and unique characterization methods, particularly Quantum Twisting Microscopy for nanoscale probing.

The project is one of 25 DMREF projects awarded in 2025 to 104 researchers at 44 universities across 25 states. The goal of DMREF is to get new materials to market faster and cheaper than what is possible through traditional research methods. This involves seamless partnerships within DMREF teams and across four directorates at NSF. The translation of fundamental research toward manufacturing and application is facilitated through valuable partnerships with a variety of federal research programs and international partners.

DMREF teams couple theory, data science and artificial intelligence with advanced synthesis and characterization techniques to discover materials and optimize their properties for the next generation of applications including semiconductors, quantum devices, wireless technology, biotechnology, energy efficiency and resilient structural materials.