NC State Materials Science

Researchers at NC State have discovered that van der Waals forces, the weak interactions that help hold materials together at the atomic scale, can play an important role in shaping the properties of ferroelectric thin films.

The team led by Assistant Professor Yin Liu and Ph.D. student Yueyin Wang found that these forces can influence a material's thickness, strain and domain architecture, all characteristics that affect electronic performance. They also demonstrated that using a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) as a substrate produced larger, higher-quality tin selenide (SnSe) thin films with fewer defects.

The findings could help researchers develop new materials for smaller, more energy-efficient electronic devices.

The study was published in ACS Nano by researchers from NC State, the University of Florida, Pennsylvania State University, Argonne National Laboratory and Texas A&M University.

Read more: http://ncst.at/2jeF50Za9cZ

Big congratulations to Dr. Farhan Ishrak on successfully defending his Ph.D. dissertation at NC State MSE.

Dissertation title: “Solid-State Design of SmCo5-Based Metal-Matrix Structural Magnetic Composites”

Farhan was advised by Professor Bharat Gwalani.

Join us in celebrating this major academic milestone and wishing Dr. Ishrak continued success in research and engineering.

Congratulations to our 2026 MSE Senior Award winners! 🎉

Each year, the NC State Department of Materials Science and Engineering celebrates graduating seniors who go above and beyond in leadership and scholarly achievement.

🏆 Grace Harvey received the MSE Senior Award for Leadership for her work strengthening the MSE community as Lead Undergraduate Ambassador, expanding outreach to Engineering First-Year students and helping many discover materials science and engineering for the first time.

🔬 Eli Rodrigues received the MSE Senior Award for Scholarly Achievement for his exceptional academic record and his research on advanced oxide materials in the Xu Research Group, including twisted oxide membranes and next-generation electronic materials.

Both Grace and Eli will represent MSE as nominees for the NC State College of Engineering Senior Awards.

We are proud of their accomplishments and can’t wait to see where their paths take them next.

Read the full story at http://ncst.at/KLec50YBby6