It is evident that humanity requires an ever-increasing array of resources, ranging from computational capabilities to steel and concrete, to satisfy the rising needs tied to data centers, infrastructure, and various essential components of society. Fresh, economical strategies for fabricating the sophisticated materials crucial for that advancement were the highlight of a two-day seminar at MIT on March 11 and 12.
A recurring theme during the event was the significance of teamwork between and within academic institutions and industries. The objective is to “create concepts that everyone can utilize collaboratively, rather than each party pursuing unique solutions and later attempting to reconcile them at significant expense,” remarked Lionel Kimerling, the Thomas Lord Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT.
The seminar was organized by MIT’s Materials Research Laboratory (MRL), which maintains a consortium of industry professionals, along with MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program.
The agenda included a presentation by Javier Sanfelix, head of the Advanced Materials Team for the European Union. Sanfelix provided an overview of the EU’s plan for developing advanced materials, which he stated are “critical drivers of the green and digital transformation for European industries.”
This strategy has already resulted in multiple initiatives. These consist of a material commons, or a shared digital platform for the design and development of advanced materials, and an advanced materials academy aimed at training new innovators and designers. Sanfelix also outlined an Advanced Materials Act scheduled for 2026 that seeks to establish a legislative framework supporting the complete innovation cycle.
Sanfelix visited MIT to gain insights into how the Institute is shaping the future of advanced materials. “We view MIT as a global leader in technology, particularly regarding materials, and there is much to learn from [your] industry collaborations and technology transfer practices,” he noted.
Advancements in steel and concrete
The workshop commenced with discussions on advancements related to two of the most prevalent human-made substances globally: steel and cement. We will require greater quantities of both, but we must confront the substantial amounts of energy needed for their production and their environmental effects stemming from greenhouse gas emissions generated during this process.
One solution to our steel demand is to repurpose existing materials, said C. Cem Tasan, the POSCO Associate Professor of Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) and director of the Materials Research Laboratory.
However, most currently available recycling methods for scrap steel involve melting the material. “And whenever molten metal is involved, everything escalates, from energy consumption to carbon-dioxide emissions. It complicates the process,” Tasan explained.
The inquiry his team proposed was whether they could repurpose scrap steel without melting it. Could they amalgamate solid scraps and then roll them together using current machinery to produce new sheet metal? From a materials-science perspective, Tasan stated, this approach seemingly shouldn’t succeed, for various reasons.
Yet it does work. “We’ve already demonstrated the potential in two papers and submitted two patent applications,” he said. Tasan emphasized that this method centers on high-quality manufacturing scrap. “This isn’t just junkyard scrap,” he clarified.
Tasan elaborated on how and why the novel process functions from a materials science standpoint before providing illustrations of how the recycled steel might be utilized. “One of my favorite examples is the stainless-steel countertops in restaurants. Do you truly require the mechanical properties of stainless steel in that situation?” The recycled steel could serve as a suitable alternative.
Hessam Azarijafari focused on another essential, ubiquitous material: concrete. This year marks the 16th anniversary of the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), initiated when a group of industry leaders and officials reached out to MIT to better understand the advantages and environmental consequences of concrete.
The hub’s initiatives now revolve around three principal themes: striving for a carbon-neutral concrete industry; the establishment of sustainable infrastructure, particularly concerning pavement; and enhancing the resilience of urban areas against natural disasters through investments in stronger, cooler construction methods.
Azarijafari, the deputy director of the CSHub, went on to showcase various research findings that have emerged from the CSHub. These encompass numerous models aimed at identifying diverse pathways to decarbonize the cement and concrete sectors. Additional research pertains to pavements, which the public typically views as inert, Azarijafari mentioned. “But we have [developed] a cutting-edge model that can evaluate the interactions between pavement and vehicles.” It turns out that the characteristics of the pavement surface and its structural performance “can affect excessive fuel consumption by creating additional rolling resistance.”
Azarijafari emphasized the necessity of close collaboration with policymakers and the industry. This engagement is vital “for disseminating the insights we have gleaned thus far.”
Advancing a resource-efficient microchip sector
Consider this: In 2020, the quantity of cell phones, GPS devices, and other gadgets connected to the “cloud,” or extensive data centers, surpassed 50 billion. Moreover, data center traffic is projected to increase by 1,000 times every decade.
However, all this computation requires energy. And “everything must occur at a constant energy cost, as the gross domestic product isn’t growing at that pace,” Kimerling pointed out. The remedy lies in either producing significantly more energy or enhancing the energy efficiency of information technology. Multiple speakers at the workshop emphasized the materials and components behind the latter approach.
Central to their discussions was the incorporation of photonics—utilizing light to transmit information—into the established electronics that power today’s microchips. “The bottom line is that integrating photonics with electronics in a single package represents the transistor of the 21st century. If we cannot discover how to achieve this, then we will struggle to scale forward,” said Kimerling, who directs the MIT Microphotonics Center.
MIT has long been at the forefront of uniting photonics with electronics. For instance, Kimerling mentioned the Integrated Photonics System Roadmap – International (IPSR-I), a global collaboration of over 400 industrial and R&D partners who are collectively working to define and implement photonic integrated circuit technologies. IPSR-I is spearheaded by the MIT Microphotonics Center along with PhotonDelta. Kimerling established the organization in 1997.
Last year, IPSR-I unveiled its latest plan for photonics-electronics integration, “which delineates a clear pathway forward and outlines an inventive learning curve for enhancing performance and applications over the next 15 years,” Kimerling remarked.
Another significant MIT initiative concerning the future of the microchip sector is FUTUR-IC, a new global coalition for sustainable microchip production. Launched last year, FUTUR-IC receives funding from the National Science Foundation.
“Our objective is to establish a resource-efficient microchip industry value chain,” stated Anuradha Murthy Agarwal, a principal research scientist at the MRL and head of FUTUR-IC. This encompasses all components necessary for manufacturing future microchips, including workforce training and strategies to minimize potential environmental impacts.
FUTUR-IC is also dedicated to electronic-photonic convergence. “My guiding principle is to use electronics for computation and transition to photonics for communication to maintain control over this energy crisis,” Agarwal remarked.
Nevertheless, merging electronic chips with photonic chips poses challenges. Accordingly, Agarwal outlined some of the hurdles encountered. For instance, it is currently challenging to connect optical fibers that transmit communications to a microchip. The alignment required between the two must be nearly flawless, or the light will disperse. The scales involved are minuscule; an optical fiber’s diameter is merely millionths of a meter. Consequently, each connection must presently be actively tested with a laser to confirm that the light will transmit effectively.
That said, Agarwal proceeded to describe a new coupler designed to link the fiber and chip, which could rectify the issue and enable robots to assemble the chips passively (no laser required). The work, conducted by researchers including MIT graduate student Drew Wenninger, Agarwal, and Kimerling, is patented and has been documented in two papers. A second recent innovation in this domain, involving a printed micro-reflector, was discussed by Juejun “JJ” Hu, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.
FUTUR-IC is also spearheading educational initiatives to train the next generation of professionals, alongside methods for detecting—and potentially eliminating—the perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, or “forever chemicals”) generated during microchip manufacturing. FUTUR-IC’s educational initiatives, which incorporate virtual reality and game-based learning, were outlined by Sajan Saini, education director for FUTUR-IC. The detection and remediation of PFAS were addressed by Aristide Gumyusenge, an assistant professor in DMSE, and Jesus Castro Esteban, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry.
Other speakers at the workshop included Antoine Allanore, the Heather N. Lechtman Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Katrin Daehn, a postdoctoral researcher in the Allanore lab; Xuanhe Zhao, the Uncas (1923) and Helen Whitaker Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Richard Otte, CEO of Promex; and Carl Thompson, the Stavros V. Salapatas Professor in Materials Science and Engineering.