Center News
Exploring Brain Complexity: Professor Paul Bogdan’s Breakthrough in Nature Communications
At COMPASS, we are proud to spotlight the groundbreaking work of Professor Paul Bogdan of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. His paper, “Spiking dynamics of individual neurons reflect changes in...
COMPASS Junior Scientist Presents at International Summer School on Statistical Physics
COMPASS is delighted to recognize Abhishek Bathina, a second-year Ph.D. student in Professor Emanuela Del Gado’s lab at Georgetown University, for his recent contribution to the XVI Summer School on Fundamental Problems in Statistical Physics (FPSP XVI), held June...
Emanuela Del Gado Lab Awarded 2025 AAUW International Women Fellowship
Since 1917, AAUW’s International Fellowships have been a catalyst for education, equity, and leadership—investing in women from around the world who are pursuing postgraduate studies or research in the U.S. These fellowships are specifically for women who are non-U.S....
Emanuela Del Gado Awarded 2025-2026 Soft Matter Fellowship from ISMSM
Two ongoing research projects are contributing to the understanding of complex systems in both materials science and biochemistry—exploring the mechanics of soft biological materials and the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease. Modeling Nature to...
Bridging the Macro and Nano: COMPASS Researchers Unlock Phonon Dynamics in Self-Assembled Nanoparticle Lattices
A new publication in Nature Materials by COMPASS researchers Xiaoming Mao (University of Michigan) and Qian Chen (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) offers a breakthrough in visualizing and understanding the dynamics of nanoscale mechanical metamaterials. Using...
Exploring the Future of Functional Nanomaterials: Polymer-Patched Plasmonic Nanoparticles
A new publication from COMPASS researchers, including Chansong Kim and colleagues, highlights exciting advancements at the intersection of surface patchiness design and plasmonic nanoparticles—a rapidly emerging area in materials science and nanotechnology. Published...
Qian Chen Awarded 2025 Langmuir Lectureship by the American Chemical Society
COMPASS is proud to announce that Professor Qian Chen, Racheff Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received the 2025 Langmuir Lectureship from the American Chemical Society (ACS)....
Frontiers of Innovation: COMPASS & the Future of Tech
The World Economic Forum just released its Top 10 Emerging Technologies for 2025—and we’re excited to see familiar territory. It’s especially compelling that two of these breakthrough technologies, nanozymes and structural battery composites, are actively being...
Emergent Complexity in Non-Equilibrium Metal Alloys: Insights from the Work of Martin Thuo and Team
Understanding how complexity arises from seemingly simple, ordered states is central to materials science—and few systems illustrate this better than undercooled metal alloys. In recent work, Dr. Martin Thuo and collaborators, including Andrew Martin, Ph.D., explored...
Professor Martin Thuo Named African Male Researcher of the Month
We are proud to recognize Professor Martin Thuo, Deputy Director of COMPASS and faculty member at North Carolina State University, as the African Male Researcher of the Month for May 2025. Professor Thuo’s visionary work in nanotechnology, applied polymer science, and...
Kids Who Code hosted 3 students at NCRC for an MC2 Tour
Kids Who Code students local to the Ann Arbor and Detroit areas were invited to tour the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) and the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization (MC2). Dr. Nancy Muyanja showcased how researchers study complex materials, including...
Exploring Brain Health Across Scales: A Two-Day Challenge on the Networks that Drive Neuroinnovation
On May 7–8, 2025, COMPASS proudly partnered with the Biointerfaces Institute at the University of Michigan to present the Nanoscale, Microscale, and Macroscale Networks in Brain Health Technologies Challenge. The two-day event convened a dynamic community of...