Science of Extreme and Multifunctional Materials
Our team utilizes advanced chemistry, materials science, and computational tools across a variety of areas, including hypersonics, deployable manufacturing, space applications, warfighter protection, expeditionary technologies, clean water, AI-enabled materials discovery, and advanced coatings.
Program Manager: Morgan Trexler
Assistant Program Manager: Leslie Hamilton
Focus Areas
Hypersonics →
Creating new materials with extreme survivability, evaluating performance in relevant environments, and linking materials to operational improvements
Deployable Manufacturing
Inventing new alloys, understanding new formation mechanisms, creating unique structures, and enabling new capabilities on demand
Space Applications
Creating new materials and manufacturing processes to enable new space-based missions
Warfighter Protection
Inventing new materials to enable protection of deployed forces and understanding protection mechanisms
Expeditionary Technologies
Developing materials with novel capabilities and field-forward utility for warfighters on the battlefield and at sea
AI-Enabled Materials Discovery →
Revolutionizing materials discovery by employing artificial intelligence, paired with high-throughput synthesis and characterization
Advanced Coatings
Developing coatings with integrated, novel capabilities for the warfighter, the planet, and beyond
Featured Work
Revolutionizing Materials Discovery for National Security
Eliminating Forever Chemicals
Advancing Materials for Thermal Management
Developing Battery- and Solar-Powered Fibers
Creating Coatings for Extreme Environments
Watch
AI Helps Discover Novel Superconductor →
A multidisciplinary team at APL has discovered a novel superconductor using artificial intelligence. The key to this breakthrough came through combining materials science expertise and real data into a predictive AI model, which vastly accelerates the timeline of targeted materials discovery.
Eliminating Forever Chemicals from the World’s Water → SXSW 2024
PFAS are widely used, long-lasting chemicals that have caused widespread contamination in our air, water, and land. Compounds in PFAS are so strong that they don’t degrade naturally and linger in the environment, earning them the label “forever chemicals.” Studies have shown that PFAS exposure may be linked to harmful effects in humans and animals. In a panel at SXSW 2024, APL’s Leslie Hamilton and the EPA’s Mohamed Ateia Ibrahim discussed how government, academia, and industry are working together to overcome PFAS-related challenges by developing new technologies, approaches, and policies to detect, destroy, and ultimately replace these chemicals.
Featured Publications
Journals and Conference Proceedings →
Our research is published in a number of peer-reviewed journals and in conference proceedings.
Impact
Next-Generation Materials →
APL is dedicated to advancing next-generation materials for critical national security applications, such as hypersonic flight, space-based missions, and naval ship construction.