By Kenneth A. Stewart

NPS students, faculty and staff are introduced to the broad range of research efforts underway at the university's Center for Materials Research (CMR) during the center's annual Open House and Student Poster Session in Watkins Hall, May 25. The CMR was established in 2010 as a multidisciplinary initiative through NPS' Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (GSEAS).

CMR Director NPS Distinguished Professor Young Kwon has been with the CMR since its inception. He recently described the motivation behind the open house and poster session.

"We organized the open house and student poster session in order to disseminate the CMR's activities. We also publish an annual report," said Kwon. "This is a way to get to know what kind of research is being conducted at the center so that we can collaborate with one another as well as exhibit our works to people outside the center."

The CMR encourages a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to education that addresses topics critical to the Department of Defense, Kwon adds. It also works to foster the professional development of its students through research initiatives in the materials science and engineering disciplines. The center is currently comprised of faculty members and some 60 participating students from NPS' Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics.