About

Aim and Vision

At the UCL Institute for Materials Discovery (IMD), our vision is to lead the way in innovative, interdisciplinary materials science. We are dedicated to addressing pressing societal needs by harnessing the power of science, technology, and mathematics.

Collaborating with faculties within the BEAMS school, such as the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MAPS), the Faculty of Engineering Science, the School of the Built Environment (The Bartlett) and also with the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. , we leverage UCL's world-leading research on functional and sustainable materials. Our goals are clear:

Interdisciplinary Excellence: We aim to integrate fundamental principles from chemistry, physics, materials science, engineering, computer science, and biology across all disciplines.
Materials Advancement: We strive to create new horizons in materials creation, discovery, and application, fostering clean energy, nanotechnology, energy storage, and biomedicine technologies.
Sustainable Innovation: Our commitment is to accelerate and streamline materials discovery through sustainable, cost-efficient methods, ultimately leading to new products and applications that shape a better future.

Join us in our journey to redefine materials science and pioneer solutions to the world's most critical challenges.

Focus on delivery

At IMD, we are dedicated to crafting innovative materials that provide solutions to pressing global challenges, including:

The environment and climate change
Renewable and sustainable energy
Healthcare
Biotechnology
Advanced manufacturing
Products and technology
Materials efficiency
Data driven innovation

Core Strategies for Transformative Material Advancements

With five core strategies, the fundamental and applied research of IMD intends to deliver step-changes in advanced materials:

1. Interdisciplinary Integration: We harmonize fundamental principles from chemistry, physics, materials science, computer science, engineering and biology.

2. Multifaceted Research: Our approach combines computational, experimental, and engineering research to push the boundaries of material innovation.

3. Sustainability and Viability: We merge sustainability with economic feasibility to enhance existing and create new processing technologies.

4. Industry Collaboration: By collaborating closely with industry partners, we ensure our research has a tangible commercial impact, addressing present and future needs.

5. Efficiency Maximization: Our goal is to optimize materials development from theory to scale-up, all while maximizing efficiency throughout the process.

The People

At IMD, our research is driven by a dedicated core team of researchers, supported by an extensive network of collaborators and partners. Discover more about the individuals behind our work on our dedicated People page.