How the Materials Innovation Platform Uses the Best Technologies to Advance Materials Research

The strength of the MIP program lies in collaboration not only among researchers within the program but also with users outside of the program and across the country. Each platform has state-of-the-art facilities that are available for use outside of the universities in which they are housed, which helps further the overarching goal of expanding and accelerating research in these areas.

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meeting

The 2026 SFG Annual Meeting

Sun Nov 8, 2026, 9:00AM - Wed Nov 11, 2026, 5:00PM

Join glycobiologists from around the world for several days of cutting-edge science, collaboration, and community. The Annual Meeting brings together leaders, early-career investigators, and trainees to share the latest advances in glycobiology research and foster meaningful connections across the field.

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2026 BioPACIFIC MIP Summer School

Mon Jul 13, 2026, 9:00AM - Fri Jul 17, 2026, 5:00PM

The BioPACIFIC MIP Summer School offers undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, faculty, technical staff, and industry researchers a week-long opportunity to learn more about scalable production of bio-derived building blocks and polymers.

Application Deadline: April 10

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New Study Points to Degradable Commodity Plastics Without Changing Manufacturing

Apr 9, 2026

Researchers from UC Santa Barbara’s BioPACIFIC MIP have reported a new route to making commodity plastics more sustainable without requiring major changes to existing manufacturing methods.

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Karen Wooley elected to the 2026 Class of the National Academy of Engineering

Mar 21, 2026

Texas A&M Professor Karen Wooley has been elected to the 2026 National Academy of Engineering, recognizing her leadership in polymer chemistry and materials science. Her work on advanced macromolecular systems spans medicine, sustainability, and nanotechnology. The honor also positions her on BioPACIFIC MIP’s External Advisory Board.

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A First-of-Its-Kind Crystal Growth Method Advances Stoichiometry Control at Penn State

Jan 18, 2026

Large single crystals with precise stoichiometry control are the cornerstones of modern-day microelectronics, global positioning systems, optical communications, energy harvesting, etc. In addition, fundamental research also relies heavily on ideal single crystals to access intrinsic properties. One central challenge in crystal growth by conventional techniques such as Czochralski and Bridgman is that large, high-quality crystals can be grown only for congruent melting compositions where the solid and liquid compositions are the same.