James Franck Institute
Director's introduction, Steven J. Sibener | Faculty Research Summaries
The James Franck Institute is an interdisciplinary association of scientists with primary interests in the study of physical chemistry, condensed matter physics, and materials chemistry. It is the paradigmatic interdisciplinary research institute in the U.S. fostering forefront research at the boundaries between these disciplines. It was established after World War II as the Institute for the Study of Metals, with the present name being adopted in 1967 to reflect a broader emphasis on the chemistry and physics of materials: solids, liquids, and gases. Theoretical and experimental research in the Institute concerns nonequilibrium phenomena, chemical dynamics, nanoscience, materials chemistry, phase transitions, superconductivity, chemical kinetics, molecular beams, laser spectroscopy, surface phenomena, semiconductors, polymer chemistry and physics, biophysics, and dynamical systems. The Institute provides an environment in which scientists of varied disciplines interact and aid each other's research; it extends to predoctoral and postdoctoral research students the opportunity to study and do research in an interdisciplinary setting. Most of the faculty in the Institute are also associated with the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, supported by the National Science Foundation.
Much of the work in progress utilizes specialized facilities operated by the Institute. These include a low-temperature (cryogenics) laboratory, a materials preparation laboratory, x-ray diffraction and analytical chemistry laboratories, scanning probe and electron microscopies, and extensive shop and computer facilities. Formal courses are not offered by the Institute but a weekly colloquium series and frequent special seminars bring in outside scientists to discuss current research.
All thirty-three members of the Institute faculty hold joint appointments in one or more departments, including Chemistry, Physics, Geophysical Sciences, Computer Science, and Mathematics. In addition, there are in the James Franck Institute approximately seventeen Research Associates and eighty graduate students, often shared by advisors from different academic departments. The intellectual environment is further enriched by more senior scholars including Senior Research Associates, Research Scientists and Visiting Scholars. In an age where much cutting-edge research lies at the boundaries between traditional disciplines, the James Franck Institute strives to stimulate creative interdisciplinary work at the forefront of science.Steven J. Sibener, Director