Three-dimensional (3D) printing represents the direct fabrication of parts layer-by-layer, guided by digital information from a computer-aided design file without any part-specific tooling. Over the past three decades, a variety of 3D printing technologies have evolved that have transformed the idea of direct printing of parts for numerous applications. Three-dimensional printing technology offers significant advantages for biomedical devices and tissue engineering due to its ability to manufacture low-volume or one-of-a-kind parts on-demand based on patient-specific needs. However, many concerns remain for widespread applications of 3D-printed biomaterials, including regulatory issues, a sterile environment for part fabrication, and the achievement of target material properties with the desired architecture. The presentations in this webinar will cover some of the important aspects of 3D printing of biomaterials

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has seen major breakthroughs over the past decade in imaging and spectroscopy at the single atomic level. Spatial resolutions have reached 0.5 Å while energy resolutions have reached 10 meV. In recent years, the focus has shifted towards in situ TEM to probe functionality of materials and to reveal how materials change dynamically under real operation conditions. Recent scientific breakthroughs using in situ TEM have largely benefited from advances in instrumentation. Advances that are specific to enable in situ capabilities include liquid or gas environmental TEM, ultrafast dynamic electron microscopy, quantitative mechanical tests, and electric and magnetic coupling. This MRS Webinar (presented by MRS Bulletin) on in situ TEM will present reviews of specific sub-areas covering the most exciting developments in the field. The talks in the webinar will provide a sampling of how in situ TEM is having a major impact on materials science today.

Single-crystal diamond, thin diamond and nanodiamond films, and nanoscale diamond powders are attractive for a wide range of applications including high-frequency, high-power electronic devices, quantum computing, nanoelectronics, platforms for chemical and biological sensing, bioelectronics, electrochemistry and protective and biocompatible coatings. This webinar will focus on some of the recent developments in Diamond Films and Applications, re-broadcasting some of the best presentations from recent MRS Meetings.

This webinar, sponsored by Agilent and presented by the MRS Bulletin, will address the following topics:

1. Mapping mechanical properties of a complex LiMn204 cathode by high-speed nano-indentation
2. Establishing chemical and structural basis for observed mechanical properties by FIB/SEM
3. Understanding how charge/discharge cycles cause material degradation in battery composites
4. Advanced electrochemical research for energy storage and conversion devices

Smaller is Stronger. Nanostructured materials such as thin films, nanowires, nanoparticles, bulk nanocomposites and atomic sheets can withstand non-hydrostatic (e.g., tensile or shear) stresses up to a significant fraction of their ideal strength without inelastic relaxation by plasticity or fracture. Large elastic strains, up to ~10%, can be generated by epitaxy or by external loading on small-volume or bulk-scale nanomaterials and can be spatially homogeneous or inhomogeneous. This leads to new possibilities for tuning the physical and chemical properties of a material, such as electronic, optical, magnetic, phononic and catalytic properties, by varying the six-dimensional elastic strain as continuous variables. By controlling the elastic strain field statically or dynamically, a much larger parameter space opens up for optimizing the functional properties of materials, which gives new meaning to Richard Feynman's 1959 statement, "there's plenty of room at the bottom."

Nanoindentation is a technique that has been broadly applied to characterize the mechanical properties of materials with high spacial resolution. The basic concepts used to accurately apply the technique, as well as some of the newest measurement frontiers being explored today, will be presented in this webinar. The process of converting load versus displacement measurements to materials properties through an understanding of the geometry associated with the experiments is the basis for these experiments. The newest techniques that will be mentioned include in-situ experiments in electron microscopes, testing at elevated temperatures and high-speed testing for the mapping of properties. The challenges associated with these frontiers will be briefly discussed.