Crash Course on Aerogels and Related Nanoporous Materials
Oct 6, 2026
Aerogels are among the most remarkable materials in science—ultra-lightweight, highly porous and capable of extraordinary feats of insulation, strength and functionality. In this webinar, leading voices from the aerogel research community bring the highlights of MRS's popular SF01 2025 Fall Meeting tutorial to a virtual audience, offering a focused introduction to this unique class of materials.
Whether you're new to the field or looking to deepen your expertise, this webinar offers a concise, expert-led introduction to aerogel synthesis, characterization and modeling. Registrants will also receive access to the full recording of the original tutorial session from the 2025 MRS Fall Meeting, featuring the complete lineup of instructors and topics for those who want to explore the subject in even greater depth.
Green Cards for Scientific Researchers: How to win your EB1/NIW case!
Oct 13, 2026
Interested in obtaining a permanent Green Card to work in the United States? Generally, a foreign national seeking permanent residence through employment must be sponsored by his or her employer via the PERM Labor Certification process.
There are numerous routes to employment-based permanent residence that do not require PERM Labor Certification, thereby allowing foreign nationals to avoid this complicated process while also reducing the wait time to obtain employment-based permanent residence.
This presentation will cover and compare the criteria for the EB-1A classification for foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, the EB-1B classification for foreign nationals who are outstanding researchers or professors, and the National Interest Waiver (“NIW”) classification. The presentation will also discuss the different types of nonimmigrant visa work classifications.
Scaling and Transferring Critical Minerals and Materials (CMMs) Technology from Lab to Industry
Oct 14, 2026
In the wake of global geopolitical crises, the importance of strategic critical minerals and materials—essential for cutting-edge industries ranging from AI to quantum computing—has come sharply into focus. In particular, as these CMMs (often produced and supplied by only a limited number of regions) have assumed critical geopolitical and economic significance, securing stable supply chains for them has become directly linked to the manufacturing capabilities and future survival of global enterprises. Furthermore, there is growing emphasis on research aimed at substituting these strategic CMMs with alternative materials or significantly reducing their usage.
Accordingly, this webinar will examine how these strategically vital critical minerals and materials are utilized and explore case studies illustrating how global companies are preparing for the associated geopolitical risks.
Selected Topics in Actinide and Nuclear Materials
Oct 15, 2026
Join us for a preview of the popular EN08 tutorial on actinide and nuclear materials, originally presented at the 2026 MRS Spring Meeting. Actinide materials continue to drive major breakthroughs in condensed matter physics, inorganic chemistry, and materials science, from unconventional ground states arising from f-electron behavior to the design, processing, and recycling of trans-uranium fuels.
In this live session, tutorial instructors will provide a broad overview of the topics they covered in the full tutorial, including X-ray scattering and spectroscopy applications and the integration of chemistry and physics in actinide materials research. They will be available to answer your questions live.
Registrants will receive access to the complete recorded tutorial sessions, making this an ideal opportunity for students and early-career researchers to explore the fundamentals and current research frontiers in actinide and nuclear materials at their own pace.
MRS/Optica Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship Information Session
Oct 22, 2026
MRS and Optica (formerly OSA) co-sponsor an exciting opportunity for scientists to spend a year on Capitol Hill as a Special Legislative Assistant in the U.S. Congress. Fellows learn about the legislative and budgeting process, gain experience in science policy, and contribute scientific expertise to the policymaking process.
Join us for this informational webinar to learn about the MRS/Optica Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship, get tips on applying, and hear from current and former Fellows about their experiences as scientists in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Surface Chemistry Control of 2D MXenes
Oct 28, 2026
Details for this event will be announced shortly. This webinar is presented in conjunction with the October 2026 issue of MRS Bulletin.
Sponsored by American Elements
Sponsored by NineScrolls LLC
Bridging Advanced Materials Synthesis with Biological Assay Design and Interpretation
Nov 4, 2026
For materials scientists working at the biology interface, designing and interpreting downstream biological experiments requires a distinct — and learnable — skill set. Understanding how to select the right assay, account for how material properties interact with biological systems, and communicate findings across disciplines can meaningfully strengthen both your research and your collaborations.
This MRS Meetings Tutorial Preview webinar brings together two experts who presented Tutorial SB04 at the 2026 MRS Spring Meeting to offer an accessible yet rigorous introduction to bridging this gap. Ciro Chiappini (King's College London) and Roey Elnathan (Deakin University) will each present an overview of their tutorial material before opening the floor for a live Q&A.
Attendees will come away with practical strategies for aligning materials design with the requirements of common biological assays, including cell viability, migration, and gene expression. The session will also address how material features such as stiffness, surface charge, degradation, and porosity influence biological readouts — and how to design synthesis workflows with those endpoints in mind.
This webinar is ideal for graduate students and early-career researchers in materials science who are moving into biological applications, as well as those seeking to communicate their work more effectively to biological collaborators and reviewers.
Registrants will also receive access to the full recording of the original 2026 MRS Spring Meeting tutorial.
Sponsored by American Elements
2026 Career Reflections and Guidance from MRS Fellows
Nov 5, 2026
This webinar will highlight a distinguished group of MRS Fellows and their career journey—what drew them to pursue their technical area of interest, how their career development led to their current standing in the field and what it meant to them to be selected as an MRS Fellow.
In addition, gain insights from the MRS Fellows on career transitions (such as moving from academia to industry) and other considerations for early and mid-career researchers as you aspire to make a lasting impact in the field and receive distinguished honors (like becoming an MRS Fellow).