National Science Foundation Radiation Manipulation of Materials Structure Jie Lian, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, DMR 0906349 Outcome : Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an radiation approach to manipulate materials structure and control phase stability. Impact : The extreme radiation creates a new dimension to materials synthesis and processing under highly non- equilibrium conditions, opening up a new pathway to new materials or structures with designed functionality and improved performance. Explanation : The materials phase stability is governed by the thermodynamics under equilibrium conditions based on the energy minimization principle. Zirconia has three different polymorphs of monoclinic, tetragonal and cubic phases, in which the phase stability can be controlled by temperature or chemical substitutions. Utilizing ion beam techniques, the thermodynamically meta-stable tetragonal phase can be fabricated Professor Jie Lian, of Rensselaer’s Mechanical, Aerospace & Nuclear Engineering, led the research team developing radiation approaches in manipulating materials phase stability and structures to improve and stabilized at room temperature. The radiation approach represents a simple way to manipulate materials phase stability, and has a great potential for tailoring toughness of thin films, surface coating and nanocomposites by controlling the tetragonality of the zirconia unit cell. Artwork: Radiation damage- induced Materials Modification (courtesy of Jie Lian)