We are pleased to report many new developments at EFree since we sent our last newsletter.

We have completed the mid-term review of the EFree Center, which was held on Februrary 5 in Gaithersburg, MD.  Fourteen Center participants, including students and senior investigators, presented their work in the day-long meeting.  Although we are waiting to receive the official evaluation, we did get some very positive feedback from both reviewers and EFRC program management on the progress we have made through the first year and a half.  There is much to do and much to look forward to in the next two and a half years.

Despite the focus on preparation for the review, all EFree projects have seen significant advances in recent months.  Computational work remains a key component of all of our projects, as evidenced by new results on carbon-based materials and hydride superconductors in the Novel Electron Transport project.  Exploratory work in the area of ferroelectric materials has been highlighted on the cover of the most recent issue of the Journal of Applied Physics.  Work on the New Solar Materials project was also highlighted in the November 2015 issue of New Scientist.

Following up on the success of "Nanothread Day" in April 2016, we held “Neutron Day” in December.  Both of these meetings have been highly successful in further integrating the research program of EFree, and we plan to hold more of these events going forward.  We look forward to hearing any suggestions from the broader EFree community for further topical meetings.

With the departure of DuckYoung Kim, the duties of Computational Theory Coordinator have been taken up by Tianshu Li, from George Washington University.  Professor Li was previously an Affiliated Scientist and is now a Partner with EFree. We also welcome Nancy Ross from Virginia Tech as an Affiliated Scientist.  Professor Ross will strengthen our scientific program with her expertise in high-pressure crystallography, involvement in neutron-scattering at SNS, and interest in metal-organic framework materials. 

We are also happy to welcome two new postdoctoral associates at Carnegie.  Ajay Mishra will work on the Novel Electron Transport project, and Michael Guerette is focusing on the New Solar Materials project.  In the Student/Postdoc spotlight is Xiang Li from Penn State, who is logging many travel miles in pursuit of new measurements on carbon nanothreads.

Finally, we offer our congratulations to Muhtar Ahart on earning the Alan Berman Research Publicaton Award from the Department of the Navy, to External Advisory Committee member Alexandra Navrotsky on receiving the Goldschmidt Award, and to EFree Senior Investigator Roald Hoffmann on his selection as a Wigner Distinguished Lecturer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

We look forward to continued progress in EFree and hearing from all of you.

Sincerely,