The Columbia University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) is an interdisciplinary team of university, industrial, and national laboratory scientists and engineers working together to develop and examine new types of mixed organic/inorganic materials and structured thin films. The MRSEC was established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1998 with a $4.3M grant covering 48 months. Faculty from six academic departments are involved with the MRSEC, along with faculty from the City College of New York (CCNY) and the University of Michigan