What is the Molecular Design Institute?

The Molecular Design Institute operates within the NYU Department of Chemistry at the nexus of key areas in physics and biology, serving as a springboard for interdisciplinary research with other NYU departments. The MDI complements the newly established Center for Soft Matter Research in the Department of Physics.

These two initiatives offer a unique opportunity to examine self-assembly and hierarchical organization of complex materials across length scales ranging from the molecular to the colloidal, that is, from the nanoscale to the microscale. The existence of complementary center in the Physics and Chemistry will provide synergy, strengthening both departments in tandem. The MDI faculty, Professor Michael D. Ward, Professor Marcus Weck, Professor Bart Kahr, and Professor Adam Braunschweig, unite expertise in the design and synthesis of complex molecular and supramolecular architectures and materials. The MDI has procured facilities for cutting edge research. Since its ribbon cutting ceremony in May 2007, the MDI has hosted many guests from the United States and abroad.

Research Groups

 

Bart Kahr

Chemical crystallography, interations of light and organized media, polycrystalline pattern formation, origin of life science, experimental history of science...

Learn more about the Kahr Group.

 

Mike Ward

The Ward group is a highly interdisciplinary research group at the intersection of organic solid-state chemistry, physical chemistry, materials science, and biomedical chemistry...

Learn more about the Ward Group.

Marcus Weck

The Weck group is a highly interdisciplinary research group at the intersection of organic chemistry, catalysis, and polymer and materials science. We are motivated by Nature's design principles that rely on weak and reversible interactions...

Learn more about the Weck Group.