Itai Cohen Lab postdocs Zexi Liang and Melody Lim developed particles that can mimic the ability of biomolecules to self-assemble into complex structures.

Nearly a decade after they first demonstrated that soft materials could guide the formation of superconductors, Cornell researchers have achieved a one-step, 3D printing method that produces superconductors with record properties.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with Intel, will invest $20 million over five years to establish the Artificial Intelligence Materials Institute (NSF AI-MI) at Cornell, as part of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes. The NSF announced the investment on July 29.Directed by Eun-Ah Kim, principal investigator (PI) and the Hans A. Bethe Professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), NSF AI-MI will accelerate and transform the discovery of new materials to be used in sustainable energy, advanced electronics, environmental stewardship and quantum technologies by integrating human scientific expertise with AI methods.

The quantum computing revolution draws ever nearer, but the need for a computer that makes correctable errors continues to hold it back.Through a collaboration with IBM led by Cornell, researchers have brought that revolution one step closer, achieving two major breakthroughs. First, they demonstrated an error-resistant implementation of universal quantum gates, the essential building blocks of quantum computation. Second, they showcased the power of a topological quantum computer in solving hard problems that a conventional computer couldn’t manage.

Cornell’s team rose to the occasion this spring, earning standout honors. The final structure was assembled in just 16 minutes, weighed only 216 pounds, and supported a 2,500-pound load with minimal bending. The bridge placed first in lightness and second in both stiffness and structural economy — making it one of the top-performing entries in the region.

For decades, ferromagnetic materials have driven technologies like magnetic hard drives, magnetic random access memories and oscillators. But antiferromagnetic materials, if only they could be harnessed, hold out even greater promise: ultra-fast information transfer and communications at much higher frequencies – a “holy grail” for physicists.

A Cornell research team has employed a variation of a theory first used to predict the collective actions of electrons in quantum mechanical systems to a much taller, human system – the National Basketball Association.

Brad Ramshaw, associate professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences and researcher in LASSP, has been named to the 2025 class of Brown Investigators. Each investigator, recognized for curiosity-driven research in chemistry or physics, will receive up to $2 million over five years.

Paul Malinowski, Klarman Fellow in physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, received the 2025 Martin and Beate Block Winter Award from the Aspen Center for Physics, awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements by a promising young physicist. 

Xiaomeng Liu, Department of Physics (A&S), will use his award to investigate anyons – emergent particles in two-dimensional materials – and their exotic properties, which hold potential for future fault-tolerant quantum computing.