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Program Manager: Dr. Mitchell Zakin
 The goal of Programmable Matter Program is to demonstrate a new functional form of matter, based on mesoscale particles, which can reversibly assemble into complex 3D objects upon external command. These 3D objects will exhibit all the functionality of their conventional counterparts.
Programmable Matter represents the convergence of chemistry, information theory, and control into a new materials design paradigm referred to as "InfoChemistry"—building information directly into materials. To achieve the Programmable Matter vision, key technological breakthroughs will center on the following critical areas:
- Encoding information into chemistry, or fusing materials with machines.
- Fabrication of mesoscale particles with arbitrary complex shapes, composition, and function.
- Interlocking/adhesion mechanisms that are strong and reversible.
- Global assembly strategies that translate information into action.
- Mathematical theory for construction of 3D objects from particles.
Of critical importance are radical new material architectures that maximize the efficiency of information processing/transfer, and design rules for the optimal number, size, and shape of particles required to create objects of a specific size and spatial feature resolution. |
