The Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM) – the world’s first institute dedicated to the design, synthesis, and application of Functional Intelligent Materials (FIMs) was officially launched on 7 October 2021 by the Minister for Education Mr. Chan Chun Seng.  

Hosted at the National University of Singapore, I-FIM is the sixth research centre of excellence (RCE) in Singapore, and the fourth RCE hosted at NUS. 

Helmed by Directors Nobel-Prize-winning materials scientist Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov and Distinguished Professor Antonio Castro Neto, the Institute is home to a team of world-class academic investigators and their groups, poised to embark on a new approach to Materials research.  

I-FIM will create a library of designer materials – and develop systematic ways to describe them mathematically – as the building blocks of FIMs. Using these building blocks, the researchers at I-FIM will then develop a rulebook for predicting FIMs behaviour, structure and synthesis pathways. Using machine learning and robotics, the FIMs will be designed and synthesised with smart applications in mind. These applications could range from neuromorphic computers, to machine vision, smart membranes, smart catalysts, artificial tissues, and more. 

The tight coupling between theory, algorithms and data will be facilitated by I-FIM’s Materials Robotics Laboratory – an automated experimentation lab, where training data will be collected and designed recipes will be synthesised and tested, and their performance tuned for technologies and applications. Essentially, this means that the materials will be synthesised based on what functions are required using computational models, time-dependent machine learning and optimal control. The goal is to design materials with desired dynamical properties in the face of limited experimental data and computational throughput. 

They will use the reduced representation of material components to create new FIMs for specific smart applications. 

One example of creating versatile, adaptive and flexible solutions through smart materials a drug delivery agent based on 2D-electrolytes which will allow targeted drug delivery. Of particular importance for diseases like cancer, the smart material only releases the drug payload when it detects the presence of a cancer cell, leaving the patient’s healthy cells unharmed. The 2D-electrolytes also show promise for other applications , such as artificial muscles and energy storage, which require materials to be responsive to environmental changes.  

There are many other examples where new materials developed at I-FIM can be also be applied in areas including life sciences and medicine. Applications such as artificial photosynthesis, artificial neurons, and even artificial tissues will now be possible with the novel approach to materials research that I-FIM will take.

I-FIM will also host an ambitious graduate training programme, offering scholarships for PhD studies and world-class laboratories and resources. The curriculum offered are customised to train the next generation of material scientists.