D³EM trainees will be skilled at creating and applying innovative data-enabled approaches with sound informatics and engineering design foundations to the discovery, design, and deployment of advanced materials, in particular, those that enable the efficient and sustainable generation, storage, or utilization of energy.

D³EM’s overarching goal is to develop and institutionalize a new training model that produces scientists/engineers who are grounded in one discipline and have the professional and technical skills to effectively communicate within, collaborate and lead in interdisciplinary teams, throughout their academic careers and afterward, focused on materials development.

Furthermore, D³EM will equip trainees to transfer their knowledge and skills to other highly complex engineering challenges that require creative, unconventional approaches. Trainees may also be selected for D³EM Fellowship support, which includes a substantial stipend award in support of their interdisciplinary training, and trainees will become part of the innovative ongoing research endeavors connected to this project.

Finally, D³EM will provide the foundation for the development of MS and PhD interdisciplinary programs in Materials Science, Informatics, and Engineering Design.