In the coming decade, theory and modelling will harness massive advances in high performance computing to enable an unprecedented acceleration in discovery and development of new materials for the energy, environment, health and IT sectors. The Integrated Materials Design Centre (IMDC) will drive high performance computational materials modelling in an integrated discovery and design process, working hand-in-glove with major areas of strength in materials synthesis, characterization and testing at UNSW and more broadly with academia and industry. It will exploit a timely strategic opportunity for UNSW to move rapidly to a position of strength in computationally accelerated materials design that will enhance the university’s research profile nationally and internationally. The IMDC has been formally constituted as of January 2015. Its presiding faculty will be the Faculty of Engineering.

The IMDC comprises of core faculty from UNSW schools of Chemical Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; and Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy (SPREE) as well as collaborating faculty from these three schools, and the UNSW School of Chemistry. The centre will provide an intellectual and logistical environment for early career researchers involved in computational materials modelling at UNSW (faculty, research fellows, postdoctoral research associates and graduate students). The centre will advance four main research programs in materials discovery: (i) Catalytic materials; (ii) Energy harvesting and storage materials; (iii) Electronic materials and (iv) Soft matter and pharmaceutics.