DOD Center of Excellence

About the Center

The Department of Defense funded Center of Excellence for Advanced Electro-Photonics with 2D Materials is a premier research center of Morgan State University. Established in 2021 with significant funding from the DOD Army Research Office, this center is dedicated to advanced scientific research on thin films and nanostructures of layered chalcogenides and other van der Waals solids in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. This Center has a strong focus on the fundamental science of 2D materials and it targets three specific areas of technology: (a) Photovoltaics (PV) and photosensors augmented by plasmonic nanostructures. (b) Hybrid PV – thermoelectric technologies. (c) Quantum transport and quantized photogalvanic effects in strongly spin – orbit coupled 2D materials, and interrogation of quantum defects with light. Partnership with Army Research Laboratories is a core activity of this Center. The Center is committed to promotion of STEM education and mentoring of STEM students for advanced scientific research on novel materials. This exposure of students to specific technologies and their accumulated experience will enable them to serve the defense sector effectively on graduation.