The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded ALLVAR with a Small Business Innovative Research Phase II grant. The intellectual merit of this project lies in a new method to exhibit unprecedented control over thermal expansion properties in metal alloys.

The discovery of the tailoring effect or “programmed” thermal expansion of a bulk metal to match that of other common materials (metals, polymers, and ceramics) will change the way scientists and engineers design for thermal compensation. These alloys can also be tailored not to expand or contract with temperature changes and even be made to shrink when heated.

The total awarded amount of the NSF SBIR Phase II is $750,000.