Materials Preparation Center (MPC)

The Materials Preparation Center (MPC) prepares specialized high-purity metal compounds and alloys for research and engineering uses. Since its inception in 1981, the MPC has supported materials research and development programs at the Ames Laboratory and other government laboratories, and within academia and industry as a specialized, unique source for the preparation, purification, fabrication, and characterization of high-purity rare earth and metallic elements, metal alloys, and metallic compounds on a cost recovery basis.

Materials for the Scientific Communiity

The Center’s goals include maintaining and improving materials and service quality to the scientific community, strengthening infrastructure and facilities in support of new materials processing and synthesis, increasing awareness of MPC's accessibility and capabilities to the greater scientific and engineering community, and facilitating technology transfer of new processing and synthesis techniques.

It is this focus on directed materials synthesis, coupled with extensive processing knowledge that allows MPC to maintain competency across a wide range of synthesis methodologies, to develop modifications to existing synthesis capabilities, and to apply its synthesis knowledge to emerging materials and new discoveries. This science-driven operational philosophy keeps MPC relevant to a wide array of scientific disciplines by providing the otherwise unavailable critical materials that are required in well-controlled purity, specified physical form, and desired microstructure.