Jointly managed by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Materials Design and Innovation (MDI) was formed in Spring 2014. Throughout 2015, the department hired its first Erich Bloch Chair, Krishna Rajan, initiated a search for faculty, and created a curriculum for graduate-level study.

By 2016, the department had established a group of dedicated faculty, held its first Erich Bloch symposium, offered its first graduate classes, and began its MDI Industry-Resident Scholar program. The following year, MDI’s graduate curriculum was formally approved, and faculty and students began receiving research grants and awards. In 2018, the department moved into Bonner Hall.

Over the next few years, the department continued to coordinate symposia and research programs. The MDI bachelor’s program was approved in Spring 2020 and began in Fall 2020, along with an accelerated BS/MS program with the Department of Chemistry.

With the start of this undergraduate program, MDI also started its newsletter, FACETS. The newsletter is released on the MDI website annually to inform the University at Buffalo community of research news and updates in department activities.