The leader of a UW-Madison research project getting $25 million in federal funding says the effort will offer scientists “unprecedented capabilities” to design and test advanced materials. The National Science Foundation yesterday released details for two new Materials Innovation Platforms, splitting $50 million in total funding over a six-year period. In addition to the Wisconsin project, a robotics-focused effort at Texas A&M University is getting funded through the federal program, which seeks to establish facilities with specialized equipment and technologies. Szlufarska says engineering new materials can involve understanding complexities at various scales, from the atomic level to large structures. Meanwhile, the UW-Madison College of Engineering plans to launch the new Hard Materials Lab as part of the effort.