MaTeRiA is a joint project aimed at developing a new multidisciplinary Research Infrastructure for  advanced materials research inside the University of Calabria (UNICAL) campus area,  bringing together a cluster of specialized laboratories equipped with the most avant guard instruments and staffed with internationally renowned research expertise in the area of materials research.

Thanks to its laboratories, MaTeRiA will also become a state-of-the-art research support facility, providing services for the research and development of advanced structural and functional materials.

Research fields of interests are mainly Chemistry, Material Science Physics, Engineering, Cultural Heritage, Bio-medicine and Geology.

MaTeRiA has been realized thanks to a partnership between the University of Calabria and CNISM (Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze fisiche della Materia).

Three progressive levels characterizing MaTeRiA highly specialized laboratories can be identified:

1) First Level - STAR (Southern Europe Thomson Back-Scattering Source for Applied Research): composed by the Control System and the micro tomography (μTomo) beam-line;

2) Second Level - Laboratories:
- Preparation and characterization
- Characterization of the mechanical and physical properties
- Modeling and simulation
- Prototyping
- Advanced spectroscopy

3) Third Level - Network of existent departmental laboratories