Materializing opportunities for NMR of solids

[Display omitted] •Advancements in sensitivity and resolution of NMR of solids are opening new fundamental and technological opportunities in materials science.•Extensive efforts continue to advance hyperpolarization strategies under diverse conditions.•Higher magnetic fields, faster MAS probeheads, and multidimensional, imaging, and operando techniques are leading to enhanced spectral, spatial and temporal resolution.•Atomic-level information from solid-state NMR will be most impactful when combined with scattering, microscopy, computational, and macroscopic property analyses. Advancements in sensitivity and resolution of NMR of solids are opening a bonanza of fundamental and technological opportunities in materials science. Many of these are at the boundaries of related disciplines that provide creative inputs to motivate the development of new methodologies and possibilities for new applications. As Boltzmann limitations are surmounted by dynamic-nuclear-polarization- and laser-enhanced hyperpolarization techniques, the correlative benefits of multidimensional NMR are becoming more and more impactful. Nevertheless, there are limits, and the atomic-level information provided by solid-state NMR will be most useful in combination with state-of-the-art diffraction, microscopy, computational, and materials synthesis methods. Collectively these can be expected to lead to design criteria that will promote discovery of new materials, lead to novel or improved material properties, catalyze new applications, and motivate further methodological advancements.