Superconductivity is a quantum phenomenon where electricity flows with zero resistance below a critical temperature. High temperature superconductivity has the promise to revolutionize energy generation, storage, and distribution. Despite the discoveries of unconventional, high-temperature superconductivity in copper and iron-based materials, known superconductors cannot be widely exploited as they become superconducting at very low temperatures. Discovering new superconductors and increasing their transition temperatures has been limited by the lack of consensus about the necessary ingredients that give rise to superconductivity in these families of materials. This DMREF project seeks to exploit the characteristics (descriptors) of the known copper- and iron-based superconductors as design criteria in the search for new ambient-pressure superconducting materials. Promising materials will be synthesized in a tight feedback loop between theory and experiment. This project will also provide educational opportunities for students in high school and at the beginning of their undergraduate studies.