Materials & Innovations

Toyota to launch Li-ion Prius in ’11

By / April 17, 2010

According to a Reuters story, Toyota will launch Prius hybrid minivans using lithium-ion batteries early next year. A lithium-ion battery can pack more electricity than a nickel-metal hydride counterpart, enabling…

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2011 ‘Solar Decathlon’ building, materials innovation contest names student teams

By / April 15, 2010

The DOE just release the names of the 20 teams (some from multiple schools) who will be competing in next year’s Solar Decathlon that will take place in Washington, D.C.,…

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Superior heat transfer ability of graphene-on-substrate demonstrated

By / April 15, 2010

Those engineering electronic devices always have had to factor in the use of special materials that can conduct heat away from crucial components. Bulk copper’s thermal conductivity is pretty good…

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World’s largest solar-powered boat ready to set sail

By / April 12, 2010

The world’s largest solar-powered boat was placed in the water for its first trip on March 31. The boat was gently placed in the Baltic Sea where she will remain…

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Strontium-doped perovskite-based catalytic converters offer cheaper alternative to platinum for diesel, gas exhaust

By / April 9, 2010

According to a new paper in Science, a team from GM’s Global R&D operations may have found a significantly less expensive way to treat vehicle exhaust via a catalytic converter…

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Please welcome the newest addition to the periodic table: Element 117

By / April 8, 2010

According to a release from the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, a new element has been discovered, one that resides in a tiny slice of paradise called the island of stability.…

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Will DC electric fields transform ceramics shaping, manufacturing?

By / April 7, 2010

According to a paper just published in Philosophy Magazine, researchers at North Carolina State University, who have been playing around with how ceramic materials behave in the presence of DC…

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New way to process OLEDs discovered

By / April 6, 2010

A Lawrence Berkeley National Lab research team has discovered a new way to process white OLEDs for solid-state lighting. OLEDs based on organic and/or polymer semiconductor materials can cover large-area…

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Fred Lange, 1939-2010

By / April 5, 2010

We just learned that one of ACerS distinguished members, Fred Lange, suddenly died over the weekend. Few details are available right now. Frederick F. Lange was a professor in materials…

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Tutorials on making small items from geopolymer cements

By / April 2, 2010

Geopolymer Ceramic mixing from Geopolymer Institute on Vimeo. Geopolymer Ecological Cement mixing from Geopolymer Institute on Vimeo. For more information on geopolymers, see this explanation from Trudy Kriven.

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