environment

Video: World Environment Day celebrates 50 years—how ceramic and glass materials help us live sustainably

By Lisa McDonald / June 1, 2022

In honor of World Environment Day on June 5, we look at a few of the many important contributions by ceramic and glass scientists that move us toward a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with nature.

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By Lisa McDonald / November 28, 2018

Sulphur-based batteries, ceramics for fire-resistant cladding core, and other materials stories that may be of interest for November 28, 2018.

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Pump electrolytes instead of gas? New flow battery technology for electric vehicles

By Faye Oney / June 16, 2017

Electric cars may soon see another resurgence, as a research team from Purdue University recently developed a flow battery that recharges instantly—by replacing spent battery fluids with electrolytes.

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biodegradable electronic component on a human hair

Biodegradable electronics might become a reality in the future

By Faye Oney / May 16, 2017

Our electronic devices might become biodegradable in the future. Stanford researchers have created a biodegradable electronic device characteristic of human skin—flexible, self-healing, and degradable with the addition of a weak acid.

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Scientist holding ceramic material the size of a quarter

Environmentally-friendly method of manufacturing ceramics may reduce carbon footprint, render kilns obsolete

By Faye Oney / March 3, 2017

Scientists at ETH Zurich have discovered a way to create ceramic materials using cold sintering—which could someday replace huge energy-consuming kilns currently used to manufacture ceramics and cements.

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Better together—Boosting American clean energy manufacturing through pairing national labs and industry

By Jessica McMathis / May 4, 2015

The Department of Energy, like the rest of us, wants U.S. clean energy manufacturing to be more competitive. It’s why the DOE has launched a $2-million Technologist in Residence pilot designed to increase competitiveness and allow our national labs to make a greater commercial impact through strengthened lab-industry partnerships.

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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s clay?—Clay captures carbon ‘just as effectively’ as more costly materials

By Jessica McMathis / April 21, 2015

According to research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, clay stands poised to save the world from environmental evils (a.k.a. greenhouses gases) and gets the job done “just as effectively as other materials.”

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Cool roofs reign in warm-weather climates, but which roof performs best in the cold?

By Jessica McMathis / April 16, 2015

We’ve been told which kinds of roofs (green, white, and otherwise) perform best in warm climates and are most cost-effective, but which roof performs best in cold climates?

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Stronger, greener cement-like material curbs carbon emissions through diffusion

By Jessica McMathis / January 20, 2015

According to the team who accidentally discovered it, Ferrock—a carbon negative substitute for Portland cement—is stronger and more sustainable than traditional concrete. But does it get the job done?

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Greener de-icers and smarter snowplows could equal less bucks for state budgets

By Jessica McMathis / January 8, 2015

To combat the cost of road salt—as well as its impact on our environment—one Washington State University researcher is busy cooking up greener ice-melting materials that use fewer chemicals.

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