[Images above] Credit: NIST
NANOMATERIALS
20th University Conference on Glass and summer school—Abstract deadline Friday
The 20th University Conference on Glass and Summer School invites undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning more about glass to a 5-day conference and summer school and to present their research to fellow members of the glass community. Abstracts are due June 8.
Electron tomography technique leads to 3-D reconstructions at the nanoscale
Scientists from the National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab recently found a way to harness the power of TEM to measure the structure of a material at the highest possible resolution—determining the 3-D position of every individual atom.
Understanding light-induced electrical current in atomically thin nanomaterials
Scientists demonstrated that scanning photocurrent microscopy could provide the optoelectronic information needed to improve the performance of devices for power generation, communications, data storage, and lighting.
Synthetic anti-ferromagnetic nanostructures for wearable spintronic devices
In their article in Advanced Materials, professor Ziyao Zhou, professor Ming Liu, and their colleagues from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, demonstrate a flexible, synthetic anti-ferromagnetic nanostructure that can be electrically tuned.
ENERGY
National Energy Technology Laboratory researchers are currently experimenting with the design, development, manufacture, and testing of high-entropy alloys to improve efficiency in energy industry hardware.
The Department of Energy will award 219 grants totaling $34 million to 183 small businesses in 41 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, the selections are for Phase I research and development.
New device could increase battery life of electronic devices by more than a hundred-fold
A group of physicists at the University of Missouri has developed a device material that can extend battery life and reduce heat. The team has applied for a patent for a magnetic material that employs a “honeycomb” lattice that exhibits distinctive electronic properties.
ENVIRONMENT
Powering up with a smart window
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have incorporated mixed halide-perovskite solar cells into smart windows. When the material is heated, it changes from transparent to colored— which can efficiently convert sunlight into electricity.
How greener grids can stay lit
Electrical engineers at the University of California, Riverside, offer a way to account for uncertainties introduced by both the electricity market and distributed energy resources so utility companies can balance the distribution grid and find the fairest customer rates.
MANUFACTURING
Researchers develop one-step, 3-D printing for multimaterial projects
A research team has used 3-D printing technology in a one-step process to print structures made of two different materials. The advance could help manufacturers reduce manufacturing steps and use one machine to make complex products with multiple parts in one operation.
OTHER STORIES
Terminator skin: Researchers create ‘self-healing’ material for robots
In findings published this week in Nature Materials, researchers claim they have created a self-healing material — composed of liquid metal droplets suspended in a soft rubber — that can spontaneously repair itself after sustaining “extreme mechanical damage.”
Graphene layered with magnetic materials could drive ultrathin spintronics
Researchers working at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory coupled graphene with thin layers of magnetic materials like cobalt and nickel to produce exotic behavior in electrons that could be useful for next-generation computing applications.
Scientists discover new magnetic element
A new experimental discovery, led by researchers at the University of Minnesota, demonstrates that the chemical element ruthenium (Ru) is the fourth single element to have unique magnetic properties at room temperature.