Posts by Lisa McDonald
National Science Foundation adds new directorate for the first time in more than 30 years
On March 16, 2022, the National Science Foundation announced the establishment of a Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, its first new directorate in more than 30 years. Learn how this directorate came to be and what still needs to be decided concerning its operations.
Read MoreCeramic and glass business news of the week for March 28, 2022
Battery supply startup looks to bring energy to West Virginia workforce, final FY22 science budgets fall short of aspirations, and more ceramic and glass business news of the week for March 28, 2022.
Read MoreToward the design of tunable ceramics: A review on vacancy ordering in substoichiometric zirconium carbide
Much research has established how the number of carbon vacancies in zirconium carbide significantly affects the thermodynamic and thermophysical properties. However, little is known about the effects caused by vacancy arrangement. A new open-access review paper summarizes the existing experimental and theoretical studies on these effects.
Read MoreVideo: DOE funds projects to reduce waste from and sustain future deployment of advanced nuclear reactors
On March 10, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $36 million for 11 projects seeking to increase deployment and use of nuclear power and limit the amount of waste produced from advanced nuclear reactors. Learn more about these projects and some of the arguments for and against increasing reliance on nuclear power.
Read MoreOther materials stories that may be of interest
Make cars out of petroleum residue, improve next-gen magnetic RAM, and other materials stories that may be of interest for March 23, 2022.
Read MoreRefractory professionals gather in Chicago to celebrate the return of UNITECR
Originally scheduled to take place in 2021, the Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories took place March 15–18, 2022, in Chicago, Ill. People from 28 countries gathered to attend the hybrid conference, which featured much discussion of challenges and opportunities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreA discreet call to move beyond discrete types—researchers advocate for viewing energy storage mechanisms as a continuous spectrum
For decades researchers have categorized energy storage devices based on whether they behave like a battery or a supercapacitor. An international research team argues that energy storage mechanisms should be viewed as existing on a spectrum instead and that the current binary classification system could hamper development of new technologies.
Read MoreCeramic and glass business news of the week for March 21, 2022
Şişecam expands its production footprint in Europe, GE eyes offshore wind turbines with superconducting generator, and more ceramic and glass business news of the week for March 21, 2022.
Read MoreA shocking development—electrodynamic fragmentation could provide high-quality recycled materials for the refractory industry
Recycling and reusing waste materials is one approach the refractories industry is pursuing to improve sustainability. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics have explored the potential of electrodynamic fragmentation to recycle composites, and their recent study looks specifically at the potential of this technique applied to refractory materials.
Read MoreMaterials for next-generation electronics, plus more inside April 2022 ACerS Bulletin
The April 2022 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring ferroelectric materials for negative capacitance electronics—is now available online. Plus—new C&GM.
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