The Chinese Academy of Science reports that scientists at its Institute of Microelectronics have successfully formed a zinc oxide nanorod field-effect transistor, the “first of its kind as a nano device.” The ZnO nano materials, such as nanowires, nanorods, nanobands and nanorings, attract intense worldwide attention for their unique optical, semiconducting and piezoelectric properties. At…
Read MoreNo, the little bot in the picture above is not a fugitive from a Star Wars movie remake. It’s actually an iRobotPackBot powered by a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell system developed by Adaptive Materials Inc. According to an AMI press release, the Ann Arbor, Mich. firm recently completed tests that proved its hybrid SOFC system…
Read MoreThe AAAS’ latest Policy Alert alerted us to the following announcement that the IRS actually made Oct. 1: Approximately four hundred U.S. colleges and universities will begin receiving compliance questionnaires from the Internal Revenue Service in the next few days as part of the agency’s focused effort to study key areas in the tax-exempt community. …
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One tradition of The American Ceramic Society’s annual meetings and the coinciding MS&T conferences is the student mug drop competition. The purpose of the Ceramic Mug Drop contest is to promote spirited and collegial competition among students by demonstrating their prowess in manufacturing a ceramic mug possessing high strength, mechanical reliability, and aesthetics. Mugs are…
Read MoreBusiness is beginning to take shape at Solyndra, and the shape it’s taking is tubular. The Fremont, Calif.-based solar power manufacturer began selling its novel cylindrical-shaped solar tubes in July ’08 and, according to CEO Chris Gronet, the firm already has racked up $1.2 billion in contracted orders. The differences between Solyndra’s solar tubes and conventional…
Read MoreExperts at Purdue University say the United States could cut its total energy consumption and related carbon emissions by approximately 10 percent through the broad adoption of light-emitting diode technology. Known to be about four times more efficient than incandescent lights, one LED “negative” has prevented the technology’s widespread domestic use: prohibitive cost. LEDs are “at least 20 times” more…
Read MoreResearchers led by John Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have developed a new form of flexible, stretchable silicon integrated circuit. Not only can these new silicon circuits wrap around complex shapes, but they can do so without sacrificing electrical performance while stretching, compressing and folding…
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This is a good example of a student-made film about a materials program. This one is about the Industrial Ceramics Engineering Technology program at the college located in southern Ohio. They review slip development, glazing, heat treatment and burners, strength testing and microscopy. According to the students, ICE-T is hot!
Read MoreBack in April, ACerS’ magazine, the Bulletin, announced that the Imperial College (U.K.) was establishing a Structural Ceramic Center funded at £6 million over a five-year period by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Science and Innovation Award. The Center is being directed by Bill Lee, a professor at Imperial College and head of…
Read MoreIf you can get beyond the heavy hype, it appears Planilum – billed by its developers as “the world’s first light-emitting material,” a “technology that redefines our relationship with light” and light that “establishes a dialogue between the ethereal and the functional” – might actually be a great product. Its codevelopers – Paris’ Saazs Institute and Saint-Gobain – say the technology…
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