Tag: physical sciences
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Online Simulator Optimizes Solar Cell Materials Efficiency
An online tool offered by MIT helps companies and researchers determine the tradeoffs in manufacturing strategies for solar cells based on planned materials and processing steps. The simulator, which takes about a minute to run, can provide a preview of the efficiency of resulting solar cells in converting sunlight to electricity, a process previously determined…
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Energy Dept Seeks $20M Battery/Storage Research Hub
The Department of Energy (DoE) says it will open competition for a new research center to speed development of advanced battery and energy storage technologies. The new energy innovation hub, as these programs are called, will have up to $20 million in funding in the current (2012) fiscal year. Energy innovation hubs bring together researchers…
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Vibrating Microsensors Developed for Detection, Testing
Engineers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana have applied tiny vibrating microcantilevers to sensors that could detect chemical and biological substances. Their research is described in this week’s online issue of the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (paid subscription required), and a patent is pending on their invention. The team led by mechanical engineering professor…
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New Technique Enables Nanoscale Images Inside Living Brain
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany have developed a technique to record detailed live images inside the brain of a living mouse. The technology, called stimulated emission depletion (STED) fluorescence microscopy is described in the 3 February issue of the journal Science; paid subscription required. The team led by…
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Challenge Seeks Sustainable Material Substitute for Wood
A new challenge on Innocentive seeks materials or processes that can be used create materials with the physical properties of softwoods, but are more sustainable than natural wood. The competition has a prize of $20,000 and a deadline of 31 March 2012 for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation crowd-sourcing…
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Manchester to Host U.K. Graphene Research Institute
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the U.K. confirmed today that University of Manchester will host the U.K.’s national graphene institute, a facility for graphene research and commercialization activities planned for use by both scientists and businesses. University of Manchester is the home of Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, who…
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Ignore the Sticker Shock, Electric Trucks Can Pay You Back
A new MIT study indicates that electric vehicles have the potential to improve the bottom line for many kinds of businesses, in addition to being good for the environment. The findings from the study, conducted by researchers at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), were presented last month at the IEEE Power and Energy…
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Patent Granted for Nanotech Medical Diagnostic Technology
Medical diagnostics developer T2 Biosystems in Lexington, Massachusetts has received a U.S. patent for its sensor technology based on magnetic nanoparticles. Patent 8,102,176 was issued on 24 January by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to W. David Lee, a program officer at MIT’s Koch Institute for Cancer Research and a founder of T2 Biosystems.…
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Nanotech Enhanced Oils Boost Insulation Properties
Materials scientists at Rice University in Houston have developed a process for enhancing the efficiency of lubricants to help remove excess heat in electric-power devices from micro-scale components to industrial transformers. The findings of graduate student Jaime Taha-Tijerina, postdoctoral researcher Tharangattu Narayanan, and colleagues appear in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). The team…
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Risk-Based Air Passenger Screening Could Improve Security
A University of Illinois computer scientist has developed algorithms to assess the relative risk of air passengers that can improve the effectiveness of pre-flight security checks. The work of Sheldon Jacobson in Urbana, Illinois, with Springfield researcher Adrian Lee, appears in the December 2011 issue of the journal Transportation Science (paid subscription required). Jacobson —…