Tag: physical sciences
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Contaminants in City Soil Found Similar to Industrial Sites
Engineers at University of Iowa in Iowa City tested residential soil in nearby Cedar Rapids after the city flooded in 2008 and found industrial pollutants similar to those found at industrial sites. The findings appear in the online issue of the journal Environmental Pollution (paid subscription required), and scheduled to appear in print in the…
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Graphene-Based Nanotech Gas Detector Developed
Engineers from the U.S. and China devised a foam substance made from graphene that is more sensitive in detecting potentially dangerous and explosive chemicals than current technologies. The researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang published their research in the journal Scientific Reports. The graphene-based…
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Copper Compound Nanoparticles Advance Battery Electrodes
Materials scientists at Stanford University in California have developed a new, longer-lasting battery electrode with crystalline nanoparticles of a copper compound. Their discovery, with implications for solar and wind energy storage on the power grid, is described this week in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). According to the authors — materials science professor…
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Liquid-Based Hydrogen Storage Material Developed
Chemists at University of Oregon in Eugene have developed a liquid storage material for hydrogen that advances the prospect for hydrogen as a fuel that can replace gasoline. The Oregon researchers describe their findings online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (paid subscription required). A team led by materials science researcher Shih-Yuan Liu…
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Process Developed for Delivering Appetite Control Hormone
Researchers at Syracuse University in New York and Murdoch University in Australia have devised a method for binding an appetite-suppressing hormone to vitamin B12, a key step needed for delivering the hormone in gum or tablet form. Their process is described online in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (paid subscription required). Syracuse chemistry professor Robert…
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University Develops, Licenses Autonomous Robotics Technology
Engineers and computer scientists at Harvard University have developed small, inexpensive robots with algorithms that enable the devices to work on their own or together in groups. The technology for Kilobots, as they are called, has been licensed to a Swiss company for manufacture and marketing. The tiny robots, about the size of a quarter…
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Industry, Academic Team Creates Ultralight Material
Researchers at HRL Laboratories LLC in Malibu California, with colleagues from California Institute of Technology and the University of California at Irvine, have developed an ultralight material with a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter (mg/cc). The substance, about 100 times lighter than Styrofoam packing material, is described in the November 18 issue of…
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Study Outlines Regulatory Issues for Natural Gas Fracking
A new report by researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina outlines health and environmental measures for lawmakers in that state to consider as they debate the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The study has been accepted for publication in the spring 2012 issue of the journal Duke Environmental…
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Airport Runway De-Icing System Developed with Solar Panels
Engineering researchers at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville are developing an anti-icing system that could make airport runways safer and less expensive to maintain during winter months. The team led by civil engineering professor Ernie Heymsfield are now testing components of the system at the university’s Engineering Research Center in south Fayetteville. The approach uses…
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Intel Corp. to Fund 3D Computer Processing Unit Development
Computer engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh are developing a three-dimensional central processing unit (CPU) that aims to increase energy efficiency by 15 percent. The project, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Intel Corporation, is led by Paul Franzon, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State. A 3D…