Tag: physical sciences
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Math Methods Devised to Design Chemical Catalysts
Research chemists at University of Utah in Salt Lake City have developed a process based on mathematics to design chemical catalysts, including those for making drugs. Professor Matt Sigman (pictured right) and doctoral student Kaid Harper report their findings in this week’s issue of the journal Science; paid subscription required. Catalysts are substances that encourage…
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USDA Funding Forest, Grasses Biofuel Research
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced $137 million in grants for research on biofuels from tall grasses, crop residues, and forest resources. The five-year awards will go to 22 universities and companies, through the lead institutions in Washington, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Iowa. The grants will…
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Brain Circuit Model Helps Understand Parkinson’s Disease
Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis have developed a mathematical model of the brain’s neural circuitry to better understand information disruptions in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients. Their findings appear in the journal Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science (paid subscription required). Mathematical sciences professor Leonid Rubchinsky (pictured left) examined the exchange…
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Commercial Production Begins for New Lithium Process
Simbol Materials, a three year-old company in Pleasanton, California, says it will begin today commercial production of a pure form of lithium carbonate for electric vehicle batteries and other energy storage devices. The company’s process, developed out of research conducted at and licensed from Lawrence Livermore National Lab, also produces manganese and zinc. The production…
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Semiconductor Companies to Invest $4.4B in New York R&D
Five semiconductor developers said today they will make a joint investment of $4.4 billion over the next five years to develop new computer chip technologies in New York State. The companies include Intel Corporation, IBM, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The investments will be made in current and upgraded facilities in Albany,…
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DoE Science Review Boosts Transport, Grid, Quicker Payoffs
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) today released its first Quadrennial Technology Review report, an assessment of the Department’s technology research and development portfolios. The report urges the department to focus its R&D more on transportation than stationary energy production, grid modernization, and technologies closer to fruition than is now often the case. The report…
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Copper Nanofilm Can Replace Rare Earth in Digital Displays
Research chemists at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina have developed a film made of copper nanowires that could replace expensive rare earths now used in digital displays. The discovery by Duke chemistry professor Ben Wiley and grad student Aaron Rathmell appears online in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Wiley has also started…
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NSF Grant to Fund Research on Power Distribution
A team of engineers and computer scientists at Kansas State University in Manhattan have received a $1.1 grant to research better ways of distributing solar power to homes and businesses. The grant, funded by National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program, aims to give utilities generating solar energy better tools for managing and distributing this power.…
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Clemson University Creates Sustainable Vehicle Center
Clemson University in Greenville, South Carolina has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a research and education program in sustainable vehicle systems. The program will be part of Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research. The new program at Clemson aims to overcome barriers in the design and development of…
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Gold Nanowires Add Conductivity to Heart Tissue Patches
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to improve the performance of engineered heart tissue patches with gold nanowires. The findings from the team of physicians, engineers, and materials scientists appear online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (paid subscription required). Patches of engineered heart tissue, made with…