Tag: materials science
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3-D Conductive Structures Built with Liquid Metal
Engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh developed techniques to build three-dimensional objects with electrical conductivity from liquid metal at room temperature. A team from the lab of chemical engineering professor Michael Dickey published its findings online last week in the journal Advanced Materials. The NC State researchers devised a series of methods using…
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Electronic Skin Material Devised to Detect Multiple Senses
Chemical engineers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology developed a flexible sensor that can simultaneously detect touch, humidity, and temperature. The team led by Technion’s Hossam Haick published its findings in the June issue of the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (paid subscription required). The Technion team aimed to develop a flexible electronic sensor that would…
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Lighter, Stronger Metallic Bubble Wrap Developed
Engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh created a flexible metal foam material that’s lighter and stronger than sheet metal, but more heat and chemical resistant than plastic bubble wraps. The team of Advanced Materials Research Lab director Afsaneh Rabiei and doctoral candidate Di Miao presented their findings on 24 June at the Conference…
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Alternative Solar Cell Developer Adds $10M Venture Funding
Scifiniti, a developer of silicon-based solar materials in San Jose, California secured $10 million in series B venture financing, the second round of funding after initial start-up. Current investors Alloy Ventures, Firelake Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, and Peninsula Ventures took part in the round. The company’s first product is SmartWafer, an alternative photovoltaic solar cell…
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3-D Printing, Computer Model Generate Synthetic Bone Matter
Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and the 3-D printing company Stratasys Ltd. in Billerica, Massachusetts developed a process that translates complex computer-designed models into bone and related organic composite materials with 3-D printing. The team led by MIT engineering professor Markus Buehler published its findings online yesterday in the journal Advanced Functional…
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GE Unveils Two Challenges on 3-D/Additive Manufacturing
General Electric Company is holding two challenges that seek ideas and solutions from the science and engineering communities on three-dimensional printing applied to manufacturing. The company unveiled the competitions yesterday at the 2013 RAPID conference on additive manufacturing — a generic name for industrial 3-D printing — in Pittsburgh. Both challenges have an initial…
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National Lab Develops Solar Photosynthesis Testing Device
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California developed a device to test on a small scale electrochemical solar-energy conversion methods for future fuel cell and artificial photosynthesis technologies. The team led by Joel Ager and Rachel Segalman from the Berkeley Lab’s materials science division and Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis published its findings in…
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Stable, Inexpensive Nanoparticle Biosensors in Development
A materials scientist at Washington University in St. Louis is developing a new class of low-cost biosensors with metal nanoparticles that can be used in point-of-care medical testing, chemical detectors, and environmental monitors. Srikanth Singamaneni, a Washington University materials science professor, received last month a five-year, $400,000 Faculty Early Career Development Award from National Science…
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Nanoparticles Designed to Form Into Tiny Drug-Catching Nets
Chemistry and medical researchers at University of California in San Diego designed round nanoscale particles to float through the bloodstream and change into net-like threads that accumulate at the site of tumors and help concentrate therapies. The team led by San Diego biochemistry professor Nathan Gianneschi appears online in this week’s issue of the journal…
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Inkjet Printing Process Devised for Graphene Circuits
Materials scientists at Northwestern University in Illinois developed an ink made of a graphene solution that can print patterns for electronic circuits and maintain their conductivity even after folding. The team led by engineering professor Mark Hersam published its findings online in a recent issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (paid subscription required).…