Tag: materials science
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Nanotech Sensor Detects Glucose for Diabetes Testing
Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana created a non-invasive biosensor that detects minute concentrations of glucose in saliva, tears, and urine. The team at Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center published its findings this week in the journal Advanced Functional Materials (paid subscription required). The sensor has three main parts: layers of nanosheets resembling tiny rose petals…
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University to Research 3-D Self-Assembly Processes
Engineers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh received a grant to develop materials that fold themselves into three-dimensional objects when exposed to light. National Science Foundation awarded the four-year, $1.76 million grant to Jan Genzer (pictured right), a chemical engineering professor at NC State. Genzer says he is assembling a team of “designers, engineers,…
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Energy Dept to Fund Minnesota Chemistry Computation Centers
University of Minnesota’s chemistry department received two grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for research on software and computational methods on materials from nanotechnology and systems for transporting solar energy. The two five-year grants total $13.1 million, and will be shared by other universities and national labs. The Nanoporous Materials Genome Center, headed by…
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Carbon Nanotubes Found Toxic to Aquatic Animals
Engineers at University of Missouri and U.S. Geological Survey in Columbia found carbon nanotubes — sub-microscopic structures increasingly used for their strength and conductivity to create innovative new materials — to be toxic to several species of aquatic animals. The research led by Baolin Deng, professor and chair of chemical engineering at Missouri, appears in…
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Power Cell Converts and Stores Energy in Single Unit
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta developed a single device that converts mechanical energy directly into chemical energy, and stores the power until released as an electrical current. The Georgia Tech team led by materials scientist and engineer Zhong Lin Wang (pictured right) published its findings earlier this month in the journal Nano…
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University Prof. Develops Lightweight Pipeline Material
A University of Arizona engineering professor designed a new, lightweight underground pipe material, with a company he founded taking the invention, as well as the innovative manufacturing methods, to market. Mo Ehsani, Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at Arizona (pictured left), will discuss the new pipe material next week at American Society of Civil Engineers…
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Nanotech Materials Solution Devised for Hydrogen Storage
Chemical engineers at University of New South Wales in Australia synthesized and demonstrated a material that absorbs, releases, and reabsorbs hydrogen, a key step in advancing hydrogen as an alternative fuel source. The team from the university’s Materials Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale (MERLin) published its findings last week in the journal ACS Nano; paid…
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Sapphire Fiber Optics Deliver Higher Transmission Capacity
Materials scientists and engineers from Clemson University in South Carolina and University of Illinois developed sapphire fibers with greater capacity for high-energy optical transmissions than current silica-based fibers. The team led by John Ballato, director of Clemson’s Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies (pictured left), appears online in this week’s issue of Nature…
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Polymer Materials Discovered That Resist Bacteria Attachment
Researchers at University of Nottingham in the U.K. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology identified a new class of polymer materials that resist the attachment of bacterial pathogens. The team headed by Nottingham’s Morgan Alexander appears online in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). According to the university, infections related to medical devices, caused by…
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Composite Nanofibers Developed for Orthopedic Biomaterials
Biomedical engineers at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia developed a technology for creating composite nanoscale fibers for replacement tissue to treat orthopedic injuries. The team led by Penn medical school professor Robert Mauck published its findings online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Recent advances in…