Highlights

Apr 29, 2009

Mechanics of crack deflection at a twist grain boundary

Yujie Wei, Allan F. Bower, Huajian Gao

Heterogeneous brittle solids such as ceramics, lamellar intermetallics, and olycrystalline hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) metals such as Zr, Zn and Cd are echnologically important and broadly used. Zirconium, for example, has a low bsorption cross section for neutrons, and is therefore used in nuclear energy pplications. Titanium aluminide (TiAl) is a candidate material for many

Apr 23, 2009

Johns Hopkins University

Multiple States of Nanoring Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

Background: The geometry of a nanoring magnet provides unique magnetic configurations of onion, vortex, and twisted, which can be exploited in nanoring magnetic tunnel junctions (NRMTJs) .

Apr 20, 2009

University of Chicago

Granular materials in a Hele-Shaw Cell

Xiang Cheng (University of Chicago) Lei Xu (Harvard University) Aaron Patterson (Morehouse College) Heinrich Jaeger (University of Chicago) Sidney Nagel (University of Chicago)

A Hele-Shaw system was used by University of Chicago MRSEC researchers, Sidney Nagel and Heinrich Jaeger and their research groups, to explore the zero-surface-tension properties of granular "fluids."Â’ Theoretically, it was determined by Paul Wiegmann, also at the University of Chicago, that fluid fingering in the zero-surface-tension limit should lead to singular cusp structure locally and fractal geometry globally.Â’ Granular flow provides the first experime

Apr 20, 2009

University of Chicago

Charge transport in arrays of multicomponent nanostructures

Jong-Soo Lee (University of Chicago) Elena V. Shevchenko (Argonne National Laboratory) Dmitri V. Talapin (University of Chicago)

Researchers, Dmitri Talapin and collaborators, at the University of Chicago MRSEC have been studying electronic properties of new nanoscale materials consisting of both magnetic and semiconducting components (FePt and PbS).Â’ These components are integrated into individual nanostructures forming multicomponent quantum-confined objects.Â’ The core-shell morphology maximizes the interaction between the components and provides a convenient platform for studying

Apr 1, 2009

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Magnetic Doping of Golden-Cage Clusters

X.C. Zeng, J. Bai (Nebraska MRSEC), L.M. Wang, L.S. Wang, W. Huang (Washington State University/PNNL), and D. Schooss, M. Kappes (Karlsruhe, Germany)

Apr 1, 2009

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Electrically Controlled Surface Magnetism

Xi He, Yi Wang, N. Wu, K. Belashchenko, P. Dowben, A. Gruverman, and Ch. Binek (Nebraska MRSEC)

Apr 1, 2009

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Stripes are Stars! Pt Helps Fe to Stay Magnetized

A. Enders, R. Skomski (Nebraska MRSEC), J. Honolka, K. Kern, K. Fauth, G. Schuetz (MPI Stuttgart, Germany), P. Varga (TU Vienna, Austria) and H. Ebert (LMU Munchen, Germany)

The magnetic anisotropy energy is among the most important functional properties of magnetic elements. It determines the orientation and stability of the magnetization as well as the mechanisms and the dynamics of the magnetization reversal.

Apr 1, 2009

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Battery material could lead to ultra-fast recharging of many devices

Gerbrand Ceder (MIT), ByoungWoo Kang (MIT)

Professor Gerd Ceder, co-leader of the MIT battery IRG, and MRSEC-supported graduate student ByoungWoo Kang wanted to dispel the myth that batteries have low power rates.

Mar 26, 2009

Colorado School of Mines

Proton Transport in Metal/Ceramic Membranes

R. O'Hayre, N. Sammes, M. Lusk, W. Medlin, A. Bunge Renewable Energy MRSEC, NSF DMR-0820518

Mar 26, 2009

Stanford University

Green Chemistry of Poly(l-lactides)

W. Swope1, R. Waymouth2, J. Hedrick1, and C. Wade1 1: IBM Almaden Research Center, 2: Stanford University

As part of a series of studies on the green chemistry of poly(l-lactides), we have performed a theoretical study of the mechanism of ring-opening polymerization.