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Highlights

May 11, 2011
UMD Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (2005)

UMD MRSEC Takes Its Giant Buckyball on the Road

D. Hammer, A. PrasertchoungUniversity of Maryland MRSEC DMR0520471

UMD MRSEC has developed an exciting nanoscience demonstration known as the  Giant Buckyball.  The Giant C60, along with the smaller C20, has been used in a variety of venues including museums such as the Smithsonian Spark!Lab in Washington, DC and Port Discovery Children’s Museum in Baltimore, MD; summer camps; and science festivals to engage students and their families in the exploration of research science and engineering.
May 10, 2011
The Georgia Tech Laboratory for New Electronic Materials (2008)

The Graphene Quartet Splits Up

Y.J.Song, A.F. Otte, Y. Kuk, Y. Hu, B. Torrance, P. First, W. de Heer, H. Min, S. Adam, M.Stiles, A MacDonald and J.A. Stroscio - Georgia Tech and NIST

To fully understand the behavior of graphene's electrons, Georgia Tech and NIST scientists employ the extremes of ultra-low temperature and large magnetic field.  In a new ultra-low temperature scanning tunneling microscope (ULT-STM) constructed at NIST, graphene remains pristine for weeks, enabling precise observations of electron energy levels and interactions.  Using multilayer epitaxial graphene prepared at Georgia Tech, the collaborato
May 10, 2011
UMD Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (2005)

Metal Atom-Directed Traffic: Building Efficient 3-D Materials

Rajesh Sathiyanarayanan and T. L. Einstein University of Maryland MRSEC, DMR 0520471

The race to build smaller and more efficient computer chips and batteries faces major challenges in materials organization.   Current smart phones, for example, are based upon layered  (“2-D”) materials, but nanoscale designs that utilize 3-D architecture are envisioned.  To access this third dimension in materials organization,  scientists must find ways to direct the flow of atoms before locking in structure.
May 10, 2011
UMD Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (2005)

Building Better Nanodevices

John T. Fourkas, Wolfgang Losert, Edo Waks, Ben ShapiroUniversity of Maryland MRSEC, DMR 0520471 

Realizing the full potential of nanodevices will require the ability to place individual elements that are much smaller than the width of a human hair in precise, 3-D configurations.  We have developed new materials that allow us to use light and/or electric fields to position individual micro- or nanostructures in precise locations in three dimensions and then to lock them into place using short pulses of light from a laser.  This “trap-and-zap” scheme is being used to create new types of optical, electronic and mechanical devices based on nanotechnology.  Shown here are 2D pattern (top),
May 10, 2011
UMD Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (2005)

Topological Materials for Next Generation Electronics

Johnpierre Paglione, Nicholas Butch, Paul Syers, Kevin KirshenbaumUniversity of Maryland MRSEC, DMR 0520471

A new class of materials shows great promise for next generation electronics applications.  Topological insulators have been heralded for unique properties that may prove crucial to the successful development of devices in the emerging fields of spintronics and quantum computing. Scientists are further excited about the prospect of investigating new and peculiar fundamental physics in these materials.