Highlights
May 7, 2007
University of California, Santa Barbara
A New and Safe 'X-Ray' Vision
UCSB MRL researchers have recently developed a new way of seeing beneath clothing and other materials using a THz imaging system that employs a photoconductive switch for illumination and a zero-biased, Schottky diode for detection. Just like Superman, this novel Terahertz system penetrates textiles, in this case denim cloth from jeans, but does not use ionizing radiation and therefore poses a significantly reduced risk to human health when compared to x-rays.
May 3, 2007
Columbia University in the City of New York
Graphitic Carbon Produced at Very Low Temperatures During the Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Graphitic carbon - structural forms of the element that are constructed exclusively from carbon atoms having trigonal planar coordination - is ordinarily produced under drastic physical and conditions, typically at temperatures in excess of 500° C. Columbia MRSEC scientists have uncovered a process by which this form of matter can assemble at temperatures as low as 110° C. During their development of a low-temperature synthesis of nanocrystals of iron oxides, Drs.
May 3, 2007
Columbia University in the City of New York
Expansion of the McNair CITIES Program
Expansion of the McNair CITIES ProgramThe MRSEC developed a new program to help enhance the curriculum of NYC high schools called the Ron McNair Curriculum Integration To Interactively Engage Students (CITIES) Program. The goals of the program are to increase student engagement and to motivate students to enjoy learning and to educate the public. In 2005, the MRSEC brought the program to a Enterprise, Business, and Technology (EBT) High School in Brooklyn.
May 2, 2007
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Perfectly Hydrophobic Surfaces
"Perfectly hydrophobic" surfaces have been developed by McCarthy and are being applied to low friction motion and lubrication McCarthy and Crosby. Shown in the image is an "18-wheel vehicle", prepared by treating a dimethyldichlorosilane-treated quartz plate with UV/ozone through a mask containing 18 hexagonally arrayed 1 mm diameter holes spaced by 4 mm on center.
May 2, 2007
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Polymer Nanocomposite Mechanical Properties
Composites of polymers and inorganic nanoparticles offer tremendous promise for the optimization of mechanical properties. Although many claims of improved properties and balanced optimization can be found in the scientific literature over the past several decades, very little fundamental insight has been provided for the true "nano" effect on mechanical properties.
Apr 24, 2007
University of Chicago
Myelin Figures-- the Instability of Soap
Myelin figures are long thin cylindrical structures that grow when water is added to the concentrated lamellar phase of certain surfactants such as soap. The Sidney Nagel and Tom Witten groups at the University of Chicago developed a method to produce isolated myelin figures, based on previous investigations of ring stain formation pioneered at the MRSEC. This allowed them to study their growth and stability in detail.
Apr 24, 2007
University of Chicago
Spin-Blockade in a Colloidal CdSe Quantum Dot Solid
A University of Chicago MRSEC team led by Philippe Guyot-Sionnest and Woowon Kang have been investigating the transport properties of colloidal quantum dots under magnetic field [1].
Apr 13, 2007
Carnegie Mellon University
Changing Complexions of Grain Boundaries
Martin P. Harmer and Shen J. Dillon, Lehigh University
Supported by the MRSEC Program of the NSF under award number DMR-0520425
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