Highlights

T. Sanchez, D. Chen, S. DeCamp and Z. Dogic

Most conventional materials are assembled from inanimate building blocks. We have explored the behavior of soft materials in which constituent energy consuming units that are assembled from animate energy consuming components. Thousands of these components spontaneously coordinate their microscopic activity to yield novel gels, liquid crystals and emulsions that crawl, flow, stream, spontaneously fracture and self-heal, thus mimicking some of the characteristics of living biological organisms.

May 14, 2013

Brandeis University

A New Mechanism for Flagella-Like Beating

R. Chelakkot, A. Gopinath, L. Mahadevan, M. F. Hagan

The planar dynamics of a semi-flexible filament anchored at one end and comprised of connected, self-propelled, spheres were predicted using Brownian dynamics simulations and continuum elastic theory theory. For certain parameter ranges the filament undergoes periodic motion. With a clamped anchor, the filament undergoes flagella-like beating (top right), while a pivoting end leads to a steadily rotating coiled conformation (bottom right).

May 8, 2013

Ohio State University

Preparing Future Scientists at Multiple Levels

Heckler, Pelz, Hammel, McCombs, The Ohio State University

Bridge Program for Physics Graduate Students OSU, CEM and the OSU Department of Physics have established and funded a M.S.‐to‐Ph.D. Bridge Program at OSU; OSU is one of the first sites funded by the American Physical Society Bridge Program. The program seeks to enhance the diversity of qualified applicants to physics Ph.D. programs at OSU and at other universities. The first cohort of students for this 2‐year transitional M.S. program will begin in June 2013.

May 6, 2013

Georgia Institute of Technology

Researchers Discover the Grail of Graphene Electronics: Semiconducting Graphene

J. Hicks, M. Nevious, C. Berger, W.A. de Heer and E.H. Conrad

Researchers Discover the Grail of Graphene Electronics: Semiconducting Graphene (.PDF) The stumbling block to developing graphene electronics has been the inability to produce a semiconducting form of graphene. Researchers at the Georgia Tech MRSEC have finally found a solution to this elusive goal, graphene bent over SiC steps. This semiconducting graphene can operate at temperatures above 200 C and is easily scalable to industrial fabrication.

May 6, 2013

Georgia Institute of Technology

Life and Death at the Interface

J.E. Curtis & N. Bassiri-Gharb

Life and Death at the Interface (.PDF)

May 3, 2013

University of Utah

Correlated microscopy for geochemical, environmental and bio/nanomaterials

Anil Virkar, Ajay Nahata & Brian Saam Leveraged new (non-MRSEC) funding $240k: Arion mill, laser marker, FIB dep materials, S/W. Scientific Computing & Imaging integration of diverse imaging data sets. Magnifies MRSEC investment into FIB and planned S/TEM. Click the pdf below for more information

May 2, 2013

University of California, Santa Barbara

Mussel protein adhesion to mica surpasses biotin-avidin affinity

Danner, Kan, Hammer, Israelachvili & Waite

Asymmetrical films of adhesive protein Mfp-5 show significantly higher reversible adhesion to smooth mica surfaces than the “gold standard” of noncovalent binding: well-ordered avidin-biotin interactions. The insights are crucial for intelligent translation of mussel adhesion to engineered systems.

May 2, 2013

University of California, Santa Barbara

Teachers Merge Art and Science at the UCSB MRSEC

The UCSB Materials Research Laboratory’s “Models and Materials” Teacher Institute teamed secondary art and science teachers to develop interdisciplinary curriculum projects combining art and science with student-created models. Five science and four art teachers from Santa Barbara and Ventura County schools participated in this teacher professional development opportunity and presented their lesson plans at the MRL Secondary Curriculum Workshop in March 2013.

May 1, 2013

Ohio State University

Rotating Magnetization with Lattice Strain

Du, Adur, Wang, Hauser, Lucy, Soliz, Holcombe, Morris, Woodward, Hammel, Yang, The Ohio State University

Altering crystal structure of unique magnetic films manipulates magnetization orientation Magnetic anisotropy defines the functionality in many applications including magnetic data storage, strong permanent magnets, and electrical transformers. Sr2FeMoO6 (SFMO) and Sr2CrReO6 (SCRO) are unique magnetic materials whose strong anisotropy aligns with crystalline structure (“magneto‐crystalline anisotropy”) that arises from the heavy elements Mo and Re. Researchers at The Ohio State University’s Center for

Apr 26, 2013