Highlights
Jun 21, 2010
California Institute of Technology
Quantifying 3D Traction Forces of Epithelial Cell Clusters
Anand Asthagiri and Guruswami Ravichandran
When cells assemble together in a
cluster, they apply force to each other.
The way in which cells signal each
other with and respond to forces is not
well understood. Therefore, we study
the traction forces cells apply to the
substrate beneath them. The results
show exterior cells apply tractions to
the substrate that are an order of
Jun 21, 2010
California Institute of Technology
“Stretchy” Near-Infrared Metamaterials
Harry A. Atwater, Koray Aydin*, Imogen M. Pryce* and Dennis M. Callahan *CSEM supported researchers
Metamaterials are engineered
structures with novel
electromagnetic properties
such as artificial magnetism,
negative refraction, and
cloaking. Thus far, most
metamaterial designs have
been limited to fixed, narrow
frequency range of operation
determined by the size of the
constitutive resonator
elements. Work within the
NSF funded Center for the
Jun 21, 2010
Harvard University
Soft Matter Science revealed through Cooking
Acclaimed chef Jose Andres visited the
Harvard MRSEC to collaborate with Center researchers and speak to students in
the ES139. Innovations in
Science and Engineering class; the laboratory and classroom
discussions were filmed for a feature on 60
Minutes through a special agreement with the
Jun 21, 2010
Harvard University
Entropy Favors Asymmetry in Colloidal Self-Assembly
Guangnan Meng, Natalie Arkus, Michael P. Brenner, and Vinothan N. Manoharan
Two self-assembled colloidal clusters, as seen under the optical microscope. The cluster on the left, a tri-tetrahedron, and the cluster on the right, an octahedron, have the same energy. But in an experiment where both clusters are allowed to form randomly in solution, the less symmetric tri-tetrahedron occurs more than twenty times as often as the highly symmetric octahedron because of the many more ways to form the tri-tetrahedron.
Jun 14, 2010
Princeton University
Topological Protection Against Backscattering
P. Roushan, J. Seo, C. V. Parker, Y.-S. Hor, D. Hsieh, D Qian, A. Richardella, M. Z. Hasan, R. J. Cava and A. Yazdani (Princeton University)
Topological insulators are a new class of insulators in which a bulk gap for electronic excitations is generated by strong spin-orbit coupling.
Jun 7, 2010
Carnegie Mellon University
CMU MRSEC Hosts over 60 scientists at the 1st Summer School on 3D Microstructure Studies
On June 1st -4th, 2010, CMU hosted 67 scientists from around the world
at the 1st Summer School on 3D Microstructure Studies. MRSEC Faculty,
graduate students and researchers introduced the techniques that were
developed and continue to be developed here at CMU to characterize of
the internal structure of polycrystalline materials. The school
consisted of a mix of lectures, demonstrations and hands-on interactive
activities for the participants. Sections were taught on measuring the
May 27, 2010
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Virus-grown battery materials
Angela Belcher, Gerbrand Ceder (MIT)
Widely used in small electronic devices and in the nascent market for
HEVS (Hybrid Electric Vehicles), lithium ion batteries store more energy
for theirweight, operate at a higher voltage, and hold a charge much
longer thanother rechargeable batteries. As a new approach, Belcher and
Ceder of the MIT MRSEC IRG-I have explored a biological way to create
new charge storage materials for lithium ion batteries by using a virus
as a scaffold totemplate the growth and assembly of nanoscale electrode
May 26, 2010
University of Maryland - College Park
Synthesis and Characterization of Topological Insulator Materials
N. P. Butch, K. Kirshenbaum, P. Syers, A. B. Sushkov, G. S. Jenkins, H. D. Drew, J. Paglione
High-quality single crystals of Bi2Se3 grown via the Bridgeman technique.
May 26, 2010
University of Maryland - College Park
Standing Plasmon Waves on Ag Grating Structures
S.H. Guo, D. Britti, J.J Heetderks, H.C. Kan and R. J. Phaneuf
Surface plasmons are light-energy propagating electromagnetic modes trapped at the interface between certain metals (notably gold and silver) and a dielectric. They are also of interest for optical processes enhanced by strong local electric fields.
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