Article by Erica K. Brockmeier Photos by Evan Krape and Courtesy of John Jungck
From adapting to climate change to finding new therapies for difficult-to-treat diseases, addressing the challenges facing society requires a workforce that’s adequately trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
In celebration of National Nanotechnology Day and National Chemistry Week, three scientific organizations are holding a joint image contest.
A three-institution partnership of Tennessee State University (TSU), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Fisk University has just won a $4.2 million, six-year grant under the Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials Research (PREM) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The reason microplastics are all around and even in us is because petroleum-based plastics last for hundreds of years. In our lifetimes they simply don’t go away. But degradable plastics, made from plants, do. Research at UCSD has now proven that those earth-friendly plastics disappear in a matter of a few months. Researchers ground up plant-based plastics into very small bits and tested them in several natural environments.
Helium may be the second-most abundant element in the universe, but on Earth it’s a finite, nonrenewable resource. Helium is so light that it’s not trapped by the lower levels of Earth’s atmosphere. And it’s extremely challenging to capture, since it’s relatively unreactive. Liquid helium is a critical ingredient in systems for cooling equipment used to study quantum systems and image atoms, as well as in the high-performance magnets used in MRI scanners and particle accelerators. But if it is not carefully contained, helium flies to the farthest reaches of the atmosphere or even out into space when it boils.
The University of Pennsylvania's MRSEC Director, Eric Stach was recently named the Scientific Director of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology. Stach’s distinguished career in materials science and engineering, specifically in transmission electron microscopy, combined with his extensive experience managing interdisciplinary research teams, positions him uniquely to lead the Singh Center towards new heights of achievement.
Northwestern Engineering’s Mark Hersam, whose research has led to more effective and sustainable nanomaterials used in electronics, energy storage, and medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
The Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (CDCM) at UT Austin recently launched The Materials Universe Podcast, a show where researchers discuss the impact of materials science on our lives. Listen to interviews with CDCM researchers working on cutting-edge projects in areas such as nanomaterials, biomaterials, smart materials, and more. Learn about the latest discoveries and innovations in materials science, and how they can impact fields such as energy, medicine, electronics, and beyond.
In early 2023, the National Science Foundation (NSF) appointed Germano Iannacchione as the new Division Director of its Division of Materials Research (DMR)—a division with a critical objective to invest in the discovery, development, and design of new materials. “Our research makes the expensive, cheap; it makes the dirty, clean; it makes the hard, easy; it makes the dangerous, safe,” says Iannacchione.
A new form of agricultural pest control could one day take root—one that treats crop infestations deep under the ground in a targeted manner with less pesticide.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new type of material that could offer a sustainable and eco-friendly solution to clean pollutants from water.
A $162 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation will drive the creation of advanced materials capable of remarkable things — from being tough enough to withstand the heat of a fusion reactor to processing information at the quantum level. Nine Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) will each receive $18 million over six years.
