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Biofilms form on submerged or moist surfaces when bacteria attach and excrete slimy biopolymers to protect themselves, and they are particularly problematic when they develop on urinary catheters.  

Diffusionless martensitic transformations are a class of solid–solid phase transitions in which the crystal unit cell changes shape and internal structure, while keeping its stoichiometry constant. Because these transformations do not require long-range diffusion, they are fast and repeatable, and thus have been exploited in a number of engineeringapplications.

Terminator 2 is widely remembered for its metal shape-shifting villain. Impervious to bullets, explosives, and fire, the T-1000 robot was capable of changing shape at will. Researchers at the North Carolina State University have taken a step towards making science fiction a reality by developing a technique for controlling the surface tension of liquid metals using very low voltages. This technology paves the way for shape-reconfigurable metal components in

We are building a scanning probe microscope to study spin and charge on the nanoscale. The magnetic sensing element is a nitrogen-vacancy center (NV) in diamond, which should afford single electron spin sensitivity with 10 nm spatial resolution. Schematic of diamond-based scanning probe magnetometer Confocal fluorescence images showing relative locations of NV and Gd-functionalized tip

Non-Spherical, patchy particles can be synthesized using liquid crystalline templates

A Molecular Simulation App to Change the Way Students Learn About Atoms

RT-MRSEC Graduate Student Fellows and staff joined area scientists to participate in Sherwood Githens Middle School’s Family Science Fair Night on January 29, 2015.

Researchers from Duke University have developed biologically synthesized proteins that can form nano-scale structures of various sizes, shapes, and behaviors. These proteins, called elastin-like polypeptide block copolymers, spontaneously self-assemble into different structures based on their interactions with other proteins and water. By changing their sequence, the researchers can control the shape and behavior of the structures that they form.

U.S. National Science Foundation support has enabled the team to introduce a novel method for formation of a broad range of polymer nanofibers and nanomaterials. The patented technique, illustrated in the Figure (left), is based on shearing of polymer solution inside viscous medium. It is extremely simple, efficient and readily scalable and can be applied to the fabrication of nanofibers from most types of commercial and special use polymers.  The team has scaled up the process to a continuous production of polymer nanofibers at rates of kgs/hour