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MRS Election Results!

MRS is proud to announce Kristi Anseth, University of Colorado, as the 2015 MRS Vice President/President Elect. In addition, five new members have been elected to the MRS Board of Directors—Charles T. Black, Karen L. Kavanagh, Christine Ortiz, Sabrina Sartori, and Anke Weidenkaff. All will begin their terms January 1, 2015. Read more.

FREE Access to MRS Articles by the 2014 Nobel Laureates in Physics!

In celebration of the Nobel Prize and its winners, MRS has made articles from the MRS Journals collection, authored by the 2014 Nobel Laureates, FREE for a limited time. Join us in congratulating the winners, and please enjoy the free access until December 31, 2014.

Free Webinar: Nanodiamond and Diamond Electronics
Thursday, October 23, 2014 | 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm (ET)

This webinar expands on research that was featured in the June 2014 Issue of MRS Bulletin.

Attendance for this webinar is FREE, but advance registration is required.

Call for Papers!

2015 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit
April 6-10, 2015
San Francisco, California

Abstract Submission Deadline—October 23

MATERIALS NEWS


Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
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Materials in Focus
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Surface Defects in Graphene-based Supercapacitors to Blame for Power Inconsistencies

Graphene supercapacitors hold considerable promise for applications such as energy boosters in electric cars. However, they have shown power inconsistencies in laboratory studies, which make it difficult to fully predict how efficient a given supercapacitor might be. To uncover the source of the inconsistencies, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which revealed that defects on the surface of the capacitors may carry the most blame. More

Mussels Inspire New Strong Underwater Adhesives

Researchers from MIT have designed a waterproof glue that utilizes sticky proteins from mussels and bacterial proteins found in biofilms. The new material’s adhesive energies are 1.5 times greater than the strongest bio-inspired, protein-based underwater adhesives reported in the literature to date, the researchers say. More

Electrostatic control achieved in block copolymers through morphology

Researchers Charles E. Sing, Jos W. Zwanikken and Monica Olivera de la Cruz from Northwestern University have used a theoretical model to demonstrate that the distribution of charge on the blocks comprising block copolymer systems can be used to manipulate the copolymer through inducement of an array of nanostructures. More

Microfluidics Assembled in a Snap

When electricity was discovered, scientists recognized a similarity between fluid in a pipe and electrons in a wire. Wire showed resistance to flow just as pipes do. Voltage in an electrical system was analogous to pressure in a fluidic system. Current was analogous to flow rate. Now, researchers at the University of Southern California, led by engineering professor Noah Malmstadt, are reversing the metaphor to standardize microfluidic design. More

Challenges remain to accessing US federal helium reserves

An international helium shortage was narrowly avoided last fall with the passage of the Helium Stewardship Act (HSA) of 2013.While there is no question that the HSA averted a helium crisis, nearly a year after its passage it is clear that some hurdles still need to be overcome. More

New Nuclear Fuel Could Boost Reactors, But Also Safety Worries

Lightbridge, a nuclear engineering company based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, is planning the first tests in a full-scale reactor of new fuel rods that have been engineered to boost power output by 10 to 17 percent. Crucially, the tests will determine whether the technology can work safely. More

Lighting Sheets Would Use Half as Much Power as Lightbulbs

The next big thing in lighting could be glowing sheets that use half as much energy as an equivalent fluorescent fixture and can be laminated to walls or ceilings. The sheets will contain organic LEDs, or OLEDs—the same kind of technology used in some ultrathin TVs and smartphones. More

Project Hieroglyph: An interview with architect Sean Lally on energy

In an interview with Project Hieroglyph, Sean Lally says, “I’m interested in making energy—electromagnetic, thermal, acoustic, chemical—a building material like steel or concrete and making new and novel spaces and shapes with it.” Project Hieroglyph is administered by Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination.

MRS/OSA and MRS/TMS Congressional Fellowship opportunities

The 2015-2016 MRS/OSA and MRS/TMS Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship Application process is now open through January 2, 2015. The fellows spend one year working as special legislative assistants on the staff of a member of Congress or congressional committee.

2015 ЄU-40 Materials Prize Issues Call for Nominations

The EU-40 Materials Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to materials research by a scientist under 40 and will be presented at the 2015 European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) Spring Meeting. Nomination packages must be received before January 31, 2015.

New Zealand–Korea Strategic Research Partnership Fund Issues Call for Proposals

A call for proposals for the New Zealand–Republic of Korea (Korea) Strategic Research Partnership Fund opened on October 8, 2014, in the following areas: Advanced Technologies, Environment/Antarctica and Health.

MEETINGS UPDATE

Featured Events at the 2014 MRS Fall Meeting

Several special events will be featured at the upcoming MRS Meeting in Boston. Below are just a few highlights. For a list of all Meeting activities, visit www.mrs.org/fall-2014-activities-events.

Professional Development Workshop: Strategic Negotiation—Alliances and Tactics
Sunday, November 30 | 1:00 – 4:00 pm (ET)

Attendance is free, but advance sign up is required by November 14.

NASA Biological Materials, Biomaterials and Biomimetics Workshop
Wednesday, December 3 | 2:00 – 5:00 pm (ET)

NASA has released a Request for Information (RFI) for biomaterials research on the International Space Station. Responses are due on November 3. The responses will be discussed in the workshop.

Rump Session for Hybrid Organic/Inorganic and Related Perovskite-based Solar Cells
Wednesday, December 3 | 4:30 - 6:00 pm (ET)

Late-Breaking Contributions are accepted until November 14, 5:00 pm (ET).

Critical Meeting Deadlines

JUST PUBLISHED

MRS Communications

Research Letter:

Thickness dependence of flow stress of Cu thin films in confined shear plastic flow Thickness dependence of flow stress of Cu thin films in confined shear plastic flow
Yang Mu, Ke Chen and W.J. Meng

Get your free Android App or iOS App for MRS Communications for full mobile access to this journal.

MRS Bulletin
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Topological insulators
October 2014

This issue of MRS Bulletin focuses on topological insulators, which represents a new state of matter based on the topology of the electronic structure. Topological insulators are materials with a distinguished electronic structure, equivalent to a Möbius strip. Most semiconductors and insulators, including the vacuum of the universe, are topologically “trivial,” with an electronic structure like a cylinder or donut shape. The Möbius strip electronic structure on the other hand cannot be continuously transformed into a donut, and, consequently, a metallic surface state (Dirac-type cone) develops in topological insulators while the bulk material remains an insulator, as represented on the cover.

Introductory Article
Topological insulators
Claudia Felser and Xiao-Liang Qi

Technical Feature
In pursuit of damage tolerance in engineering and biological materials
Robert O. Ritchie

Journal of Materials Research
September 2014, Volume 29, Issue 18

A selection of papers:

Benchmarking spintronic logic devices based on magnetoelectric oxides
Dmitri E. Nikonov and Ian A. Young

Internal length scale and grain boundary yield strength in gradient models of polycrystal plasticity: How do they relate to the dislocation microstructure?
Xu Zhang, Katerina E. Aifantis, Jochen Senger, Daniel Weygand and Michael Zaiser

Microcantilever bending experiments in NiAl – Evaluation, size effects, and crack tip plasticity
Johannes Ast, Thomas Przybilla, Verena Maier, Karsten Durst and Mathias Göken

MRS Online Proceedings Library

Visit the MRS Online Proceedings Library and read about the latest research presented at MRS Meetings. Access is free to MRS members.

From Volume 1626, 2013 MRS Fall Meeting, Symposium K – Micro- and Nanoscale Processing of Materials for Biomedical Devices:

Electrochemical Deposition of Platinum Interconnects on Flexible Biocompatible Substrates
A. Radisic, B. M. Morcos, M. Op de Beeck, J. M. O’Callaghan and C. Van Hoof

From Volume 1628, 2013 MRS Fall Meeting, Symposium M – Large-Area Processing and Patterning for Active Optical and Electronic Devices:

Fabrication of Organic Thin Film Transistor Arrays on Plastic and Paper Substrate for Flexible Display Application
Y. Fujisaki, Y. Nakajima, M. Nakata, H. Tsuji and T. Yamamoto

Proceedings Volume 1622 is also available in print format. For more information or to purchase, visit www.cambridge.org/us/mrsproceedings.

SCIENCE AS ART

A Finalist in the Science as Art competition at the 2014 MRS Spring Meeting.

Copyright for all Science as Art images belongs to the Materials Research Society. To request permission to re-use the images, please contact Anita Miller.

EDITOR'S CHOICE VIDEO

The MacArthur Foundation

Materials Scientist Mark Hersam, 2014 MacArthur Fellow

Materials Scientist Mark Hersam is drawing on techniques from a variety of fields in investigations of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of nanomaterials, offering new promise for applied uses.

NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS

New Atmospheric Wet Coating Technology

Beneq is pleased to announce the launch of its new atmospheric wet coating technology called nFOG™ for use in applications such as anti-reflective coatings for large-sized glass. This new technology combines the advantages of the speed of spray coating, the quality of dip coating and the high material yield of roller coating. Beneq’s nFOG is currently in use as a pilot plant.
[Contact: [email protected] or 358-9-7599-530]

New Digital Microscopes

Motic, a leader in digital microscopy, is pleased to announce their new BA410E microscopes. The new series encompasses improvements in optics, illumination, and staging, expanding opportunities for education, clinical analyses, routine and research microscopy. Offering brightfield, phase contrast, polarized light and fluorescence, the BA401E was engineered to be robust, economical, and easy-to-operate, especially important to meet the flexible and changing needs of multi-user facilities.
[Contact: [email protected] or 877-977-4717]

[To suggest items for inclusion in Industry News and New Products Focus, please contact Mary Kaufold at 724-779-2755]

ABOUT MATERIALS360^®

Materials360 is edited by Judy Meiksin, News Editor, and produced by Kirby Morris, Electronic Communications Assistant, Materials Research Society.

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