IN FOCUS
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FREE Webinar: In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy
Wednesday, January 21 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm (ET)
Presented by MRS Bulletin, this webinar will present reviews of specific sub-areas covering the most exciting developments in the field and a sampling of how in situ TEM is having a major impact on materials science today.
Attendance for this webinar is FREE, but advance registration is required.
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Materials Research Society Foundation Now Accepting Grassroots Grant Proposals!
MRS Members are invited to submit proposals for grassroots funding and help us broaden the impact of materials science worldwide. Visit the Foundation website for more information, funding criteria and proposal submission site.
Proposal Deadline—February 5, 2015
The Foundation only accepts grant proposals from MRS Members. Not an MRS Member? Join today!
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JMR Paper of the Year Award
Nominate the paper that you feel has been most influential and impactful from the 2014 volume year of Journal of Materials Research!
Nomination Deadline—February 2, 2015
See www.mrs.org/jmr-award for nomination requirements.
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MATERIALS NEWS
Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
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Materials in Focus
Circularly Polarized Light Causes Chiral Self-Assembly of Inorganic Nanoparticles |
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On the molecular level, life tends to favor one chiral orientation over the other, utilizing just left-oriented amino acids and right-oriented sugars, for example. This tendency, called homochirality, might eventually shed light on life’s origins on Earth, although scientists are still trying to verify the exact nature of that hypothesis. Most investigations of homochirality, however, are confined to organic molecules and their constructs. Recent research demonstrates that inorganic nanoparticles can also offer insights into this phenomenon. |
Chromium Oxide Thin Film Resistors Improve Quantum Circuits |
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Creating devices that operate on a quantum scale requires a tricky balancing act. Their circuits need to be isolated from the noisy classical world to preserve quantum coherence, but at the same time, they cannot be totally cut off or else they would not be practically useful. For a quantum-scale electronic device, a resistor is key to maintaining that carefully calibrated balance. |
Single Layer Gain Medium Creates Highly Sensitive Microfluidic Laser |
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Fluid biolasers are unusual in their construction in that they have biological samples right in the gain medium, a liquid which helps amplify the laser’s light. Recently, such lasers have moved to smaller and smaller scales, which equates to smaller and smaller sample sizes. As such, sensitivity can prove to be an issue. A team at the University of Michigan has developed an optofluidic microlaser that alters the way a gain medium is used, creating an optimal setup for high sensitivity readings. |
Laser Shock Imprinting Nanoshapes Crystalline Metal Structures |
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With recent advancements in nanotechnology, nanoscale shapes can be easily fabricated onto soft polymers and metallic glasses using various techniques, in particular nanoimprint lithography. However, manufacturing crystalline metallic nanostructures with high fidelity and quality remains a big challenge. Now, researchers have designed a low-cost and high-throughput bench-top technique called laser shock imprinting (LSI), which enables the large-scale, direct fabrication of ultrasmooth three-dimensional (3D) crystalline nanostructures as small as 10 nm. |
Silica Solution Synthetically Fossilizes Soft Biological Tissue |
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One of the major challenges of working with biological materials is their ease of damage. In order to study the interior of tissues such as organs, the original sample must be sliced or otherwise cut. This invasive procedure not only causes damage, but it often requires an experienced researcher to create the samples. A new study shows a unique approach to this problem. By utilizing a silica slurry, both the inside and outside of a tissue can be synthetically fossilized, preserving the sample’s structure for more sustained examination. |
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Physicists Begin Cracking the Code of Kirigami
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In origami, the rules are simple: the paper can only be folded. Kirigami, a more complex art form, adds another dimension to the practice of paper folding, allowing its creators to also cut and paste the material. More than just an art form, physicists think that kirigami could help simplify diverse tasks, ranging from building homes on Mars to creating DNA lattices. |
People in Focus
Industry Focus
Device Squeezes Cells to Get Drugs In
A cell approaches a constriction in a microfluidic channel. Once it reaches the constriction, it’s stretched out and becomes temporarily permeable. Several potentially transformative treatments for cancer and HIV face a common obstacle—getting drugs into cells, which are designed to reject foreign materials. A new microfluidic device, recently developed by a startup called SQZ Biotech, can get microscopic material into cells quickly and cheaply by vigorously squeezing those cells, temporarily making their membranes permeable.
Policy Focus
Norway’s materials scientists are cracking the glass ceiling
Norway, a nation already known for its progressive strides in gender equality, in 2006 enacted a law designed to help women crack one of the most doggedly male-dominated arenas of all: the corporate boards of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange were told to include at least 40% women, or risk being dissolved. Today, eight years on, what has this controversial quota achieved? And how have materials scientists, and the firms they work for, benefited?
OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY
Engineering-for-You video contest
The US National Academy of Engineering announces a video contest, with a deadline of March 2, 2015. More.
NanoDays 2015 digital kit contents available online
The Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), funded by the US National Science Foundation, has made activities contents available online for NanoDays 2015. NanoDays events bring scientists together with museums and other informal education organizations, creating unique learning experiences. More.
MEETINGS UPDATE
Critical Meeting Deadlines
JUST PUBLISHED
MRS Communications |
 
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In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool, especially for nanomaterials characterization, that allows for dynamic characterization of changes in size, shape, interface structures, electronic state, and chemical composition in materials at and below the nanoscale. The sequential TEM images on the cover show facet development of a Pt nanocube in a liquid cell. A growth solution of platinum bis(acetylacetonate) in a solvent mixture of oleylamine, oleic acid, and pentadecane was used. Images courtesy of Hong-Gang Liao, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. |
Frontiers of in situ electron microscopy
Haimei Zheng, Ying Shirley Meng, and Yimei Zhu, Guest Editors
Technical Feature
Fulfilling Feynman’s dream: “Make the electron microscope 100 times better”—Are we there yet?
Stephen J. Pennycook
MRS Bulletin will present a free webinar on In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy on
Wednesday, January 21.
Find out more about advertising in MRS Bulletin.
Journal of Materials Research
January 2015, Volume 30, Issue 1
Focus Issue: Soft Nanomaterials
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SCIENCE AS ART
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Compound Eye Particles
by Hiroshi Yabu, Tohoku University
A scanning electron microscope image of composite particles comprised of self-assembled silica nanoparticles and polybutadiene.
A Finalist in the Science as Art competition at the 2014 MRS Fall 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
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Materials Hackathon (MatHack)
2014 MRS Fall Meeting
Participants were given 24 hours to develop 30-second pitches of ideas for materials-related software, form teams around those ideas and bring those concepts to life with working code. Participants then presented the results to a panel of judges for review. |
NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS
| Precision Metering Pump |
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Ultrasonic Systems, Inc. (USI) has developed the PMP-50 precision metering pump for the Prism BT (bench top) coating system. The PMP-50 utilizes a high-resolution stepper motor drive and 50 ml disposable syringes. It is available with optional internal stirring to accommodate liquids with suspended particles. It is also fully integrated with the Prism BT software with user-friendly operation and process data logging. USI’s unique and proprietary nozzle-less ultrasonic spray technology is ideal for the thin and uniform application of coatings for the manufacture of medical devices, fuel cells, solar cells, MEMS devices, touch panel displays and many other products.
[Contact: [email protected] or 978-521-0095] |
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| IR Lens for Thermal Imaging Applications |
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The Model 307 from Resolve Optics Ltd. is a high performance, 40mm focal length, Infrared (IR) lens designed specifically for thermal imaging applications in the 8–14 µm waveband. Manufactured from Germanium, Model 307 lenses come with antireflective coatings that ensure high performance (f2) throughout the IR waveband. Operating from zero to 40°C without refocusing, the fixed focus Model 307 uniquely combines top quality, high throughput, compactness and robustness at an affordable price.
[[Contact: [email protected] or 44-1494-777100] |
To suggest items for inclusion in Industry News and New Products Focus, please contact Mary Kaufold at 724-779-2755.
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