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2015 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit
April 6-10, 2015 | San Francisco, California
Register by 5:00 pm (ET), March 20 to ensure discounted rates. |
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MRS Awards—Nominate a Colleague Today!
Nominate an outstanding contributor to the progress of materials research for one of five prestigious awards from the Materials Research Society. For more information, and to submit your nomination, please go to www.mrs.org/awards.
Nomination Deadline—April 1, 2015 |
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FREE Webinar: 3D Integrated Circuits: Materials Challenges
Wednesday, March 25 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm (ET)
The presentations in this Webinar will cover important aspects of materials challenges in three-dimensional integrated circuits, complementing the articles in the March 2015 issue of MRS Bulletin on this topic.
Attendance for this and all MRS OnDemand Webinars is FREE, but advance registration is required.
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MATERIALS NEWS
Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
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Materials in Focus
Kevlar-based layered nanoscale membrane suppresses dendrite growth in lithium-ion battery |
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Dendrites that form in lithium-ion batteries can cause circuits to short, resulting in overheating and sometimes a fire or explosion. Now, a research team from the University of Michigan has built a battery membrane with pores that are just 15–20 nm in diameter—large enough to allow lithium ions to pass, but small enough to prevent dendrites from growing. |
Ion bonding in organic scaffolding promotes biomineralization |
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An international team of materials researchers has demonstrated that organic scaffolds influence the crystallization process by binding most of the positively charged calcium ions, inducing mineral formation in specific locations. The results challenge previous assumptions about the molecular-level mechanisms responsible for biomineralization. |
Perovskite solar cell stacked on top of silicon or CIGS solar cell boosts efficiency |
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By stacking a semi-transparent perovskite solar cell on top of a silicon solar cell, researchers have made tandem cells that have 50% higher efficiency than the silicon one alone. Perovskites, inexpensive materials with the crystal structure of calcium titanate, have recently gained prominence for photovoltaic applications. “We’re trying to find a way to make solar cells that are 25% or more efficient at very low cost,” says Michael McGehee, a materials science and engineering professor at Stanford University. |
Low oxygen content eliminates channel segregation in cast steels |
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Keeping the oxygen level low is key to avoiding an important cause of failure in steels, according to a recent article. Research at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science shows that oxygen content of under one thousandth of a percent reduces or even eliminates a defect known as channel segregation. This is good news for the steel industry with, annually, more than 50 million tons of plates and castings. |
Catalytic alloy used to grow high quality graphene on SiC on Si wafers |
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A recent study just published in the Journal of Materials Research demonstrates a way to tighten up one particularly important but tricky step in the fabrication of graphene devices, ensuring the graphene stays in place on a Si substrate once it has been fabricated. |
New hydrogel directs bone regeneration without bioactive factors or cells |
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Large bone defects, also called critical size defects, represent a major clinical problem in orthopedics. These bone losses, typically resulting from physical trauma, infection, or surgery to remove tumors, do not heal on their own, and must instead be fixed with bone grafts, which are often expensive, complex, and not widely available. Now, scientists in Germany have developed multifunctional, three-dimensional (3D) architectured hydrogels that can induce bone regeneration of critical size defects in rats, by virtue of their multiple functionalities. |
People in Focus
Industry Focus
Old Battery Type Gets an Energy Boost
Almost every automaker interested in producing electric cars is betting on improvements to lithium-ion batteries to make the cars cheaper and extend their driving range. But scientists at BASF are exploring the possibilities of an older type of battery, nickel-metal hydride, now used in hybrids. They recently doubled the amount of energy that these batteries can store, making them comparable to lithium-ion batteries. And they have a plan to improve them far more, potentially increasing energy storage by an additional eight times.
Policy Focus
PCAST provides assessment of US Nanotechnology Initiative
The fifth assessment of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative, performed by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), characterizes the Initiative as a “truly successful venture” stating that the investment of over $20 billion in nanotechnology research and development (R&D) over the duration of the initiative has led to “great success in creating the building blocks of nanoscience.”
OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY
Profiles in Materials Science: Daniel Steinberg
While working as an astronomer on the Hubble Space Telescope project, Daniel Steinberg developed an appreciation for science outreach that pulled him into a dynamic new career at the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (MRSEC). Learn about his journey from science research to guiding collaborative outreach efforts between scientists and educators that attract a large public audience excited about science. More
NASA’s Physical Science Informatics database now open to the public
NASA has announced the roll-out of the Physical Science Informatics (PSI) data repository for physical science experiments performed on the International Space Station (ISS). The PSI system is now accessible and open to the public. More.
MEETINGS UPDATE
Critical Meeting Deadlines
JUST PUBLISHED
MRS Communications |
 
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MRS Bulletin’s free webinar on 3D Printing of Biomaterials was held on Wednesday, February 25 and will be available online soon.
Find out more about advertising in MRS Bulletin and webinar sponsorships.
Journal of Materials Research
February 2015, Volume 30, Issue 4
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From Volume 1655, 2013 MRS Fall Meeting, Symposium OO – Solid-State Chemistry of Inorganic Materials:
1212-Molybdo-Cuprates; effect of oxygenation in the structure, properties and electronic states
Sourav Marik, A. J. Dos santos-Garcia, Christine Labrugere, Emilio Morán, Olivier Toulemonde and M. A. Alario-Franco
From Volume 1656, 2013 MRS Fall Meeting, Symposium PP – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology X:
Technological Behavior in the Southwest: Pueblo I Lead Glaze Paints from the Upper San Juan Region
Brunella Santarelli, David Killick and Sheila Goff |
SCIENCE AS ART
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Newton's Color Wheel
by Amirhossein Khalajhedayati, University of California, Irvine
SEM image of a micro-pillar designed for microcompression testing of nanocrystalline Ni-W alloy viewed from the top. The pillar was made with an automated lathe milling technique using a Focused Ion Beam microscope.
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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University of Michigan
Spintronics: Beyond Silicon
A groundbreaking new semiconductor compound may lead to smaller, faster, less power-hungry electronics. It’s the first to build spintronic properties into a material that’s stable at room temperature and easily tailored to a variety of applications. |
CAREER CENTRAL
Partial listing of classified ads from the upcoming March 2015 issue of MRS Bulletin
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division Director
Virginia Tech
Faculty Position, Materials Science and Engineering
NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS
| Surface Area and Pore Size Analyzer |
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Quantachrome Instruments announces the release of the new NOVAtouch™ surface area and pore size analyzer. This next generation NOVA analyzer provides even higher speed and higher throughput analyses of up to four independent samples. Built-in flow and optional vacuum sample preparation, extended Dewar life, and a more robust cryogen level control, coupled with a new sleek look and user-friendly touchscreen gives the NOVAtouch™ the added advantages needed by modern laboratories worldwide.
[Contact: [email protected] or 800-989-2476] |
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| Bench Testing With User-Centric Software |
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Keysight Technologies, Inc. recently introduced the next-generation of BenchVue, an intuitive, easy-to-use PC software application that provides multiple-instrument measurement visibility and data capture that eliminates the need for instrument programming. The second major release of BenchVue features expanded data logging capabilities and ability to work with new types of instruments such as data acquisition units and power sensors. The new release also features easier, faster connectivity, allowing users to get up and running nearly instantaneously. These features, coupled with BenchVue’s existing functionality, are further reinventing bench testing by providing engineers and technicians easier viewing, logging and exporting of measurement data, while also greatly accelerating common testing tasks.
[Contact: [email protected] or 800 829-4444] |
To suggest items for inclusion in Industry News and New Products Focus, please contact Mary Kaufold at 724-779-2755.
ABOUT MATERIALS360®
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