IN FOCUS
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Grassroots Project Funding Available—MRS Members Only
Do you have an idea for exposing students, teachers or life-long learners to the excitement and significance of materials in their daily lives? For bringing research out of the laboratory and to the general public? Or for finding new and creative ways to develop, support or recognize the next generation of materials scientists? Don’t just think about it ... act on it. Submit your proposal today for grassroots funding from the Materials Research Society Foundation, and help us broaden the impact of materials science worldwide.
Submission Deadline—5:00 pm (ET) February 4, 2016 |
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Two Upcoming FREE Webinars, Presented by MRS Bulletin
Applications of Atom Probe Tomography (APT) in Materials Science
Wednesday January 20, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (ET)
High-Throughput Minature Electron Beam Columns:
Microscopy and Beyond
Sponsored by Keysight Technologies
Wednesday, February 10, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm (ET) |
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Attention MRS University Chapters!
What is your community doing to create a more sustainable future? Let us know and potentially receive funds to support your chapter! All MRS University Chapters are invited to participate in a poster exhibition on “Sustainability in My Community.” The exhibition is intended to highlight materials-related sustainable activities in local communities and to promote interactions with society. Full details are available at www.mrs.org/spring-2016-sustainability-poster-exhibition.
Abstract Submission Deadline—January 29, 2016 |
MATERIALS NEWS
Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
Materials360 Online | RSS feed | Twitter feed
Materials in Focus
Morphological disorder affects charge carrier movement in conjugated polymer films
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Understanding how the charge carriers move between the molecules in conjugated polymers has proved challenging due to the structural complexity and the anisotropy of these materials, in which amorphous and ordered phases coexist, disturbing the transport of charge carriers. As recently published in MRS Communications, researchers at the University of Michigan have taken a step forward in comprehending the relationship between the charge carrier transport and the structural disorder in conjugated polymer films.
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New Q-carbon phase turns into diamond at room temperature
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Q-carbon is the latest candidate in the family of carbon allotropes. This harder-than-diamond material not only shows novel chemical and physical properties like ferromagnetism at and above ambient temperature, it can also turn to diamond in ambient temperature and pressure.
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Simple technique produces pure, high-quality nanodiamonds
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Nanodiamonds, or pure diamonds with a length scale less than a micrometer, are a materials scientist’s best friend in areas such as imaging, spintronics, and quantum computing. But synthesizing particles of reliable size distribution, with the desired surface structure and chemistry, has long been a challenge. Now, a team of researchers based in the Czech Republic have developed a straightforward way of producing extremely small, stable, and pure nanodiamonds from commercially available diamond powders.
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Light-triggered hydrogel releases genetic material “on demand”
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To regenerate tissues and help treat diseases, scientists have found ways to inhibit gene expression using short interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Massachusetts have developed a cytocompatible (compatible with cells) siRNA-encapsulating hydrogel that releases its genetic content when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.
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Gold and silver nanoparticles produce tunable, reversible color changes
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Plasmonics researchers are able to manipulate the optical properties of metal nanoparticles and coax specific colors out of them. When metals like silver and gold are shrunk down to the nanometer scale, their electrons become confined to a smaller and smaller space. These are called plasmons, or waves of electrons that flow across a particle’s surface like liquids. Sets of those particles oscillate at different resonance frequencies, depending on the type of metal, the size of the nanoparticle and its interactions with other particles and materials. A side effect of plasmon resonance, as this phenomenon is called, causes the nanoparticles to scatter light very strongly and produce brilliant colors.
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Easy, instant omniphobic coatings repel water and organic liquids
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A new one-step technique instantly gives transparent coatings that repel water and organic liquids. The coatings remain stable at high temperatures and pressures, and they could be applied to many kinds of surfaces. These coatings could be used to keep buildings, vehicles, and medical devices clean.
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3D-printable resin produces antimicrobial dental restorations
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Three-dimensional (3D)-printing has grown considerably in recent years, and the new technology has even made its way to the medical and dental fields, with researchers now being able to print everything from medical tools to dental retainers to tissues with blood vessels. But like their non-printed counterparts, 3D-printed implants must deal with the ubiquitous issue of microbial growth that causes infections. Now, a team of materials scientists and orthodontists in The Netherlands has developed an antimicrobial composite resin that can be 3D-printed into a range of shapes, including teeth, dental splints, and discs.
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People in Focus
The Materials Research Society Board of Directors for 2016
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President
Kristi S. Anseth
University of Colorado Boulder
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Vice President/
President-elect
Susan Trolier-McKinstry
The Pennsylvania State University |
Immediate Past President
Oliver Kraft
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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Secretary
Sean J. Hearne
Sandia National Laboratories
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Treasurer
David J. Parrillo
The Dow Chemical Company |
Executive Director
Todd M. Osman
Materials Research Society
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Fiona Meldrum to lead MRS Bulletin Editorial Board
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Fiona Meldrum, chair of inorganic chemistry at the University of Leeds, has accepted the position of chair of the MRS Bulletin Editorial Board. She says, “The last few years have seen a range of new innovations, such as the introduction of MRS Bulletin Webinars, and I look forward to helping the team to continue to develop the journal—both in print and online—such that it continues to serve as a leading resource for all of the MRS members.” |
New members join editorial teams of MRS publications
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Richard A. LeSar,
Iowa State University
Principal Editor,
MRS Communications
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Andrew M. Minor,
University of California, Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Principal Editor,
MRS Communications
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Jodie Bradby,
The Australian National University
Advisory Board,
MRS Communications
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Katsuyo Thornton,
University of Michigan
Advisory Board,
MRS Communications
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Sally M. Benson,
Stanford University,
Advisory Board,
MRS Energy & Sustainability –
A Review Journal |
Leone Spiccia,
Monash University
Advisory Board,
MRS Energy & Sustainability – A Review Journal |
Policy Focus
20 years of Congressional Fellows—looking back and ahead
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the involvement of MRS in the fellowship program, and the special network of former fellows has been in place from the beginning. That network comprises 26 former fellows who have gone on to careers in policy, academia, industry, start-ups, nonprofits, and consulting. To this day, they maintain extensive networks across Capitol Hill from their own fellowship years, and have considerable experience to share.
Focus on “elite” universities “risks responsiveness of UK research”
Narrow science base could hurt ability to meet new challenges, report says. Countries need a diversity of institutions doing research across a broad spread of subjects and regions, while multiple organizations should distribute funding, argues The Value of Structural Diversity, written by the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex and the technology company Digital Science.
Canada’s top scientist faces tough challenge
Researchers have big hopes for Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s newly appointed scientist-turned-science minister. Duncan, appointed by newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, inherits a research community bruised by years of cuts to science programs and research jobs under the former prime minister. But change is in the air.
For more science policy news, follow @MaterialsSciPol
OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY
Materials scientists make Martian concrete
If we’re going to colonize Mars, we’ll need buildings to live and work in. So researchers have made cheap, strong concrete out of “Martian” soil.
New materials are in vogue
Being one of the trendiest cities in the world, when London has a design event, it really does do it in style. One of the attractions at this year’s colorful Annual Design Festival, held at the end of September, was Design Junction, a showcase for more than 180 international and cutting-edge design brands. Designers were both selling their wares to the everyday public, and exhibiting more unusual, artistic creations that were out of the reach of all but those with the deepest pockets and the most aspirational tastes. There was some excitement about the design possibilities of using new materials with revolutionary properties.
Profiles in Materials Science: Eddie López Honorato
“In Mexico,” says Eddie López Honorato of CINVESTAV, “we don’t have a culture of science outreach. There are very few schools that have the laboratories or resources to organize such activities.” With a grassroots grant from the Materials Research Society Foundation, López Honorato is helping combat this problem by organizing outreach events such as Cinvesniños-Saltillo, which invites children under 12 to learn about the research problems being tackled at the Center.
Dutch lead European push to flip journals to open access
The Netherlands is leading what it hopes will be a pan-European effort in 2016 to push scholarly publishers towards open-access (OA) business models: making more papers free for all users as soon as they are published. The Dutch government, which took over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union council of ministers this month, has declared furthering OA to be one of its top priorities.
MEETINGS UPDATE
Critical Meeting Deadlines
2016 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit
March 28-April 1, 2016
Phoenix, Arizona
exhibit opportunities available |
SAVE THE DATE
Preregistration Opens Mid-January
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74th Device Research Conference
(DRC 2016)
June 19-22, 2016
Newark, Delaware
exhibit opportunities available |
SAVE THE DATE
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58th Electronic Materials Conference
(58th EMC)
June 22-24, 2016
Newark, Delaware
exhibit opportunities available |
CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract Submission Deadline
—January 29, 2016
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American Conference on Neutron Scattering
(ACNS 2016)
July 10-14, 2016
Long Beach, California
exhibit opportunities available |
CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract Submission Deadline—March 7, 2016
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18th International Conference on Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy
(ICMOVPE-XVIII)
July 10-15, 2016
San Diego, California
exhibit opportunities available |
CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract Submission
Deadline
—February 29, 2016
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5th International Conference on Metal-Organic Frameworks & Open Framework Compounds
(MOF 2016)
September 11-15, 2016
Long Beach, California
exhibit opportunities available |
SAVE THE DATE
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International Workshop on Nitride Semiconductors
(IWN 2016)
October 2-7, 2016
Orlando, Florida
exhibit opportunities available |
SAVE THE DATE
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PUBLICATIONS UPDATE
Critical Publications Deadlines
JUST PUBLISHED
MRS Advances
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Highly Sensitive Organic Photoconductor Using Boron Sub-2,3-naphthalocyanine as a Red-sensitive Film for Stack-type Image Sensors
Toshikatsu Sakai, Hokuto Seo, Tomomi Takagi, and Hiroshi Ohtake
Highly Conductive Polymer Nanocomposite – Application in Interconnects and Traces
Chenggang Chen, Sabyasachi Ganguli, Ajit K. Roy, and Jason Foley
Light interaction with nano-structured diatom frustule, from UV-A to NIR
Christian Maibohm, Josefine H. Nielsen, and Karsten Rottwitt |
Get your free Android App or iOS App for MRS Communications for full mobile access to this journal.
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APT has become a versatile tool to address fundamental questions in materials science and for practical materials analysis. This issue focuses on recent developments and the broadening range of materials classes and applications studied using APT. The cover shows an APT tip, with the sample composed of small Ag-rich precipitates embedded in an Al crystalline matrix. The tip, defined by geometric features (tip radius and angle of the shaft), is at a certain distance from the detector in a straight flight path configuration. Evaporated atoms are projected from the tip surface position to the detector position, which records this information atom-by-atom. The chemical identity of the ions is determined by their time of flight. The specimen volume is thus reconstructed.
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Atom probe tomography—A cornerstone in materials characterization
Yaron Amouyal and Guido Schmitz, Guest Editors
Atom probe tomography of metallic nanostructures
Kazuhiro Hono, Dierk Raabe, Simon P. Ringer, and David N. Seidman
Atom probe tomography of nanoscale electronic materials
D.J. Larson, T.J. Prosa, D.E. Perea, K. Inoue, and D. Mangelinck
Atom probe tomography of interfaces in ceramic films and oxide scales
K. Stiller, M. Thuvander, I. Povstugar, P.P. Choi, and H.-O. Andrén
MRS Bulletin will present a free webinar on Applications of Atom Probe Tomography on
Wednesday, January 20.
Advertise in MRS Bulletin.
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From Volume 1725, 2014 MRS Fall Meeting,
Symposium I – Emerging 1D and 2D Nanomaterials in Health Care
Graphene Protein Field Effect Biomedical Sensor for Glucose Measurements
Dorian Liepmann
From Volume 1725, 2014 MRS Fall Meeting,
Symposium I – Emerging 1D and 2D Nanomaterials in Health Care
Engineered 2D Materials for Efficient Biosensors
Tharangattu Narayanan
From Volume 1727, 2014 MRS Fall Meeting,
Symposium K – Graphene and Graphene Nanocomposites
Thermodynamical Properties and Stability of Crystalline Membranes in the Quantum Regime
B. Amorim, R. Roldán, E. Cappelluti, A. Fasolino, F. Guinea and M. I. Katsnelson |
SCIENCE AS ART
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Calcite Mesacrystal
Yi-Yeoun Kim,
University of Leeds, UK
Sulfonated small molecular additives modify the surface topology of calcite. The variety of plateaus, craggy outcrops and mesas resembles a sunset scene from the Mojave. SEM image from FEI NanoSEM Nova 450 at 8000 X magnification, Ir 2 nm coating on glass substrate. Colourization conducted in Coral Paint Shop Pro 6 |
A finalist in the Science as Art competition at the 2015 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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Flexible Hydrogels
Electronics’ surface chemistry bonds with hydrogels. This work is being developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology together with other groups. |
NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS
Materials Decisions for Lower-Cost, Better-Performing Products |
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Granta Design recently announced the release of CES Selector™ 2016, which includes an innovative tool to consider the cost implications of material and process choices, more extensive datasets, and more attractive and informative charts to aid analysis and presentations. CES Selector is PC-based software used by materials experts and product development teams to make better materials decisions as they improve product performance, reduce costs, and minimize risks. The new Part Cost Estimator™ predicts the cost of a part for a specified material and processing scenario. It is used with property data covering almost 4,000 materials types to quickly assess trade-offs in cost and performance.
Contact: [email protected] or 800-241-1546 |
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Multi-line CMOS Camera-Frame Grabber Product Combination |
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Teledyne DALSA recently announced the availability of its Camera Link HS™-compatible Piranha XL CMOS TDI line scan camera and Xtium CLHS frame grabbers, signaling the introduction of a powerful product combination to take advantage of the AIA’s Camera Link HS interface standard. With the CLHS interface, the Piranha XL 16k monochrome camera offers the latest in multi-line CMOS TDI technology, delivering unprecedented speed and responsivity with low noise in a compact design. The Piranha XL multi-line camera and Xtium-CLHS frame grabber are designed to help reduce inspection and manufacturing costs and enable the reliable transfer of information at high speeds without compromise.
Contact: [email protected] or 519-886-6001 |
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 Joe Yzquierdo, Electronic Communications Assistant, Materials Research Society.
Not a current MRS member? It's never too late to join or renew! This e-mail may be forwarded to anyone interested. We welcome reproduction of the content of this e-mail electronically or in print with
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© Reproduced with permission of the Materials Research Society (MRS) [www.mrs.org]
© Materials Research Society, 2016. All rights reserved. |