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NEW MRS Member Benefit!
Effective July 1, 2015, MRS members will receive a FREE electronic subscription to Journal of Materials Research (JMR)—access to full-text articles from the Journal’s inception in January 1986 to the current issue. For a complete list of MRS Member benefits, visit www.mrs.org/member-benefits.
Join or renew your membership in MRS today and enjoy these valuable benefits. |
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Two FREE Webinars in May
Power Electronics with Wide Bandgap Materials
Wednesday, May 20 | 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (ET)
Beyond Topography: New Advances in AFM Characterization of Polymers
Sponsored by Oxford Instruments Asylum Research
Thursday, May 28 | 11:00 am - 12:15 pm (ET)
Attendance for these and all MRS OnDemand Webinars is FREE, but advance registration is required. |
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Call for Papers—2015 MRS Fall Meeting
The abstract submission site for the 2015 MRS Fall Meeting opens this Monday, May 18. Don't delay; visit www.mrs.org/fall-2015-technical-sessions today for details.
Abstract Deadline: June 18, 2015 |
MATERIALS NEWS
Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
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Materials in Focus
Infrared sensors made from plant cells and carbon nanotubes |
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By enmeshing plant cells within a network of carbon nanotubes, researchers have made a wood-like material that has a temperature sensitivity almost 300 times higher than the best available heat, or infrared, sensors. |
Nanoneedles help reprogram cells to develop new blood vessels |
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A multidisciplinary team of materials scientists, bioengineers, and molecular biologists from Imperial College London and the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI) has developed experimental biocompatible “nanoneedles” that can effectively deliver large amounts of nucleic acids into cells without damaging them. Using in vivo experiments, the researchers showed that the nanoneedles could reprogram the back muscle cells of mice, causing them to significantly increase the formation of new blood vessels. |
Minimized roll-off brightens OLEDs |
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Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have potential applications in lightweight and flexible display technologies, bright lighting, and lasers. However, where organic semiconductors continue to fall short is in applications that require a high current, such as bright displays or lasers. For OLEDs, the higher the current, the lower the efficiency. A new study published by researchers from Kyushu University, Japan and the University of California–Santa Barbara points toward a possible breakthrough in device design and engineering to suppress efficiency roll-off in OLEDs. |
Hybrid halide perovskite FET enables direct measurement of charge transport |
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Inexpensive and easy to make, perovskite materials may lead to efficient and affordable next-generation solar cells. In just over five years, the efficiency of perovskite solar cells has leaped from less than 4% to over 19%; silicon solar cells typically have efficiencies in the 20–25% range. Researchers have also made light-emitting diodes and lasers using perovskites. Now, a team of researchers reports field-effect transistors (FETs) made with these materials at room temperature. They published their findings in a recent issue of MRS Communications. |
A new route to radiation damage-tolerant metals |
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Researchers have created a kind of copper with a specific microstructure that is highly tolerant to radiation. The new metal has self-healing capability in an irradiation environment that should enable it to last much longer than the materials currently used in nuclear reactors, which become brittle after a few decades. |
Industry Focus
Graphene’s lightbulb moment
A graphene-based lightbulb, said to be longer-lasting, more efficient and cheaper to make than today’s domestic LED lamps, will go on sale in a few months’ time. Though graphene flakes have already been incorporated into tennis racquets, skis and conductive ink, the new lightbulb is claimed by its manufacturer—Graphene Lighting Plc, a spin-out from the National Graphene Institute and Manchester University—to be the first commercially viable consumer product based on the material.
First surgical glue approved for use inside the body
The first biodegradable surgical glue for internal use (called TissuGlu) has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. While medical sealants and liquid bandages are becoming more common, none had been approved for use inside the body until now.
Solar energy is on the verge of a “global boom”
A crash in the prices of photovoltaic panels and improved technology that harnesses more power from the sun has placed solar on the cusp of a global boom, analysts say, who compare its rise to shale oil.
Why Tesla wants to sell a battery for your home
Tesla’s residential battery, called Powerwall, will be available in several months and will come in two sizes, a seven-kilowatt-hour battery system that costs $3,000 and a slightly larger 10-kilowatt-hour system for $3,500. The larger battery would keep an average-sized home running for a day.
Policy Focus
Policy shift in US federal travel restrictions
In early May of this year, the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that it would no longer review conference attendance requests for federal agency employees, deferring that review to the agencies themselves. The Materials Research Society has addressed this issue from various fronts, both individually and through a coalition of technical societies.
For more science policy news, follow @MaterialsSciPol
OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY
How to attract female engineers
The figures are well known: At Apple 20 percent of tech jobs are held by women and at Google, only 17 percent. A report by the Congressional Joint Economic Committee estimates that nationwide about 14 percent of engineers in the work force are women. The Blum Center for Developing Economies recently began a new program that, without any targeted outreach, achieved 50 percent female enrollment in just one academic year. More.
The making of a science evangelist
I have wanted to be a scientist ever since I was a little girl. I got the idea from a television program called 3-2-1 Contact, where I watched a young African-American girl solve problems. I saw my reflection in her and was transfixed. More.
Crowdfunded science is here. But is it legit science?
Crowdfunding allows small-scale research to bypass the time and trouble required to draft and defend a grant proposal, and find money to cover the startup costs of a project. But like all shortcuts, crowdfunding has its downsides. More.
MEETINGS UPDATE
Critical Meeting Deadlines
20th International Conference on
Solid State Ionics (SSI-20)
June 14-19, 2015 |
Keystone, Colorado |
PREREGISTRATION OPEN
Register by 5:00 pm (ET)
May 29 and SAVE!
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73rd Device Research Conference
(DRC 2015)
June 21-24, 2015 | Columbus, Ohio
exhibit opportunities available |
PREREGISTRATION OPEN!
Register by 5:00 pm (ET) May 29 and SAVE!
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57th Electronic Materials Conference
(EMC 2015)
June 24-26, 2015 | Columbus, Ohio
exhibit opportunities available |
PREREGISTRATION OPEN!
Register by 5:00 pm (ET) May 29 and SAVE! |
2015 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit
November 29 - December 4, 2015
Boston, Massachusetts
exhibit opportunities available |
CALL FOR PAPERS
Abstract Submission Opens—
May 18
Submission Deadline—June 18
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2016 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit
November 27 - December 2, 2016
Boston, Massachusetts
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Proposal Submission Deadline— May 15
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PUBLICATIONS UPDATE
Critical Publications Deadlines
January 2016 - Journal of Materials Research 31(1)
Early Career Scholars in Materials Science |
Submission deadline:
7/1/2015 |
February 2016 - Journal of Materials Research 31(3)
Biomineralization & Biomimetics |
Submission deadline:
7/1/2015
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April 2016 - Journal of Materials Research 31(7)
Two-Dimensional Heterostructure Materials
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Submission deadline:
9/1/2015 |
June 2016 - Journal of Materials Research 31(11)
Advanced Materials and Structures for Solar Fuels
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Submission deadline:
11/1/2015
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July 2016 - Journal of Materials Research 31(13)
Advances and Challenges in Carbon-based Tribomaterials
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Submission deadline:
12/1/2015
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October 2016 - Journal of Materials Research 31(19)
Reinventing Boron Chemistry for the 21st Century
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Submission deadline:
3/1/2016
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Find out more about advertising in JMR.
JUST PUBLISHED
MRS Communications |
 
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Wide bandgap semiconductors such as GaN and SiC represent next-generation materials for power electronics replacing Si. They show promising advantages over Si-based conventional electronics. This issue overviews research revolving around GaN and SiC power electronics, from the choice of substrate, film growth process, devices, and circuits to examples of applications. The cover shows Au-free GaN power devices processed on 200 mm diameter Si wafers in a standard Si CMOS process line. Courtesy of GaN Imec Industrial Affiliation Program, Leuven, Belgium.
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Power electronics with wide bandgap materials: Toward greener, more efficient technologies
Francesca Iacopi, Marleen Van Hove, Matthew Charles, and Kazuhiro Endo, Guest Editors
Technical Feature
Innovation in electronic materials: Creating novel devices with new functionalities
Hyuk Chang
MRS Bulletin will present a free webinar on Power electronics with wide bandgap materials on Wednesday, May 20.
Find out more about advertising in MRS Bulletin.
Journal of Materials Research
Focus Issue: Characterization and Modeling of Radiation Damage on Materials: State of the Art, Challenges, and Protocols
May 2015, Volume 30, Issue 9
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From Volume 1666, 2014 MRS Spring Meeting, Symposium A – Film-Silicon Science and Technology:
Improved metastability and performance of amorphous silicon solar cells
Takuya Matsui, Adrien Bidiville, Hitoshi Sai, Takashi Suezaki, Mitsuhiro Matsumoto, Kimihiko Saito, Isao Yoshida and Michio Kondo
Direct gap Group IV semiconductors for next generation Si-based IR photonics
John Kouvetakis, James Gallagher and José Menéndez
From Volume 1669, 2014 MRS Spring Meeting, Symposium D – Materials for Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Solar-Energy Harvesting and Storage:
Critical Metrics and Fundamental Materials Challenges for Renewable Hydrogen Production Technologies
Eric L. Miller, David Peterson, Katie Randolph and Chris Ainscough |
SCIENCE AS ART
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Graphitic Carbon Nitride under UV light
by Yanwen Yuan, Nanyang Technological University
A first-place winner in the Science as Art competition at the 2015 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
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Bristol Science Center
The Energy Tree
The Energy Tree has grown out of a shared commitment to hands-on learning, the need to reduce energy consumption and to equal access to clean energy for all. |
NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS
| Compact, High Volt Power Supply |
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A new, ultra-compact high-voltage power supply that provides an order of magnitude increase in power density over commercially available high power capacitor-charging supplies was recently introduced by Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI). This power supply was developed to power the US Navy Electromagnetic Railgun (EMRG) energy storage system under the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). The DTI PowerMod™ 300 kW Compact Power Supply provides over 10 times the power density over commercially available units; making it ideally suited for shipboard and mobile systems requiring high power in a small footprint. All control systems utilize noise-immune fiber-optic interfaces for EM isolation and this power supply is fully protected against over-voltages, fast transients, and short circuits.
[Contact: [email protected] or 781-275-9444] |
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| Automatic Distillation Unit |
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The new Automatic Distillation Unit (ADU 5) from Anton Paar is the ideal solution to automatically perform high-precision atmospheric distillation tests to characterize the distillation range of petrochemical products, aromatic hydrocarbons and other volatile organic liquids. ADU 5 automatically recommends the best distillation conditions according to the selected program. It features an excellent heat control to guarantee an optimum standardized distillation rate, even for complicated mixtures. Thanks to the excellent temperature stability, an automatic correction of the results to standard pressure and perfect distillation rate control, ADU 5 guarantees highly accurate results to ensure outstanding repeatability and reproducibility.
[Contact: [email protected] or 804-550-1051] |
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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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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© Materials Research Society, 2015. All rights reserved. |
