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MRS Awards—Nominate a Colleague
Nominate an outstanding contributor to the progress of materials research for one of six prestigious awards from the Materials Research Society. For more information, and to submit your nomination, please go to www.mrs.org/awards.
Nomination Period Now Open
Nomination Deadline—August 1, 2015 |
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Two FREE Webinars in July
Biomineralization
Thursday, July 16 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm (ET)
2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides
Wednesday, July 22 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm (ET)
Attendance for these and all MRS OnDemand Webinars is FREE, but advance registration is required. |
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MRS Communications Publishes First Special Feature Issue
June 2015, Volume 5, Issue 2
MRS Communications’ first Special Feature Issue on Polymers/Soft Matter includes ground-breaking work from respected materials scientists.
Enjoy free access to the polymer/soft matter papers for a limited time.
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MATERIALS NEWS
Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
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Materials in Focus
Seashells’ shape helps distribute load |
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Seashells, made primarily of calcium carbonate, have a tough job—literally. They must protect their soft-bodied inhabitants from hungry predators and crushing water pressures, but they must do so using the least amount of material necessary, and in such a way that still enables the animal to move. Now, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science have found that the specialized shapes of seashells help direct mechanical stress to certain points, making them more resilient to their environmental conditions than the symmetrical shapes typically used in engineered structures. Their results suggest a link between natural selection and mechanostabilization, and could also provide insights into how to better design structures. |
SPM scans the chemical landscape of manganite oxides |
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Manganite oxide thin films exhibit a dazzling array of properties, ranging from ferroelectricity to ferromagnetism. They are used in applications as diverse as sensors, data storage, and battery electrodes, but a full description of these materials has eluded scientists. The properties of oxides are extremely sensitive to atomic structure, chemistry, and defects and because of this they often behave in unexpected ways. The situation is even more complicated for electrochemical reactions, which operate at tiny length scales under harsh conditions. Researchers have begun to unravel the mysteries of these electrochemical reactions using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). |
Tuning medical implant geometries can reduce foreign body reactions |
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Medically implanted biomaterials and devices have seen a wide range of uses over the years, from cell transplantation, to drug delivery, to tissue regeneration. However, the efficacy of these materials is often impaired due to immune system recognition and the resulting foreign body reactions, including inflammation, tissue damage, and fibrosis (“walling-off”). Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have now made the startling discovery that—contrary to expectations—smaller implanted materials are not necessarily better able to evade the immune system than larger materials. Specifically, materials that are spherical and 1.5 mm in diameter or slightly larger are significantly more biocompatible than their smaller or non-spherical counterparts. The results suggest that tuning the spherical dimensions of biomedical devices could improve their biocompatibility, helping to better treat various health issues. |
Pb nanospheres affect age calculation of zircon |
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An international team of geologists led by Monika Kusiak of the Polish Academy of Sciences has discovered that metallic lead is distributed inhomogeneously in the form of nanoclusters inside zircon crystals, which has significant implications for zircon geochronology. |
MRI virtual biopsy safely diagnoses and treats certain brain cancers |
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Diagnosing and treating brain cancers is a significant clinical problem, especially when it comes to brain metastasis (cancers spread to the brain from different organs). In particular, accurate diagnosis is difficult because magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans cannot differentiate brain metastases from each other or other brain lesions, and clinical symptoms are similar for different MRI enhancements, or signals. Furthermore, traditional pharmacological treatments are ineffective because 98% of drugs cannot penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Scientists at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California have now developed a nanoscale drug-delivery platform that can pass through the BBB to diagnose brain lesions with an “MRI virtual biopsy,” and release targeted drugs that limit the growth of brain metastases. |
People in Focus
IEEE Awards Medal of Honor to Mildred Dresselhaus |
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Mildred Dresselhaus, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the 2013 MRS Von Hippel Award recipient, has become the first woman to receive the IEEE Medal of Honor in recognition of her “leadership and contributions across many fields of science and engineering.” |
Industry Focus
At a crossroads, biofuels seek a new path forward
New microbes and new techniques show promise for advanced biofuels, but the industry is still years away from real progress.
Kepler Energy reveals plans for tidal energy scheme in Bristol Channel
With its large tidal range, Britain's Bristol Channel has a huge potential for generating tidal electric power. The problem is that, until now, schemes for tapping that power have required building extremely large dams and barrages. As a more economical alternative, Kepler Energy has announced plans for a 30 MW tidal energy fence to be built in the Channel, using its Transverse Horizontal Axis Water Turbine technology.
Could This Machine Push 3-D Printing into the Manufacturing Big Leagues?
The inventor of a new kind of 3-D printer says his research group will build a massive machine capable of mass-producing competitively priced plastic parts within two years.
CORPORATE PARTNER—News
METTLER TOLEDO: Thermal Analysis of Biopolymers
Thermal analysis can be used to investigate polymers produced directly by organisms, extracted from renewable biomass or synthesized from bio-derived monomers. The most important physical properties measured are the glass transition, crystallization and decomposition temperatures. The four main techniques of thermal analysis, DSC, TGA, TMA, and DMA, can be used to characterize polymers as a function of temperature over a wide temperature range, from –150 to 1600 °C.
In this Webinar, we will show how thermal analysis is used to investigate biopolymers and present some typical examples of samples measured by DSC, TGA, TMA or DMA. Register here.
A portion of the funds from the Corporate Partner Program supports the Materials Research Society Foundation®.
Policy Focus
A call for nanotechnology-inspired grand challenges
The Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking suggestions for Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade. A Grand Challenge is an ambitious but achievable goal that requires advances in science and technology to achieve, and that has the potential to capture the public’s imagination.
For more science policy news, follow @MaterialsSciPol
OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY
Under construction: Laying the groundwork for Ethiopia’s first materials science graduate program
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, cranes and concrete define the landscape. But so do the tin shacks that house both shops and families. They multiply to fill every crevice of the massive city as citizens of Africa’s second most populous country migrate from farmland to city center. Many hope the cranes will lift Ethiopia into the prosperity of a middle-income country More.
McNair Scholars Program prepares students for the PhD program in materials research
The McNair Scholars Program is named in honor of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, the African American astronaut and physicist who died tragically along with six other crew members in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. The program is one of several US Federal TRIO Programs that provide outreach and services to students from disadvantaged backgrounds to aid their advancement through the academic pipeline from middle school through graduate programs. Now in its 20th consecutive year of funding, the University of Florida McNair program has served close to 450 outstanding scholars. More.
MEETINGS UPDATE
Critical Meeting Deadlines
PUBLICATIONS UPDATE
Critical Publications Deadlines
Advertise in JMR.
JUST PUBLISHED
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This issue of MRS Bulletin provides an overview of two-dimensional layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), their fundamental materials properties, and their applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and energy. TMDCs are compounds consisting of a transition metal M and chalcogen atoms X (S, Se, Te). The cover shows a schematic of a single layer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Courtesy of Seung Soon Jang and Parveen Sood of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The background image shows monolayer MoS2 grown on a crystalline sapphire substrate, which has been has been modified for the purpose of this cover. The MoS2 domains are aligned due to an epitaxial registry with the sapphire substrate. Courtesy of Kehao Zhang, Penn State University.
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Two-dimensional layered transition-metal dichalcogenides for versatile properties and applications
Eric M. Vogel and Joshua A. Robinson, Guest Editors
Synthesis and structure of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides
Yumeng Shi, Hua Zhang, Wen-Hao Chang, Hyeon Suk Shin, and Lain-Jong Li
Electronic properties of transition-metal dichalcogenides
Agnieszka Kuc, Thomas Heine, and Andras Kis
Technical Feature
Visualizing reacting single atoms in chemical reactions: Advancing the frontiers of materials research
Edward D. Boyes and Pratibha L. Gai
This article is based on the Symposium X (Frontiers of Materials Research) presentation given by Pratibha L. Gai at the 2014 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting in San Francisco.
MRS Bulletin will present a free webinar on 2D layered transition-metal dichalcogenides on Wednesday, July 22.
Advertise in MRS Bulletin.
SCIENCE AS ART
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Mystic Nanoforest
by Sanjay Mathur, University of Cologne
Branched SnO2 Heterostructures grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition.
A finalist 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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Society for General Microbiology
Using bacteria to make self-healing concrete
Concrete is the most commonly used construction material on earth and, although strong, it is prone to cracking. To solve this problem, researchers from the University of Bath are investigating how certain species of Bacillus bacteria could be used to make concrete which heals itself. |
NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS
Mirror Mounts for High Precision Optics |
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The OS-Z Series mirror mounts from Optical Surfaces Ltd. were developed to support off-axis paraboloid, spherical and flat mirrors in a manner that allows overcoming a number of constrains imposed by general purpose mounts. Two key advantages gained by using an OS-Z mount together with an off-axis parabolic mirror are rapid alignment using an optional pre-alignment aid and the ability to routinely accommodate wedge back and parallel back mirrors. In addition, in applications where long term stability and stress-free mounting are important, the special factory fitted features allow this to be easily achieved.
[Contact: [email protected] or 44-208-668-6126] |
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Circular Polarization Spectroscopy of Microscopic Samples |
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CRAIC Technologies recently announced the addition of circular polarization spectroscopy capabilities to CRAIC microspectrophotometers. This unique feature is offered as packages that allow the user to measure the circular polarization spectra in either transmission or reflectance modes. The ability to measure circular polarization microspectra™ represents a powerful new tool for both materials science and biological research.
[Contact: [email protected] or 310-573-8180] |
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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© Materials Research Society, 2015. All rights reserved. |