2009-ou-ua-mrsec-0520550-outreach.pdfGraduate students at the University of Arkansas bring cutting edge technology to local middle school students and allow them to explore the world of nanoscience in real-time. The MRSEC graduate students with the help of an education outreach program from the FEI, electron microscopy company were able to bring a portable scanning electron […]
June 29, 2009 :: University of Oklahoma / University of Arkansas
Portable Electron Microscope for K-12 Science Lessons [Education]
June 22, 2009 :: Princeton University
Electronic phase transition in graphene in a magnetic field [Research]
Some theories predict that graphene remains metallic with a low resistance even in very large H, while others predict that it becomes an insulator. Recent experiments by Checkelsky, Li and Ong at Princeton provide direct evidence for a phase transition induced by H. When H exceeds a critical value Hc, graphene undergoes a transition from a metallic state to an insulating state.
June 4, 2009 :: Princeton University
Discovery of a Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 with a Single Surface Dirac Cone [Research]
Recent research has uncovered a new class of insulators, called topological insulators, in which electrons can bypass the energy gap by moving in surface states. In a new breakthrough, Hasan and Cava have now identified a second Topological Insulator, Bi2Se3.
June 3, 2009 :: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
High-energy batteries using genetically-engineered viruses [Research]
A group led by Gerbrand Ceder and Angela Belcher of the MIT MRSEC have made a significant advancement in battery research: for the first time, this team has used genetically engineered viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery.
June 2, 2009 :: University of Maryland
Adding Ice to Graphene Reduces Resistance [Research]
Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of graphite, is attracting interest for basic science as well as technological applications such as high-speed transistors. Because graphene is only one atom thick, it’s properties are strrongly dependent on the environment around it. Maryland MRSEC researchers recently showed that depositing ice on graphene (changing the dielectric environment) […]
June 2, 2009 :: University of Maryland
Origin of the Colossal Electromagnon in Multiferroic RMnO3 [Research]
In multiferroic materials, where magnetism and ferroelectricity coexist, it is possible to excite mixed spin and lattice vibrations with electromagnetic waves called electromagnons. We find that the mechanism responsible for electromagnons is different from the one that couples static magnetism and ferroelectricity. Our results show how the strong coupling of spin and lattice excitations produce […]