Materials Science and Engineering

MIT researchers have developed an “air-breathing” battery that could store electricity for very long durations for about a third the price of current technologies, with minimal location restraints and zero emissions.

Making renewable power more viable for the grid

“Air-breathing” battery can store electricity for months, for about a fifth the cost of current technologies.

October 11, 2017

A new analysis indicates that, without proper planning, there could be short-term bottlenecks in the supplies of some metals, particularly lithium and cobalt, that could cause temporary slowdowns in lithium-ion battery production. This map shows today’s trade flows of key ingredients for battery production, with exports from each country shown in red and imports in green.

Will metal supplies limit battery expansion?

Rise of electric vehicles and grid storage may cause bottlenecks, but no showstoppers, analysis suggests.

October 11, 2017

The new MIT Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) will streamline the organization of materials research on campus and enhance collaboration, Vice President for Research Maria Zuber (center) says. To Zuber’s left is MRL Director Carl Thompson, the Stavros Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. They are joined by newly named MRL Co-Director Geoffrey Beach, who is an associate pro...

Introducing the Materials Research Laboratory at MIT

Materials Processing Center, Center for Materials Science and Engineering merger brings together formidable resources for advancing next-generation materials.

October 10, 2017

A new paper describes the importance of doing detailed economic analysis and having in-depth conversations with people using the technology that a research project is focused on.

Why researchers should step out of the lab

Project reveals benefits of communicating with industry when conducting research.

October 4, 2017

Stephanie Bauman, an intern in the Materials Process Center and Center for Materials Science and Engineering's 2017 Summer Scholar program, holds a sample of manganese gallium, a new material known as an antiferromagnet, that can serve as the basis for long lasting, spintronic computer memory devices. She worked in the lab of assistant professor of electrical engineering Luqiao Liu.

Developing new magnetic device materials

Summer Scholar Stephanie Bauman interns in Luqiao Liu lab synthesizing and testing manganese gallium samples for spintronic applications.

October 2, 2017

Fast-moving magnetic particles could enable new form of data storage

Recently discovered phenomenon could provide a way to bypass the limits to Moore’s Law.

October 2, 2017

The aim of their new wristband is to make “temperature personal,” says Embr Labs co-founder David Cohen-Tanugi PhD ’15. “We want people who are often uncomfortable and have little control over temperature to have more control and more relief in everyday life,” he says.

“Personal thermostat” startup heats up for commercialization

MIT spinout prepares to launch line of wristbands that keep wearers thermally comfortable.

September 27, 2017

Christine Wang holds her American Association for Crystal Growth Award. Light catches the award, a synthetic ruby inset with a plaque describing the honor.

Christine Wang receives American Association for Crystal Growth Award

Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of crystal growth and epitaxy, the development of crystals for use in photonics, microelectronics, and more.

September 25, 2017

Erica James, associate professor of medical anthropology and urban studies in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, co-presents with Dennis McLaughlin, H.M. King Bhumibol Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (not pictured) on the results of their research project, Leverage Points: Opportunities for Increasing Food Production in Developing Countries, funded by ...

Projects make inroads on global food and water challenges

MIT researchers supported by J-WAFS present results of their work on food and water security.

September 21, 2017

In this diagram, the atomic lattice of a crystal of barium oxide is depicted, with atoms of oxygen and barium represented by red and gray spheres. A neutral oxygen vacancy, a place where an oxygen atom should appear in the lattice but is instead replaced by two electrons, is represented by the yellow shape, which depicts the charge density of those electrons. At left, the crystal is seen with no e...

New analysis explains role of defects in metal oxides

Harnessing these imperfections could have implications for computer memory and energy conversion.

September 21, 2017

This schematic shows a microfluidic device that uses sound waves to separate exosomes (pink spheres) from other components of blood.

Blood testing via sound waves may replace some tissue biopsies

Microfluidic device uses acoustics to quickly analyze blood for signatures of cancer and other diseases.

September 18, 2017

“The goal was trying to understand the chemistry associated with organic particulate matter in a forested environment,” associate professor Jesse Kroll explains. “We took a lot of measurements using state-of-the-art instruments we had developed.” The team also took many photos while in Colorado. Pictured on the bottom right is Douglas Day, CU researcher and organizer of the field campaign....

Team gathers unprecedented data on atmosphere’s organic chemistry

Colorado forest study provides clearest-ever picture of gases released into the atmosphere and how they change.

September 4, 2017

$Research by MIT graduate student Ashley Kaiser (left) and postdoc Itai Stein shows that a small fraction of carbon nanotubes added to phenol-formaldehyde resin lowers the processing temperature needed to achieve the best combination of hardness and low density by 200 degrees Celsius.$

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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