Materials science and engineering

$Experiments on ultra-thin copper-oxide ceramic superconductors performed by MIT researchers showed an unexpected disorderly, or “glassy,” arrangement of electrons, known as a “Wigner glass.” At left, “Fourier space,” or momentum space, shows the diffraction data that proved the tendency of the charge ripples to align in any direction, while the image at right displays the random placem...$

Surprising electronic disorder in a copper oxide-based ceramic

MIT researchers use resonant X-ray scattering measurements to reveal unexpected “Wigner glass” in desirable superconducting material.

January 28, 2019

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have designed the first fully flexible, battery-free “rectenna” — a device that converts energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity — that could be used to power flexible and wearable electronics, medical devices, and sensors for the “internet of things.”

Converting Wi-Fi signals to electricity with new 2-D materials

Device made from flexible, inexpensive materials could power large-area electronics, wearables, medical devices, and more.

January 28, 2019

This illustration shows the 12 different forms that six-atom vacancy defects in graphene can have, as determined by the researchers. The pie chart shows the relative abundances that are predicted for each of these different forms.

Researchers catalog defects that give 2-D materials amazing properties

Theoretical analysis distinguishes observed “holes” from the huge list of hypothetically possible ones.

January 14, 2019

ACCESS aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in graduate programs at MIT and other research institutions.

ACCESS shows grad school's rigors and rewards

Undergraduates from across the country learn the benefits of continuing their education in chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science.

January 9, 2019

First row, left to right: Suvrit Sra, Frances Ross, Pulkit Agrawal, Kevin O’Brien, Richard Linares, and Cathy Wu. Second row, left to right: Negar Reiskarimian, Jacob Andreas, Giovanni Traverso, Manya Ghobadi, and Ashwin Gopinath.

School of Engineering welcomes new faculty

Eleven new professors join the MIT community.

January 9, 2019

Professor Amy Glasmeier (left) and MIT sophomore Taimor Williams discuss his research project on cascading failures in critical infrastructure systems. Everything from grid design to energy policy to human factors and design influences these types of system failures, and the data surrounding them are immense and complex.

“You don’t learn this in class”

Students in the MIT Energy Initiative Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program build professional skills.

January 4, 2019

Work by researchers in the group of MIT materials science and engineering Professor Geoffrey Beach and colleagues in California, Germany, Switzerland and Korea, was featured on the covers of <i>Nature Nanotechnology</i> and <i>Advanced Materials.</i>

Controllable fast, tiny magnetic bits

MIT researchers show how to make and drive nanoscale magnetic quasi-particles known as skyrmions for spintronic memory devices.

January 3, 2019

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have recorded the “temporal coherence” of a graphene qubit — how long it maintains a special state that lets it represent two logical states simultaneously — marking a critical step forward for practical quantum computing.

Physicists record “lifetime” of graphene qubits

First measurement of its kind could provide stepping stone to practical quantum computing.

December 31, 2018

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (right), an associate professor of physics at MIT, was honored with Physics World's Breakthrough of the Year for his group's discovery of “magic-angle” graphene, a “promising technique for adjusting the electronic properties of graphene.” Graduate student Yuan Cao (left) was a lead researcher in the work.

MIT research honored with Physics World “Breakthrough of the Year” awards

"Magic-angle" graphene named 2018 Breakthrough of the Year; first ionic plane and earliest evidence of hydrogen gas named to top 10 breakthroughs.

December 27, 2018

Thomas Petersen has run numerous marathons, including the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Studying pavement from a marathon runner's perspective

A research assistant and avid runner, PhD candidate Thomas Petersen discusses his experience both researching and competing on pavement.

December 26, 2018

A fusion power plant could provide clean, carbon-free energy with an essentially unlimited fuel supply. From the point of view of electrical power generation, the fusion device is just another heat source that could be used in a conventional thermal conversion cycle.

On the right path to fusion energy

National Academies study recommends a pilot fusion energy program that aligns with MIT's fusion approach and SPARC project.

December 21, 2018

Left to right: Graduate student Cédric Viry, Professor Jeffrey Grossman, and postdoc Grace Han, along with their collaborators, are using specially designed “photoswitching” molecules to control the release of heat from materials used to store thermal energy in devices ranging from solar concentrators and solar cookers to heated seats in vehicles.

Saving heat until you need it

A new concept for thermal energy storage involves a material that absorbs heat as it melts and releases it as it resolidifies — but only when triggered by light.

December 19, 2018

Yoel Fink, CEO of AFFOA, holds up a fabric with optical communications capabilities during a presentation on what he calls “fabrics as a service” at the annual MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) Research and Development Conference on Nov. 15.

Opportunities for materials innovation abound

Faculty researchers share insights into new capabilities at the annual Industrial Liaison Program Research and Development Conference.

December 14, 2018

MIT researchers have 3-D printed a novel microfluidic device that simulates cancer treatments on biopsied tumor tissue — and keeps the tissue alive for days — so clinicians can better examine how individual patients will respond to different therapeutics.

To guide cancer therapy, device quickly tests drugs on tumor tissue

Inexpensive 3-D-printed microfluidics device could be used to personalize cancer treatment.

December 12, 2018

High resolution E-SEM image of the milk protein network in the casein gel (yogurt) that the researchers were able to characterized using the new OWCh technique during the entire gelation process.

Technique inspired by dolphin chirps could improve tests of soft materials

Method can be used to quickly characterize any soft, rapidly changing substance, such as clotting blood or drying cement.

December 6, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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