News Bureau

Research News Campus News About

blog navigation

News Bureau - Research
Physical Sciences

 

  • Illinois professor to receive global energy prize

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Nick Holonyak Jr., a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as a 2003 recipient of the Global Energy Prize from Russia. He shares the $900,000 prize with Gennady Mesiats of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Yan Douglas Smith of Titan Pulse Sciences Division.

  • Three Illinois professors elected to National Academy of Sciences

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Three University of Illinois faculty members are among the 72 scientists elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of distinguished research and continuing achievements, the academy announced today.

  • Illinois scholar elected fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - James Economy, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

  • Illinois professor wins Packard Fellowship

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Scott K. Silverman, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is among 16 U.S. researchers named 2003 Packard Fellows in natural sciences by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. He will receive $625,000 during the next five years to enhance his research efforts.

  • Illinois professor wins Nobel Prize in physics

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Anthony J. Leggett, a world leader in the theory of low-temperature physics and a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in physics. He shares the prize with Alexei A. Abrikosov of Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., and Vitaly L. Ginzburg of the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow.

  • National Science Foundation funds new nanoscale research center at Illinois

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to create a nanoscale science and engineering center with an emphasis on nanomanufacturing. The grant will provide $12.5 million in funding over five years, with the possibility of a five-year renewal.

  • Distinguished NASA scientist to present public talk

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - David Morrison, a senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, will present the sixth talk in the department of astronomy's Icko Iben Jr. Distinguished Lectureship at 4 p.m. Nov. 5 in Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana. The talk, "Cosmic Collisions: How Astronomers are Saving the World," is free and open to the public.

  • Five Illinois professors elected as 2003 AAAS Fellows

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Five University of Illinois researchers - Ilesanmi Adesida, Craig M. Bethke, Keh-Yung (Norman) Cheng, Jeffrey S. Moore and Robert J. Novak - are among 348 scientists elected as 2003 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  • New light-emitting transistor could revolutionize electronics industry

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Put the inventor of the light-emitting diode and the maker of the world's fastest transistor together in a research laboratory and what kinds of bright ideas might surface? One answer is a light-emitting transistor that could revolutionize the electronics industry.

  • New algorithm speeds simulations of complex fluids

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Computer simulations play an essential role in the study of complex fluids - liquids that contain particles of different sizes. Such liquids have numerous applications, which depend on a fundamental understanding of their behavior. But the two main techniques for the atomistic simulation of liquids - the molecular dynamics technique and the Monte Carlo method - have limitations that greatly reduce their effectiveness.

  • Puzzling height of polar clouds linked to solar radiation

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Scientists have discovered why polar mesospheric clouds over the South Pole are nearly two miles higher than those over the North Pole. A variation in solar radiation - a result of Earth's elliptical orbit - is responsible, they say.

  • Engineering Open House highlights ingenuity

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Wild and wacky Rube Goldberg machines, robots fighting for possession of wooden blocks, and more than 120 fun-filled exhibits are among the attractions awaiting visitors to the 84th annual Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois.

  • Etching holes in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers creates better beam

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a way to significantly improve the performance of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers by drilling holes in their surfaces. Faster and cheaper long-haul optical communication systems, as well as photonic integrated circuits, could be the result.

  • Controlling material structure at nanoscale makes better thermal insulator

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Heat may be essential for life, but in some cases - such as protecting the space shuttle or improving the efficiency of a jet engine - materials with low thermal conductivities are needed to prevent passage of too much heat. As reported in the Feb. 13 issue of the journal Science, researchers have created a better thermal insulator by controlling material structure at the nanoscale.

  • Hidden order found in cuprates may help explain superconductivity

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like the delicate form of an icicle defying gravity during a spring thaw, patterns emerge in nature when forces compete. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a hidden pattern in cuprate (copper-containing) superconductors that may help explain high-temperature superconductivity.

  • High-performance, single-crystal plastic transistors reveal hidden behavior

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Printing circuits on sheets of plastic may offer a low-cost technique for manufacturing thin-film transistors for flexible displays, but maximizing the performance of such devices will require a detailed, fundamental understanding of how charge flows through organic semiconductors.

  • New polyelectrolyte inks create fine-scale structures through direct writing

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like spiders spinning webs, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are creating complex, three-dimensional structures with micron-size features using a robotic deposition process called direct-write assembly.

  • CARMA groundbreaking set for March 27

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Astronomers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be major participants in the construction and operation of a new millimeter-wave telescope array to be located in the high desert of California. Groundbreaking for the facility - called the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy - is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday (March 27) at Cedar Flat in the Inyo Mountains near Bishop.

  • New technique uses household humidifier to create nanocomposite materials

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In what may sound like a project from a high school science fair, scientists are using a household humidifier to create porous spheres a hundred times smaller than a red blood cell. The technique is a new and inexpensive way to do chemistry using sound waves, the researchers say.

  • Measurement technique can image how heat moves through material

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Infrared cameras create images by detecting the heat given off by an object, including the body of a soldier hidden in the dark of night. Now, researchers have developed a technique for imaging how fast heat can move through an object.

  • Like ozone hole, polar clouds take bite out of meteoric iron

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Polar clouds are known to play a major role in the destruction of Earth's protective ozone layer, creating the springtime "ozone hole" above Antarctica. Now, scientists have found that polar clouds also play a significant role in removing meteoric iron from Earth's mesosphere. The discovery could help researchers refine their models of atmospheric chemistry and global warming.

  • Illinois professor to receive $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Nick Holonyak Jr., a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as the 2004 recipient of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize - the world's largest single cash prize for invention.

  • Measurement clarifies role between protein structure and cell adhesion

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Scientists studying the adhesive properties of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) - a protein that helps bind the nervous system together - have found that two opposing models of cell adhesion are both correct.

  • Strong magnetic field converts nanotube from metal to semiconductor and back

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - By threading a magnetic field through a carbon nanotube, scientists have switched the molecule between metallic and semiconducting states, a phenomenon predicted by physicists some years ago, but never before clearly seen in individual molecules.

  • Nation remains vulnerable to power blackouts, thanks to political impasse

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - As the peak electricity season approaches, little has been done in Washington to prevent a recurrence of last August's power failure that produced a huge blackout in the Northeast, an expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says.

  • Dislocation creates 'whirlpool' that pulls surface atoms into crystal

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Developing novel ways to control the motion of atoms on surfaces is essential for the future of nanotechnology. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a phenomenon of dislocation-driven nucleation and growth that creates holes that spiral into a surface and pull atoms into crystalline solids.

  • Printable silicon for ultrahigh performance flexible electronic systems

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - By carving specks of single crystal silicon from a bulk wafer and casting them onto sheets of plastic, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated a route to ultrahigh performance, mechanically flexible thin-film transistors. The process could enable new applications in consumer electronics - such as inexpensive wall-to-wall displays and intelligent but disposable radio frequency identification tags - and could even be used in applications that require significant computing power.

  • DARPA funds new photonic research center at Illinois

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to create a photonic research center to develop ultra-fast light sources for high-speed signal processing and optical communications systems. The grant will provide $6.2 million in funding over four years.

  • Production of high-fidelity entangled photons exceeds 1 million per second

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like virtuosos tuning their violins, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have tuned their instruments and harmonized the production of entangled photons, pushing rates to more than 1 million pairs per second.

  • Silicon-based photodetector is sensitive to ultraviolet light

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - By depositing thin films of silicon nanoparticles on silicon substrates, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fabricated a photodetector sensitive to ultraviolet light. Silicon-based ultraviolet sensors could prove very handy in military, security and commercial applications.

  • Asymmetric feature shows puzzling face for superconductivity

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The weird behavior of electrons tunneling across an atomically flat interface within a cuprate superconductor has defied explanation by theories of high-temperature superconductivity.

  • Asteroid named for U. of I. astronomy professor

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - James B. Kaler, professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, now has even more reason to be gazing at the night sky. He has had an asteroid named after him.

  • University to decommission research reactor

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has begun the process of decommissioning its nuclear research reactor. The process will take several years to complete and will be carried out under the scrutiny of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy.

  • Low-cost fibers remove trace atrazine from drinking water

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new generation of high surface-area porous materials for removing atrazine from water supplies has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The low-cost and wear-resistant fibers also can remove the hazardous contaminants chloroform and trichloroethylene, both byproducts of the commonly used chlorine disinfection process.

  • Illinois professor to receive award from Materials Research Society

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Nick Holonyak Jr., a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as the 2004 recipient of the Von Hippel Award from the Materials Research Society. The award will be presented Dec. 1 at the MRS meeting in Boston.

  • Colloidal adsorbent removes natural organic matter from water supply

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Microbial degradation products and other forms of natural organic matter can make water look, smell and taste bad. Natural organic matter also can foul the membranes used in water treatment plants, significantly reducing their efficiency.

  • Molecular motor Myosin VI moves 'hand over hand,' researchers say

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In the human body, hundreds of different types of biomolecular motors help carry out such essential tasks as muscle contraction, moving chromosomes during cell division, and reloading nerve cells so they can repeatedly fire.

  • Self-assembly generates more versatile scaffolds for crystal growth

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Self-organizing synthetic molecules originally used for gene therapy may have applications as templates and scaffolds for the production of inorganic materials. Using electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged molecules as the binding force, scientists are learning how to organize these synthetic molecules into more versatile complexes with large and controllable pore sizes.

  • Strano named one of the world's top young innovators by Technology Review

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Michael S. Strano, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been chosen as one of the world's 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, the world's oldest technology magazine.

  • At molecular scale, vibrational couplings define heat conduction

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Too much heat can destroy a sturdy automobile engine or a miniature microchip. As scientists and engineers strive to make ever-smaller nanoscale devices, from molecular motors and switches to single-molecule transistors, the control of heat is becoming a burning issue.

  • Low-cost climate-change insurance could help ensure better future

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Doing a little now to mitigate long-term climate change would cost much less than doing nothing and making an adjustment in the future, say scientists whose paper appears in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Science.

  • New surface chemistry may extend life of technology for making transistors

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a technique that uses surface chemistry to make tinier and more effective p-n junctions in silicon-based semiconductors. The method could permit the semiconductor industry to significantly extend the life of current ion-implantation technology for making transistors, thereby avoiding the implementation of difficult and costly alternatives.

  • Munching microbes could cleanse arsenic-contaminated groundwater

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -Microbial processes ultimately determine whether arsenic builds to dangerous levels in groundwater, say researchers at the University of Illinois at

  • Distinguished German astrophysicist to present public talk

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Reinhard Genzel, director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, will discuss black holes during a talk Nov. 17 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • New transistor laser could lead to faster signal processing

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated the laser operation of a heterojunction bipolar light-emitting transistor. The scientists describe the fabrication and operation of their transistor laser in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters.

  • Goal of project is development of petroleum-free fuel

    Developing a petroleum-free fuel from corn byproducts is one of the goals of a newly funded research project at the UI. Eight research laboratories will pool their expertise, attacking the problems from different directions in order to work to improve the efficiency of bioconversion of plant fibers into fuels and other value-added products.

  • Selective coatings create biological sensors from carbon nanotubes

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Protein-encapsulated single-walled carbon nanotubes that alter their fluorescence in the presence of specific biomolecules could generate many new types of implantable biological sensors, say researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who developed the encapsulation technique.

  • Portable sampling cart monitors emissions from wood-burning cookstoves

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new method of measuring emissions from cookstoves could help improve human health and enhance the accuracy of global climate models.

  • Shutdown of circulation pattern could be disastrous, researchers say

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - If global warming shuts down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, the result could be catastrophic climate change. The environmental effects, models indicate, depend upon whether the shutdown is reversible or irreversible.

  • Super-star clusters may be born small and grow by coalescing