Engineering

New imaging technique reveals the atomic structure of nanocrystals

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new imaging technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois overcomes the limit of diffraction and can reveal the atomic structure of a single nanocrystal with a resolution of less than one angstrom (less than one hundred-millionth of a centimeter). Optical and electronic properties of small assemblages of atoms called […]

Physical sciences Electrical and computer engineering professor Joseph Lyding has proven that the orientation of atoms along the edges of the graphene lattice would affect the material's electronic properties.

Electrical and computer engineering professor Joseph Lyding has proven that the orientation of atoms along the edges of the graphene lattice would affect the material's electronic properties.

Scientists prove graphene’s edge structure affects electronic properties

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon, holds remarkable promise for future nanoelectronics applications. Whether graphene actually cuts it in industry, however, depends upon how graphene is cut, say researchers at the University of Illinois. Graphene consists of a hexagonal lattice of carbon atoms. While scientists have predicted that the orientation of atoms […]

Physical sciences Electrical and computer engineering professor Eric Pop, from left, worked with undergraduate Yang Zhao and graduate student Albert Liao, both in ECE, to demonstrate a remarkable increase in the current-carrying capacity of carbon nanotubes.

Electrical and computer engineering professor Eric Pop, from left, worked with undergraduate Yang Zhao and graduate student Albert Liao, both in ECE, to demonstrate a remarkable increase in the current-carrying capacity of carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotube avalanche process nearly doubles current

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – By pushing carbon nanotubes close to their breaking point, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a remarkable increase in the current-carrying capacity of the nanotubes, well beyond what was previously thought possible. The researchers drove semiconducting carbon nanotubes into an avalanche process that carries more electrons down more paths, similar […]

Physical sciences Gary Eden, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois, and colleagues have created a plasma transistor that could be used to make lighter, less expensive and higher resolution flat-panel displays. The researchers have applied for a patent.

Gary Eden, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois, and colleagues have created a plasma transistor that could be used to make lighter, less expensive and higher resolution flat-panel displays. The researchers have applied for a patent.

New plasma transistor could create sharper displays

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – By integrating a solid-state electron emitter and a microcavity plasma device, researchers at the University of Illinois have created a plasma transistor that could be used to make lighter, less expensive and higher resolution flat-panel displays. “The new device is capable of controlling both the plasma conduction current and the light emission […]

Physical sciences Jean-Pierre Leburton, left, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and physics graduate student Marcelo Kuroda collaborated on theory that explains the absence of the thermoelectric effect in metallic carbon nanotubes.

Jean-Pierre Leburton, left, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and physics graduate student Marcelo Kuroda collaborated on theory that explains the absence of the thermoelectric effect in metallic carbon nanotubes.

Lack of thermoelectric effect is cool feature in carbon nanotubes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Metallic carbon nanotubes have been proposed as interconnects in future electronic devices packed with high-density nanoscale circuits. But can they stand up to the heat? Recent experiments have shown the absence of the thermoelectric effect in metallic carbon nanotubes. Building upon earlier theoretical work, researchers at the University of Illinois say they […]

Physical sciences

With increasing obesity, fuel consumption becomes weighty matter

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Excess fuel consumption caused by excess driver and passenger weight has increased in the past two years, with no end in sight. In a widely publicized study in fall 2006, University of Illinois computer science professor Sheldon H. Jacobson and doctoral student Laura McLay estimated the amount of vehicle fuel consumed as […]

Physical sciences

New polymer coatings prevent corrosion, even when scratched

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Imagine tiny cracks in your patio table healing by themselves, or the first small scratch on your new car disappearing by itself. This and more may be possible with self-healing coatings being developed at the University of Illinois. The new coatings are designed to better protect materials from the effects of environmental […]

Expert viewpoints

Details on the 4/18 Midwest earthquake

Amr S. Elnashai (pronounced Ah-MURR El-NOSH-eye) is the director of the Mid-America Earthquake Center at the University of Illinois. The Bill and Elaine Hall Professor of Civil Engineering, he has reported on most of the damaging earthquakes around the world since the mid-1980s. He has been on field missions to 17 earthquake sites around the […]

Expert viewpoints Sheldon H. Jacobson

How can better pre-screening make airports safer?

In a recent study in the Journal of Transportation Security, U. of I. computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson tackled the problem of how best to screen the baggage of airline passengers to prevent terror attacks. He was interviewed by News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates. The Transportation Safety Administration has been screening passengers and […]

Social sciences

Study looking at lighter, cooler equipment to reduce firefighter injuries, deaths

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Firefighters battling wildfires like those devastating Southern California, or even a smaller structural fire, have to endure temperatures in the hundreds of degrees. A study at the Illinois Fire Service Institute on the U. of I.’s Urbana campus is examining an enhanced version of personal protective equipment that is lighter, less restrictive […]

Expert viewpoints

Ways to alleviate India’s water shortages, even as global warming adds to pollution problems with the Ganges

Media reports out of India early this year stated that pollution levels in the Ganges River threatened to curtail the ritual bathing during the sacred Hindu pilgrimage, Ardh Kumbh Mela. A report in June noted that water levels in the river (and, thus, Hindu religious practices) are threatened by the shrinkage of Himalayan glaciers caused […]

Expert viewpoints

A civil engineer reflects on the I-35 bridge collapse and its aftermath

Robert H. Dodds Jr. is a professor and head of the department of civil and environmental engineering. Dodds’ research focuses on the safety of bridges, pipelines, naval vessels, aircraft and spacecraft as they develop cracks and defects from the effects of aging. He was interviewed by News Bureau Physical Sciences Editor James Kloeppel. Does the […]

Engineering

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