Physical Sciences
Categories
Not sure where to start? Choose a topic below.
New computer simulation could light the way to safer cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals
New psychoactive substances, originally developed as potential analgesics but abandoned due to adverse side effects, may still have pharmaceutical value if researchers could nail down the causes of those side effects. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used deep learning and large-scale computer simulations to identify structural differences in synthetic cannabinoid molecules that cause them to bind to human brain receptors differently from classical cannabinoids.
Study finds that tweaked synthetic polymers boost conductivity
A new study marks a significant step forward in positioning synthetic polymers as an alternative for expensive, unsustainable minerals used in the manufacture of devices such as conductors, transistors and diodes.
Study shows new hope for commercially attractive lithium extraction from spent batteries
A new study shows that lithium — a critical element used in rechargeable batteries and susceptible to supply chain disruption — can be recovered from battery waste using an electrochemically driven recovery process. The method has been tested on commonly used types of lithium-containing batteries and demonstrates economic viability with the potential to simplify operations, minimize costs and increase the sustainability and attractiveness of the recovery process for commercial use.
Atom-scale stencil patterns help nanoparticles take new shapes and learn new tricks
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Inspired by an artist’s stencils, researchers have developed atomic-level precision patterning on nanoparticle surfaces, allowing them to “paint” gold nanoparticles with polymers to give them an array of new shapes and functions. The “patchy nanoparticles” developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers and collaborators at the University of Michigan and Penn State […]
Illinois chemist named 2025 Packard Fellow
Benjamin Snyder, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been named a 2025 Packard Fellow by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Photo by Holly Birch Photography
Monitoring stress from the surface of the body
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Today, my laboratory looks more like a scene from a sci-fi film than a psychology research space. Wires snake across tables, sensors lay carefully arranged on trays, and a bucket of ice water sits in the corner, quietly waiting its turn. This work is part of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s department […]
Illinois information sciences researchers develop AI safety testing methods
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Large language models are built with safety protocols designed to prevent them from answering malicious queries and providing dangerous information. But users can employ techniques known as “jailbreaks” to bypass the safety guardrails and get LLMs to answer a harmful query. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are examining such vulnerabilities […]
Can nuclear energy be produced on the moon?
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — NASA’s announcement that it will accelerate the Fission Surface Power program, targeting deployment of a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, represents an ambitious acceleration of extraterrestrial energy strategy. From 2021-24, Katy Huff, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, held multiple positions […]
Historical math models recreated by students using 3D printing
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students recreated some of the historical mathematical models owned by the U. of I. math department using a 3D printer. The Illinois math department has nearly 400 mathematical models — one of the world’s largest collections — from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The models demonstrate […]
Model tackles key obstacle to efficient plastic recycling
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Most people who separate their plastic waste for recycling assume the bulk of it will in fact be recycled. But current recycling methods, which “require sorting, grinding, cleaning, remelting and extrusion to obtain plastic pellets, usually lead to lower value materials because of contamination and mechanochemical degradation,” the authors of a new […]
Researchers capture nanoparticle movements to forge new materials
Researchers can now observe the phonon dynamics and wave propagation in self-assembly of nanomaterials with unusual properties that rarely exist in nature. This advance will enable researchers to incorporate desired mechanical properties into reconfigurable, solution-processible metamaterials, which have wide-ranging applications — from shock absorption to devices that guide acoustic and optical energy in high-powered computer applications.
Report: ‘Future-proofing’ crops will require urgent, consistent effort
Professor Stephen Long describes research efforts to “future-proof” the crops that are essential to feeding a hungry world in a changing climate.