Physical Sciences
Categories
Not sure where to start? Choose a topic below.
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.
Teaching about sea ice while standing on it
UTQIAQGVIK, Alaska — My boots crunch into the snow as I step onto the frozen Arctic Ocean. It’s April in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, and I’m here to help run a sea ice field trip for eighth graders and assist with some fieldwork. Around me, a network of tents — each with a story to tell about […]
Study finds that individual layers of synthetic materials can collaborate for greater impact
Millions of years of evolution have enabled some marine animals to grow complex protective shells composed of multiple layers that work together to dissipate physical stress. In a new study, engineers have found a way to mimic the behavior of this type of layered material, such as seashell nacre, by programming individual layers of synthetic material to work collaboratively under stress. The new material design is poised to enhance energy-absorbing systems such as wearable bandages and car bumpers with multistage responses that adapt to collision severity.
Does REAL ID really make flying safer?
REAL ID enhances air travel security by verifying that individuals are who they say they are, says professor Sheldon H. Jacobson.