2017

Filling the Early Universe with Knots Can Explain Why the World is Three-Dimensional

An international team of physicists has developed an out-of-the-box theory that shortly after it popped into existence 13.8 billion years ago the universe was filled with knots formed from flexible strands of energy called flux tubes that link elementary particles together.

Modified Soybeans Yield More in Future Climate Conditions

A three-year field study by University of Illinois researchers found modified soybeans yielded more when subjected to both increased temperature and carbon dioxide levels; however, they found little to no difference between the modified and unmodified soybeans grown in either increased temperature, increased carbon dioxide, or today’s climate conditions.

Sandwiched Between Superconductors, Graphene Adopts Exotic Electronic States

MIT physicists have found that a flake of graphene, when brought in close proximity with two superconducting materials, can inherit some of those materials’ superconducting qualities.

New Plutonium Discovery Lights Way for FSU Chemistry Professor’s Work to Clean Up Nuclear Waste

Florida State University Professor Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt and a team of researchers have been studying plutonium — Pu on the Periodic Table of Elements — for almost two decades to understand how it behaves chemically, and how it differs from lighter elements like iron or nickel.

Hotspots Show that Vegetation Alters Climate by Up to 30%

Columbia Engineers find strong feedbacks between the atmosphere and vegetation that explain up to 30% of precipitation and surface radiation variance; study reveals large potential for improving seasonal weather predictions.

Modifying Cell Wall Can Increase Bacterial Lipids

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) assistant scientist Kim Lemmer and a team of collaborators focus on the microbes, reporting on a novel way to increase lipid production in bacteria. The finding could help make microbial lipids a viable alternative to petroleum-derived fuels and chemicals.

Christine James Selected for U.S. DOE Graduate Student Research Award

A PhD student in chemical engineering and materials science at Michigan State University will spend the summer accessing the supercomputing resources of Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque after being chosen for a select national honor from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Atomic Imperfections Move Quantum Communication Network Closer to Reality

An international team led by the University of Chicago’s Institute for Molecular Engineering has discovered how to manipulate a weird quantum interface between light and matter in silicon carbide along wavelengths used in telecommunications.

UAlbany Part of First Team to Use High-Energy Beamline to Study Molecular Vibrations

Satyendra Kumar, UAlbany’s associate vice president for Research and a professor of Physics, was part of a team of researchers that studied a new way to track dynamic molecular features in soft materials, including the high-frequency molecular vibrations that transmit waves of heat, sound and other forms of energy.