IBM and its joint development partners -- AMD, Freescale, STMicroelectronics, Toshiba and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) -- recently announced the first working static random access memory (SRAM) for the 22 nanometer (nm) technology node, the world's first reported working cell built at its 300mm research facility in Albany, NY. To read more click here.
Mia Ertas, CNSE staff
August 28, 2008
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The projected doubling of world energy consumption in the next fifty years will require certain measures to meet this demand. The ideal choice of energy provider needs to be reliable, efficient, and from a low emissions source such as wind, solar etc. The low carbon footprint of renewables is an added benefit, which makes them especially attractive during this era of environmental consciousness. Unfortunately, the intermittent nature of energy from these renewables is not suitable for the commercial and residential grid application, unless the power is delivered 24x7, with minimum fluctuation. This requires intervention of efficient electrical energy storage (EES) technology to make power generation from renewables practical. To read more, click here.
Manisha Rane-Fondacaro
CNSE Materials Scientist and Instructor
*****
It is becoming increasingly important in our society to find alternative energy solutions. Researchers are looking to nanotechnology to help develop alternative energy methods that could be used as a solution to the world's energy problem. Two recent articles in ScienceDaily discuss solar energy solutions that incorporate nanotechnology. To read more, click here.
Kristin Wolf, CNSE staff
August 26, 2008
*****
As a summer intern at the CNSE, I had a wonderful experience. At the beginning of the internship I felt quite nervous as I didn't have much of a background in electronics. Through lots of reading and explanations from my professor, Dr. Wang, and graduate students, Sansiri Tanachutiwat and Kevin Ryan, however, I was able to learn more about the area I was to be involved in. The first part of my work consisted of making a computer model of a floating gate transistor. I then used the model I had created for simulations of a 2x2 crossbar design. The main goal of the work was to determine if this design would be suitable for neuromorphic applications. I really enjoyed the research I was able to be a part of and am amazed at how much I have learned.
I really appreciate the opportunity I was given to work at CNSE and would like to thank both the organizers of the internship as well as the professors that were able to mentor us for our time at CNSE. On behalf of the international interns, I would particularly like to thank Daniel Smith for all his help in housing, food, and visa arrangements and for always answering our questions. Overall it was a very valuable experience and I hope to come back to this amazing facility in the future!
Georgia Russell, CNSE Intern
August 25, 2008
*****
My final day as an intern at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering involved participating in a poster presentation with all of the interns. Each intern made posters that showed the research we did for the summer. It was amazing to learn about the interesting things the other interns were doing. Many people from the college came around and asked us questions about our research. We presented to professors and researchers from the college. It really showed me that if you spend a lot of time and hard work in an area, you can become an expert in it. Getting to explain something to professors and researchers as a sophomore in university is very exciting. I learned a lot from having to present my poster to other people. A lot of people have different perspectives on the same thing, and you can never be completely prepared for all of the questions you will get asked. My poster board had a 20 mm wafer on it, and one question was: how thick was the wafer? I wasn't sure, but my professor was around and knew that it was 725 micrometers. This surprised me because most of the time the concern is around the diameter of the wafer, and not the thickness. The poster session was a very valuable experience.
Ryan Wagner, CNSE Intern
August 22, 2008
*****
On August 8th, myself and the 24 other CNSE summer interns were given the opportunity to present our work in a poster session. Using our posters as guides, we explained our research to interested guests. It was very exciting to be able to discuss and teach what we had learned over the course of 10 weeks. One thing that I found difficult was judging what skill level I should aim my explanation to, as the guests were from a wide range of backgrounds. Some moments I would be talking with a research scientist or CNSE professor that had many more years of education than me, trying to describe the details of the mathematics or modeling behind my work. Other times I would have to start at a very basic level in order to explain my research to those guests that had little knowledge of electronics. Although I found some parts of the presentation challenging, overall it was a tremendous learning experience. It was also fascinating to hear about the many other interesting research topics that were being pursued by my fellow interns.
Georgia Russell, CNSE intern
August 22, 2008
*****
During my internship in Albany I learned a lot of valuable skills. The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is truly an amazing place, and my 10 weeks of work allowed me a sneak preview of what it is like to be a nano researcher. I learned various skills including how to use Sentaurus, a computer program for research purposes. I also learned many of the techniques researchers use to make sure they stay on track, such as keeping a detailed log book and making recordings of values around the lab on a daily basis. However, the most valuable things which I learned were not in the lab or even concrete skills. What I learned was how a group of people can come together and do something extraordinary.
At CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex, business, politics as well as academics all come together to create a mega center for cutting-edge research in a field that is only in its early stages. Nano research is very expensive, not one company has made a profit using solely nanotechnology. However, people are excited about nanotechnology because of its potential. Unfortunately, since nano research is extremely expensive, it takes a lot of teamwork to be able to come up with enough money for research. At CNSE, business and government provide the capital needed for this research, while the first class researchers from the college allow the research to be done. This type of teamwork and cooperation is what allows CNSE to be as successful as it is.
Working in my lab group was also an extremely rewarding experience. My professor, Dr. Ji Ung Lee is fairly new to the college, and I had the pleasure of being his first intern. Dr. Lee is a great mentor, and I look up to him a lot. He is very well respected, and during our weekly group meetings, everyone listened intently to what he had to say. He leads by example, by working hard all the time and being able to help out wherever students need the help. In the lab I worked with two graduate students, who each had their own projects as well, but we still talked and helped each other on a daily basis with things that needed to be done around the lab. My group worked very well as a team, and I believe that's what made it as successful as it was. I know that the people I worked with will make some great discoveries for nano research.
I learned a many things through my amazing experience at CNSE. Thank you to everyone who made it possible.
Ryan Wagner, CNSE Intern
August 21, 2008
*****
In this decade there has been a push to try to power cars with something other than gasoline. One of the earliest ideas is the battery, but there has been much concern over the life of the battery, how far the car can travel on one battery, and how long it takes to recharge the battery.
Although battery technology has not been improving that quickly, there has been some new light shed on the subject. Thirty batteries made of Lithium-titanate nanoparticles have been said to achieve 185 miles on one charge and they only take 10 minutes to recharge. This is good news for people who wish to travel with battery operated cars. For more information, click here.
James Nicholas Alexander, CNSE Intern
August 20, 2008
*****
Scientists in the Netherlands and Germany are attempting to make quantum electronics out of diamond rather than the traditional silicon chip. The scientists have developed ways to manipulate the fullerenes, pure carbon molecules which make up diamond, into patterns which can act as atomic sized electrical components. The fullerenes can be arranged as chains within the diamond that act as wires, one nanometer wide. These wires behave in a quantum manner and the electrons travel through them one at a time. One advantage to the diamond quantum processor as opposed to the silicon one is that the diamond works at room temperature. To read more click here.
Brian McGowan, CNSE Intern
August 19, 2008
*****
A large portion of my work at CNSE was involved with MEMS cantilevers. I've designed, simulated and tested these cantilevers in order to understand how their properties can be fine tuned for specific functions. One very important and common function for these microscale cantilevers is as massing devices. Basically, a particle or clumps of particles are placed on the tip of a cantilever with a known natural frequency. By then measuring the change in this natural frequency, one can determine the mass of the particles placed on the tip. While this really isn't anything new, I recently stumbled upon an article detailing the creation of NEMS carbon nanotube cantilever. This is quite a step up for a few reasons. For one thing, this double walled CNT cantilever is much smaller than the cantilevers I generally worked with, and thus can be incorporated onto nearly any chip. More importantly, however, is the fact that it can measure masses as small as two-fifths of a single gold atom at room temperature. This is a big step since the previous techniques for massing such small quantities (i.e. mass spectrometry) required the ionization of neutral atoms which can destroy a sample. Even more so, this new scale has a high sensitivity in the larger mass ranges and thus is more suitable for measuring the masses of things like DNA. Armed with this new tool scientists and researchers will continue to push technology to its fundamental limits. To read more about this incredible device click here.
Lucas Ackerman, CNSE Intern
August 19, 2008
*****
I cannot believe that my summer internship has come to a close. It seems like only yesterday that my research began. This internship was a fascinating journey and exploration through the world of nanotechnology. I have learned so much and am anxiously waiting what will be the next big thing at CNSE. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to apply to this program and I am very gracious for what I was able to take from this experience.
Nicholas Connelly, CNSE Intern
August 18, 2008
*****
During my internship, I had the chance to test out a bunch of MEMS devices with probing stations. One of things that I found really interesting was how easily affected the devices were by the surrounding environment. Vibrations from a passing truck could easily shake and rattle your field of view and make placing a probe very challenging. With that said, there have been many innovative developments to shield the test devices from any outside influence. For one thing, some of the testing equipment is mounted on so-called "air tables" which damp out the extra vibrations produced in the surrounding area. Recently I read an article on Acutronics USA's new two-axis motion table which doesn't simply place a barrier between the test subject and the environment surrounding it but allows its users to create their own testing environment. With the new tool, developers, manufacturers and researchers alike can precisely control both the position of their devices as well as the forces they undergo. This new instrument is much more economically feasible than its predecessors and thus will hopefully reduce production costs of technology that requires such strict control over its testing environment. To read more, click here.
Lucas Ackerman, CNSE Intern
August 18, 2008
*****
During my internship, I performed an immunoassay to quantify the amount of EGF released by hydrogels of differing concentrations. Ideally, (if my experiments went according to plan), my results will help my advisor with his project, which is designing a device to capture and catalog cancer cells. It was exciting to see my research come together in the last few weeks of the internship and I hope that it will be of use to my advisor.
Karah Lajeunesse, CNSE Intern
August 18, 2008
*****
Recently, a group of scientists from Russia visited Albany Nanotech. The group toured the $4.2 billion facility. They were impressed at the close collaboration of business and the college. The Russian government is spending $10 billion on nanotechnology and wants to be strong in the areas of research, development and commercialization. It's great for the college to have partnerships with global programs. To read more, click here.
Kathleen Tracey, CNSE Intern
August 18, 2008
*****
With the presidential election coming soon, the belief is that the next president will have much to do with the future of nanotechnology. He will have a great opportunity to shape the direction in which the technology will go along with maximizing its benefits and minimizing any pitfalls of the technology. An article on this topic states, "The future of the technology is in the hands of the incoming administration. The shape of the future will depend significantly on what the new government does".
Thus when considering presidential hopefuls, one may also take into consideration that our political administration will have much say in what this powerful technology can do.
Emily Michlewski, CNSE Intern
August 18, 2008
*****
During the last weeks of my internship, it was strange to think that my time at CNSE was almost over. During those weeks I began to realize that I had been there for a total of 8 weeks, and it seemed like I just started. The last week was crunch time and I had to start thinking about my poster; what I had room for, how many pictures, the graphs, how I would phrase things−no simple task. Also I needed to put the finishing touches on my data. Without this, analysis would not be possible. Yes, the tension started to build, but I liked it. I liked the fact that the culmination of all my work was soon in reach. It was great to see what I ended up putting together as a testament to my hard work and summer spent at CNSE.
Joe Belarge, CNSE Intern
August 14, 2008
*****
Most of us don't think much about the air we breathe at the offices on-site, but building codes usually require the use of ventilation systems to bring in fresh air from the outdoors. Powering the associated HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems) can quickly boost energy costs, so many owners install air-to-air heat exchanges that use the energy from the exhaust air stream to precondition incoming fresh air before it enters the HVAC system.
Dais Analytic, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Odessa, Florida, is helping to make such equipment that is significantly more energy efficient and cost effective. Dais has developed polymer-based membranes chemically modified to incorporate ion-rich nanodomains that measure between 20 and 60 nanometers in diameter. Dais' interconnected domains are actually polymer molecules, but they can be thought of as nanoscale channels that allow moisture to pass at a molecular level while filtering out larger structures or biological organisms.
The technology enables Dais' first product, ConsERV energy exchangers, to offer customers up to 80% savings on ventilation energy costs and costs associated with capital equipment. To learn more about Dais and their ConsERV technology, click here.
Nicholas Querques, CNSE Intern
August 14, 2008
*****
Scientists from Berkeley have designed a nanoscale synthesized polymer that is able to mimic how proteins carry out many of life's functions. This could lead to highly accurate sensors that are able to operate in harsh environments or pharmaceuticals that target the disease and last much longer than treatments today. Proteins have the ability to bind with one and only one molecule selectively. If scientists are able to harness their targeting ability, they'll have a powerful way of battling disease and detecting compounds. The limitations of proteins are that as their precision increases, their ruggedness and stability decrease. They are limited to small temperature and acidity ranges, require a watery solution and they degrade over time. These restrictions could limit the utility of these proteins. To read more, click here.
Kathleen Tracey, CNSE Intern
August 13, 2008
*****
With the abilities of nanotechnology growing exponentially we have to ask ourselves how far is too far; should we allow technology to solve all of our problems. From disease to happiness and clothes to machines, nanotechnology and biotechnology have the capability to completely change the human race as we know it. Dr. Ray Kurzweil is an inventor and futurist who predicts that nano and bio technologies will exceed the highest of expectations in the coming decades and with that he states the merger of man and machine is not as science fiction as once thought. He coins the term ‘singularity' as the future of mankind, which he defines as "the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots". To read more, click here.
Emily Michlewski, CNSE Intern
August 12, 2008
*****
Research into new types of solar cells produced in nanotechnology was described by Professor Darren Bagnall at the World Renewable Energy Conference in Glasgow, UK. Professor Bagnall and his Nano Group at the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science have conducted extensive research into how nanotechnologies can contribute to the creation of solar cells. These solar cells can be manufactured on cheap flexible substrates instead of the traditional expensive silicon wafers by using nanoscale features that trap light.
The group has investigated biomimetic optical structures, which copy the nano structures seen in nature so that they can develop solar cells, which allow efficient light-trapping. One type of structure is based on an anti-reflective technique exploited by moth eyes while others are based on metallic nanoparticles that form plasmonic structures.
These new solar cells absorb most all of the light that is available. This is important because thicker devices absorb more light and unfortunately the need to use thick layers (particularly in the case of silicon) drives up the cost and often degrades the electronic properties of devices. Effective light-trapping will allow many alternatives, while the new systems to be considered will allow lower quality (cheaper) material.
Nicholas Querques, CNSE Intern
August 12, 2008
*****
During the last few weeks of my internship I had an increasing amount of responsibilities. With one of my co-workers on vacation and my advisor gone for a week, I had a lot of things to do on my own. I had to manage cleaning the vacuum chamber and reassembling some of the parts. Forcing bent copper tubing through a vacuum feedthrough proved to be a major headache, especially after I realized that I had forgotten the copper gasket for the flange. I did finally get in on, however, although the tubing looked a little worse for the wear. Also, my group got back its malfunctioning mass spectrometer, which needed to be carefully mounted into the chamber, making sure that everything was properly cleaned.
Kyle Watters, CNSE Intern
August 12, 2008
*****
A new way to store gas was developed by the team at the University of Calgary led by George Shimizu, chemistry professor.
The research team used the orderly crystal structure of a barium organotrisulfonate material, which is capable of trapping gas when dehydration occurs and acts as a collection chamber. When the gas is released during rehydration allow the pores open. The first situation can be reached by heating the material, which closes the nanovalves, but when water is added, the trapped gas is released. Thus, a high pressure system for gas storing is not necessary. Moreover, this novel material is highly controllable and recyclable.
The team is now moving into lighter chemical materials for the catching of smaller gases such as hydrogen. This work can be implemented in the development of hydrogen fuel cells or even for the reduction of CO2 emissions where this material acts as a filter. To learn more, click here.
Angelica Azcatl Zacatzi, CNSE Intern
August 12, 2008
*****
During my internship, I was working on making Silicon/Zirconium multilayer filters using the electron beam evaporator. After using the Auger tool, we found that the Zirconium was oxidizing inside the tool. Zirconium oxide has very different transmission properties than regular Zirconium, so they're not useful at all. We began trying a different method using the e-beam evaporator. First we had to get rid of all of the oxygen in the chamber by evaporating some zirconium onto the back side of the wafer and then we flip the wafer to deposit Zirconium.
Kathleen Tracey, CNSE Intern
August 11, 2008
*****
A nanotechnology boom is expected by 2015. Nanotech realized the greatest growth in the materials and manufacturing sector during 2007 according to a new report, with the technology being used in $97 billion worth of products including coatings and composites used in automobiles and buildings. Next was electronics at $35 billion where nanotech is being used to develop displays and batteries. Finally, the healthcare industry generated $15 billion of revenue, driven primarily by pharmaceutical applications.
The materials and manufacturing sector will remain the top field for nanotech applications through 2015, growing at 45% to reach $1.8 trillion worth of product revenue. While the electronics sector will gain ground, growing at 51% compound annual growth rate through 2015 to reach $940 billion. Healthcare and life sciences will grow at 46% annually and will reach $31 billion over the next 7 years.
The U.S. leads the way with $59 billion worth of nanotech-based products in 2007 with Europe behind at $47 billion, Asia/Pacific accounting for $31 billion, and the rest of the world making up for $9.4 billion. To read the rest of the report, click here.
Nicholas Querques, CNSE Intern
August 11, 2008
*****
Do you remember the cancer drug TNP-470 from the 1990s? Angiogenesis is the process of tumors spreading and creating secondary tumors in the body through the creation of a network of blood vessels. TNP-740 is a very effective angiogenesis inhibitor and can thus prevent the spread of cancer. In the 1990s, TNP-470 showed promising results for many clinical trial cancer patients but was brought to standstill due to signs of neurotoxicity present in some patients. However, due to progress in nanotechnology this drug can be encapsulated in an FDA-approved micelle, 10 nm in diameter, which can mitigate the symptoms of neurotoxicity resulting from the drug.
For a complete research article, published in Nature Biology, on the use of nanotechnology to mitigate the neurotoxicity of TNP-470, click here.
For more general information, click here.
Kevin Shahbazi, CNSE Intern
August 11, 2008
*****
In the latest news about nanotechnology I came across an article discussing an ambitious goal for nanotechnology. In the simplest terms the project discussed in the article has the goal of measuring basically anything. From the amount of containments in water to the stability of an object, the goal of the grandiose project by Hewlett Packard would be to create a "CeNSE - for Central Nervous System for the Earth". This central nervous system for the earth would include nano-detectors which could identify numerous things based on what they are made to do. To learn more about this project, click here.
Emily Michlewski, CNSE Intern
August 11, 2008
*****
Many nanotechnology research projects are focused in the development of high speed and high capacity memory devices. Such tasks can be reached by using new materials in electronics, for example, polymers, carbon nanotubes or even DNA. Other promising storage technology is the nanowire-based memory. With this emerging technology it is possible to create low cost and high performance memory devices.
Recently, researchers at University of Pennsylvania have improved the capacity of the nanowire-based memories by using a "core-shell" structure, which has two phase-change materials: Ge2Sb2Te5 as the core and a cylindrical shell made of GeTe. The novelty of their work is that with such a device it is possible to store three bits values which are "0," "1" and "2"instead of just two states. The operation of the nanowire memory is based on the phase change properties, which means that the materials have the ability to quickly switch from a low resistance state to a high resistance state dependent on its crystal structure. Thus, by applying a pulsed electric field it is possible that both the core and shell become amorphous (high resistance state) or that both become crystalline (low resistance state). The third state is when the core is amorphous and the shell is crystalline or visa versa.
To learn more, click here.
Angelica Azcatl Zacatzi, CNSE Intern
August 11, 2008
*****
Along the same ideas of bottom-up technology mentioned in my blog yesterday about nanoclusters, recently mentioned in the MIT Technology Review was an article about living ‘Legos,' self-assembling cross-shaped gels, that can mimic the complexity of human tissues. Using polymer scaffolds to ease the organization and self-assembly of these Legos, bioengineers, such as Ali Khademhosseini, hope to develop a bottom-up approach to tissue, and eventually organ, synthesis.
The forces used for the bottom-up synthesis can be compared to the immiscibility of water and oil. Since the Legos are hydrophilic and don't interact well with oil, when placed in an agitating bath of mineral oil, they clump together.
For more interesting information about feasible bottom-up biotechnology and Ali Khademhosseini's work, click here.
Kevin Shahbazi, CNSE Intern
August 8, 2008
*****
My project has been a work in progress since I last posted but I have been putting the final touches on it. I last posted about possibly using simulated annealing in my program but I underestimated the capabilities of MATLab. MATlab itself provides a great means for finding the outgassing elements in our chambers. The program I wrote is now in its closing stages and as of right now, I am making it easier for outside users to utilize the program. Although conceptualizing the idea of making the program simpler is much easier than actually implementing it. For now I hope that with the changes I have made, the other members of my team will not have trouble putting the program to use.
Emily Michlewski, CNSE Intern
August 7, 2008
*****
There may be a way to support the weight of a human using a cable made up of carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes are smaller than the wavelength of light and when separated by more than a wavelength are invisible to the human eye. Scientists in Italy have calculated the number of tubes that would be needed to support a human. They have found that when they are held 5 micrometers (0.000005 m) apart, they form a cable 1 centimeter in diameter which would weigh 10 milligrams per kilometer. This could make for some interesting circus acts. To read more, click here.
Kathleen Tracey, CNSE Intern
August 7, 2008
*****
At Brown University, a research group led by Shouheng Sun, has proven that shaping platinum into a cube significantly improves its efficiency in the oxygen reduction reaction of the fuel cells. As we know, the platinum helps to decrease the amount of energy required to start a reaction. This reaction is important in fuel cells because it only generates water, becoming a motive to enhance the investigation in this field. What Sun and his team have found is that by molding Pt at the nanoscale into a cube, its catalytic properties clearly increase. He said that for the first time they could control the morphology of the particle to make it more like a cube. This will lead scientists to develop more investigations into this area not only because of its efficiency, but also because all of the environmental benefits it will bring.
To read more, click here.
Esteban Morales, CNSE Intern
August 7, 2008
*****
Imagine being able to control the size of a cluster of 10 to 100 atoms with atomic precision. This is precisely the technology that has been developed by researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University. Announced last month, this marvel in nanomanipulation allows complete control of the number and type of atoms in a nanocluster. For more information on this groundbreaking instrument, which will permit the development of nanocatalysts, click here.
Kevin Shahbazi, CNSE Intern
August 7, 2008
*****
Nanotechnology could replace shock treatment and improve other areas in medicine, according to Dr. A. Shivathanu Pillai, Chief Controller (R&D) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation of the Government of India. Research in psychiatry using nanotechnology would revolutionize treatment in the field using localized electric fields.
The present practice of painful electric shocks for treatment of the mentally challenged would be eliminated and would be replaced by specific localized electric and magnetic stimulation of the parts. This would be done using magnetic nano particles with minimal pain for patients. Pillai also stated, in a report to the Indian government, that nanobiological medical sensors would play a major role in early detection of diseases like HIV/AIDS, as "immuno essays" can be used for detecting antigens in samples by the introduction of nanoshells attached to anti-bodies while sampling blood.
Nanotechnology offers a wide range of opportunities in other critical fields of medicine such as scaffolding for tissue repair and nanoceramic coating for implants in patients. To learn more, click here.
Nicholas Querques, CNSE Intern
August 6, 2008
*****
My experience at CNSE as a summer intern has been amazing. During the past weeks I have seen successful research, but I have also seen that in order to achieve good results many things should be considered. High academic level must be an essential part of the plan. Professionalism in each activity is required to set a goal and be committed to fulfilling it. State-of-the-art equipment plays an important role in accomplishing fist-level investigation. And, at the same time, a good economical base must support the project. I have seen that CNSE projects encompass all of these necessities. From those committed to the academic tasks to those in charge of management affairs there is an attitude of responsibility and professionalism. And without any doubt, the strong relationship between government, industry and academia makes CNSE the ideal place to develop excellent research at the nanoscale. I am so glad to be enrolled in this great experience.
Esteban Morales, CNSE Intern
August 6, 2008
*****
During my internship, I had the immense pleasure and opportunity to attend a special announcement from senior government, business, and academic leaders in the Rotunda of NanoFab 300 North. The North Rotunda was packed with people, waiting to see what kind of announcement was to be made. Jokingly, I made a bet with my coworker Brian that the CNSE was to announce that the College's research had hit sub-nano depths and that the CNSE was to be renamed the "College of Picoscale Science and Engineering." On the other hand, Brian bet that the CNSE was receiving funding for an elaborate project. It turns out that Brian was right!
At this event, Governor Paterson of New York State announced a public-private partnership between the State of New York and IBM. He announced that the State was to invest $140 million and to leverage IBM's $1.5 billion investment for nanotechnology-related industries in New York. This will bring 1000 new jobs to New York State.
I was impressed by this news, and based on the amount of applause and standing ovations, so were the CNSE staff and faculty, members of the media, businessmen, and other summer interns! For more information on this announcement, click here.
Kevin Shahbazi, Summer Intern
August 4, 2008
*****
On July 9th, nanoscale measurements were taken on another planet for the first time. An atomic force microscope, onboard NASA's "Phoenix" Mars Probe, successfully recorded images of a test grid in the harsh Martian conditions. With this calibration completed, the Probe will begin to take measurements of surface particles on Mars. The high resolution images of the surface particles may lead to exciting discoveries about the planet's past. For example, certain erosion and scratch marks can show whether the particles were ever transported by liquid water. For more information, click here.
Georgia Russell, CNSE Intern
August 1, 2008
*****
One of the biggest interests in research right now is to find alternative energy sources to help overcome the current energy crisis we are facing. One important research topic is to find a way to purify water at a lower price and using less energy; this will help people in both industrialized and developing countries considerably. Eric Hoek and his research team at the University of California at Los Angeles created a membrane of nanoparticles that aims to reduce the cost needed to desalinate seawater and clean wastewater. This groundbreaking technology may be adapted in municipal desalination plants in water-thirsty areas. In an effort to bring about new energy sources, a newsletter, NanoFronties, discusses the international nanotechnology research and development news. It explores the question of whether developing nations will share the benefits of nanotechnology with other countries. The examples include nanotechnology advances in therapeutic and preventive treatments for HIV/AIDS, "fog harvesting" in Thailand, China and Nepal and improved desalination technology to turn seawater into drinking water.
The publication of these investigations was led by Visions for the Future of Nanotechnology and written by Karen F. Schmidt
To listen the podcasts available online, click here.
Esteban Morales, CNSE Intern
August 1, 2008
*****
To date, the two most thrilling aspects of my internship have been running the Dynamitron Linear Accelerator and attending the New Energy Symposium hosted at CNSE.
At the beginning of July, Brian McGowan, Nick Connelly and I had to put use accelerator training and collect RBS data for four samples in a two hour timeframe without our advisor. We were nervous about which buttons to press and in what order to press them. But after getting the plasma running and starting the first spectra, we realized how easy it was to collect data and we felt like professional researchers!
July 9th and 10th, I attended the New Energy Symposium and saw the origins of the commercialization of green energy. The first day involved start-up green energy companies presenting to a panel of venture capitalists as well as a fabulous reception. The second day involved many panels on different aspects of green energy, such as public policy and climate change. I even got to test drive a Smart Car!
Even though there is only a short time left, I hope that this internship keeps bringing new things my way in a hands-on fashion. I hope I will be able to test drive a car powered by hydrogen fuel-cells!
Kevin Shahbazi, CNSE Intern
August 1, 2008
*****
Cutting the demand and our reliance on fossil fuels has been a major goal for quite some time now. There are a few major fuel alternatives that are constantly being worked on to make them as economical as fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, used to be.
One fuel alternatives is hydrogen fuel for use with fuel cells. QuantumSphere Inc. recently stated that its nanoparticle-coated electrodes can help make hydrogen a good alternative to natural gas and gasoline. They claim that by increasing the surface area of electrodes more than 1,000 times, hydrogen can be cheaply made through electrolysis.
This is good news for a market that is in deep need of alternative fuel methods. Hopefully with a widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel it will further lower the cost of hydrogen, resulting in an emission free future. For more information click here.
James Nicholas Alexander, CNSE Intern
August 1, 2008
*****
