2014

Dec 18, 2014

Will rapprochement mean new research collaborations between Cuba and the U.S.?

On December 17, the White House announced significant changes to the relationship between Cuba and the United States. The announcement has garnered international news coverage, but one aspect of the announcement that has garnered little attention is what this may mean for fostering collaborations between U.S. research institutions and their Cuban counterparts. 

Dec 18, 2014

New technique moves researchers closer to new range of GaN biosensors

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way of binding peptides to the surface of gallium nitride (GaN) in a way that keeps the peptides stable even when exposed to water and radiation. 

Dec 12, 2014

The science and engineering behind Amsterdam’s Rainbow Station

If you’re passing through the Amsterdam Central train station you may be pleasantly surprised to see a vibrant rainbow projected on the large arch that spans over its platforms. It’s the “Rainbow Station” project by artist Daan Roosegaarde – and it was made possible by technology adapted specifically for the project through collaboration with NC State researcher Michael Escuti and ImagineOptix Corporation, the company he founded to pioneer patterned liquid crystal optic technologies. 

Dec 11, 2014

Stacking two-dimensional materials may lower cost of semiconductor devices

A team of researchers led by NC State University has found that stacking materials that are only one atom thick can create semiconductor junctions that transfer charge efficiently, regardless of whether the crystalline structure of the materials is mismatched – lowering the manufacturing cost for a wide variety of semiconductor devices such as solar cells, lasers and LEDs. 

Dec 10, 2014

New ‘high-entropy’ alloy is as light as aluminum, as strong as titanium alloys

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Qatar University have developed a new “high-entropy” metal alloy that has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than any other existing metal material. 

Dec 9, 2014

Three Engineering faculty members named Fellow by AAAS

Three members of the faculty in the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University have been awarded the distinction of Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

Dec 9, 2014

Moving toward a cheaper, better catalyst for hydrogen production

Hydrogen could be an important source of clean energy, and the cleanest way to produce hydrogen gas is to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The catalyst currently used to facilitate this reaction is platinum. MoS2 is a promising, much cheaper alternative to platinum, but its catalytic performance is far worse than platinum’s. Researchers at NC State have been trying to find ways to improve MoS2’s catalytic performance. 

Dec 8, 2014

Nanoparticle allows low-cost creation of 3-D nanostructures

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new lithography technique that uses nanoscale spheres to create three-dimensional (3-D) structures with biomedical, electronic and photonic applications. The new technique is significantly less expensive than conventional methods and does not rely on stacking two-dimensional (2-D) patterns to create 3-D structures. 

Dec 8, 2014

Bolstering our food banks

Over the past decade, the number of people at risk of going hungry in North Carolina has soared to more than one in six. Distributing tens of millions of pounds of food to those in need is a staggeringly complex problem — one that researchers at NC State are determined to help solve.