Author Archives: rberkowitz

High-precision optics enable LIGO’s new view of the universe

Posted on April 15, 2016 by rberkowitz

The first detection of a gravitational wave depended on large surfaces with excellent flatness, combined with low microroughness and the ability to mitigate environmental noise. Continue reading →

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Directional freeze-casting method produces highly structured metal foams by ice-templating

Posted on March 31, 2016 by rberkowitz

The key to producing an anisotropic tungsten metal foam is starting with a non-metallic oxide powder, and reducing it to metal before densifying the final structure. Continue reading →

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The Race for Renewables

Posted on March 3, 2016 by rberkowitz

New solar harnessing materials along with novel production techniques are improving the efficiency of solar power. Continue reading →

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Tokyo Tech: Lotus Leaf-Inspired Metamaterial Absorbs Entire Visible Light Spectrum

Posted on January 29, 2016 by rberkowitz

Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have used a lotus leaf as a template to fabricate a material that can absorb virtually the entire spectrum of visible light. Continue reading →

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NREL: SunStop Window Technology Ready for Market NREL: SunStop Window Technology Ready for Market

Posted on January 28, 2016 by rberkowitz

NREL has developed a new technology for smart windows, which entrepreneur Loren Burnett is commercialising through his company e-Chromic Technologies, Inc. Continue reading →

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The Emperor’s New Photonics Clothes

Posted on January 27, 2016 by rberkowitz

How wearable technologies for applications such as media, sports, logistics, and medicine are improving in terms of design and functionality. Continue reading →

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Indiana University: Using Bacteria to Produce Hydrogen Sustainably

Posted on January 26, 2016 by rberkowitz

Scientists at Indiana University (IU), Bloomington, have created a highly efficient biomaterial that catalyses hydrogen formation, by encapsulating bacterial genes within a self-assembled protective viral shell. Continue reading →

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Fluorescent Colloidal Nanomaterial Rapidly Internalized into Living Cells

Posted on January 26, 2016 by rberkowitz

Researchers have successfully incorporated colloidal nanoplatelets, a disc-like variation on spherical quantum dots, in a biological system. The new “lipoprotein nanoplatelets” were found to be rapidly internalized into living cells while retaining their fluorescence, making them uniquely valuable in live-cell imaging and labelling. Continue reading →

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Cambridge University: Moving closer to the ‘ultimate’ lithium-air battery

Posted on January 22, 2016 by rberkowitz

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have overcome some challenges in lithium-air batteries efficiency and performance and demonstrated a cell that is over 90% efficient. Continue reading →

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MIT: Graphene filter to improve desalination efficiency

Posted on January 19, 2016 by rberkowitz

California’s drought has led the state to accelerate the construction of desalination plants; however, reclaiming seawater is a prohibitively expensive and energy. Now, an MIT team has developed a novel graphene filter that could greatly improve the efficiency of the … Continue reading →

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