Author Archives: rberkowitz

Not Like the Others

Posted on January 15, 2016 by rberkowitz

NASA’s Dawn mission to Ceres has provided an unexpected picture of asteroid formation. Continue reading →

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Simple Technique Produces Pure, High-Quality Nanodiamonds

Posted on January 13, 2016 by rberkowitz

Nanodiamonds, or pure diamonds with a length scale less than a micrometer, are a materials scientist’s best friend in areas such as imaging, spintronics, and quantum computing. Now, researchers have overcome key challenges and developed a straightforward way of producing extremely … Continue reading →

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MRS Bulletin: Photonic Crystal Nanolasers

Posted on January 8, 2016 by rberkowitz

‘Photonic-crystal nanolasers shown to be highly sensitive biosensors’ printed in Materials News section of January 2016 MRS Bulletin. Continue reading →

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Aviation in an Additive Age

Posted on January 6, 2016 by rberkowitz

Assessing the role played by additive manufacturing in aircraft production. Continue reading →

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Some Like it Hot: Simulating Single Particle Excitations

Posted on December 17, 2015 by rberkowitz

Understanding and manipulating plasmons is important for their potential use in photovoltaics, solar cell water splitting, and sunlight-induced fuel production from CO2. Now, for the first time, the interplay between the plasmon mode and the single particle excitation within a small metal cluster has been simulated directly. Read more at Berkeley Lab…my last embargo-held press release written while full-time at LBNL, despite the byline! Continue reading →

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Photonic Crystal Nanolasers Shown to be Highly Sensitive Biosensors

Posted on December 9, 2015 by rberkowitz

Move over, ELISA. While the Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay has long been one of the most popular ways of detecting and quantifying the presence of antibodies or antigens in solution, nanolasers may be poised to share the spotlight on the biosensor stage. Continue reading →

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Active Mud Volcano Field Discovered off Southeast Alaska

Posted on November 30, 2015 by rberkowitz

A cruise to study landslide potential along an earthquake-prone fault found a surprising methane plume. Continue reading →

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On the way to Multiband Solar Cells

Posted on November 12, 2015 by rberkowitz

Wladek Walukiewicz of the Materials Sciences Division led the development of the first intermediate band solar cell to demonstrate charge transfer across all three band transitions – valence/intermediate, intermediate/conducting, and conducting/valence. These results open the door to high-efficiency solar cells and multicolor light emitters. Continue reading →

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Computing a Textbook of Crystal Physics

Posted on September 29, 2015 by rberkowitz

Berkeley Lab scientists publish world’s largest database of piezoelectric properties Continue reading →

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Molecular Foundry User Meeting: A Macroscopic View of Nanoscience

Posted on September 3, 2015 by rberkowitz

A US Department of Energy (DOE) user facility such as the Molecular Foundry provides perhaps one of the best examples of a community in which scientists from a range of disciplines have the opportunity to forge connections. Continue reading →

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