News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

Researchers at Washington State University have made a first step in economically converting plant materials to fuels. One big hurdle is that oxygen has to be removed from the plant materials before they can be used. Iron-based catalysts show promise for removing oxygen, but the iron also oxidizes, or rusts, during the reaction, and then the reaction stops. The researchers discovered that one way around this issue is to get the iron to remove the oxygen from the plant materials without taking up so much oxygen that the reaction stops. This was achieved with an iron-based catalyst surrounded by a thin layer of graphene.

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), DESY (German Electron Synchrotron, in Hamburg), and the University of Hamburg has, for the first time, succeeded in building nanoscale integrated electronic circuits that can capture light with the help of tiny antennas and determine the absolute phase of the light wave. 

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), DESY (German Electron Synchrotron, in Hamburg), and the University of Hamburg has, for the first time, succeeded in building nanoscale integrated electronic circuits that can capture light with the help of tiny antennas and determine the absolute phase of the light wave. 

The mantis shrimp uses its two dactyl clubs to strike prey at over 50 miles per hour without appearing to incur any damage. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have discovered that the clubs have a uniquely designed nanoparticle coating that absorbs and dissipates energy. The researchers determined that the nanoparticles are spheres made of intertwined organic and inorganic nanocrystals.

The mantis shrimp uses its two dactyl clubs to strike prey at over 50 miles per hour without appearing to incur any damage. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have discovered that the clubs have a uniquely designed nanoparticle coating that absorbs and dissipates energy. The researchers determined that the nanoparticles are spheres made of intertwined organic and inorganic nanocrystals.

Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated a new way to slow light significantly and to direct it at will. The researchers structured ultrathin silicon chips into nanoscale bars to trap light and then release or redirect it later. These “resonators” could lead to novel ways of manipulating and using light for quantum computing, virtual and augmented reality, and light-based Wi Fi.

Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated a new way to slow light significantly and to direct it at will. The researchers structured ultrathin silicon chips into nanoscale bars to trap light and then release or redirect it later. These “resonators” could lead to novel ways of manipulating and using light for quantum computing, virtual and augmented reality, and light-based Wi Fi.

The ocean floor and the ground beneath our feet are riddled with tiny nanowires created by billions of bacteria that can generate electric currents from organic waste. Yale researchers have now described how this hidden power grid could be activated with a short jolt of electric field.

The ocean floor and the ground beneath our feet are riddled with tiny nanowires created by billions of bacteria that can generate electric currents from organic waste. Yale researchers have now described how this hidden power grid could be activated with a short jolt of electric field.

Researchers at Rice University have developed the strongest and most conductive fibers yet, made of long carbon nanotubes through a wet spinning process. The researchers noted that wet-spun carbon nanotube fibers have doubled in strength and conductivity every three years, a trend that spans almost two decades. The threadlike fibers, with tens of millions of nanotubes in cross section, are being studied for use as bridges to repair damaged hearts, as electrical interfaces with the brain, and for use in cochlear implants.