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

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

Researchers from Stanford University and Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) National Accelerator Laboratory have developed a synthetic catalyst that produces chemicals much the way enzymes do in living organisms. The researchers say their discovery could lead to industrial catalysts that could produce methanol using less energy and at a lower cost.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Current models of wearable human-machine interfaces – devices that can collect and store important health information about the wearer – can be bulky and uncomfortable. Researchers have now discovered an ultra-thin wearable electronic device that allows the wearer to move naturally and is less noticeable than wearing a Band-Aid.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Current models of wearable human-machine interfaces – devices that can collect and store important health information about the wearer – can be bulky and uncomfortable. Researchers have now discovered an ultra-thin wearable electronic device that allows the wearer to move naturally and is less noticeable than wearing a Band-Aid.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

In spring 2018, the surprising discovery of superconductivity in a new material set the scientific community abuzz. Built by layering one carbon sheet atop another and twisting the top one at a "magic" angle, the material enabled electrons to flow without resistance, a trait that could dramatically boost energy efficient power transmission and usher in a host of new technologies. Now, new experiments conducted at Princeton give hints at how this material—known as magic-angle twisted graphene—gives rise to superconductivity.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation)

In spring 2018, the surprising discovery of superconductivity in a new material set the scientific community abuzz. Built by layering one carbon sheet atop another and twisting the top one at a "magic" angle, the material enabled electrons to flow without resistance, a trait that could dramatically boost energy efficient power transmission and usher in a host of new technologies. Now, new experiments conducted at Princeton give hints at how this material—known as magic-angle twisted graphene—gives rise to superconductivity.

(Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation)

University of Michigan engineers are claiming the first memristor-based programmable computer for artificial intelligence that can work on all its own. A memristor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in a circuit. It is basically a fourth class of electrical circuit, joining the resistor, the capacitor, and the inductor.

(Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation)

University of Michigan engineers are claiming the first memristor-based programmable computer for artificial intelligence that can work on all its own. A memristor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in a circuit. It is basically a fourth class of electrical circuit, joining the resistor, the capacitor, and the inductor.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health)

Working with mouse and human tissue, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers demonstrate that a protein pumped out of some populations of immune cells in the brain plays a role in directing the formation of connections among neurons needed for learning and forming new memories. Because such connective networks are lost or damaged by neurodegenerative diseases or certain types of intellectual disability, the researchers say their findings advance efforts to regrow and repair the networks and potentially restore normal brain function.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health)

Working with mouse and human tissue, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers demonstrate that a protein pumped out of some populations of immune cells in the brain plays a role in directing the formation of connections among neurons needed for learning and forming new memories. Because such connective networks are lost or damaged by neurodegenerative diseases or certain types of intellectual disability, the researchers say their findings advance efforts to regrow and repair the networks and potentially restore normal brain function.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Army Research Office)

Scientists at Caltech and Northwestern University have shown that thin films of rust can generate electricity when saltwater flows over them. These films represent an entirely new way of generating electricity and could be used to develop new forms of sustainable power production.