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

Scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of California San Francisco have created the first artificial protein switch that can work inside living cells to modify the cell's complex internal circuitry. The scientists have shown that this switch can be "programmed" to modify gene expression, redirect cellular traffic, degrade specific proteins, and control protein interactions. Once assembled by a cell, these switches measure eight nanometers on their longest side.

Researchers at Stanford University are designing a nanoscale photon diode -- a necessary component that could bring us closer to faster, more energy-efficient computers and communications that replace electricity with light.

Researchers at Stanford University are designing a nanoscale photon diode -- a necessary component that could bring us closer to faster, more energy-efficient computers and communications that replace electricity with light.

At DARPA’s Electronics Resurgence Initiative Summit (July 15-17, 2019), an MIT assistant professor showcased a silicon wafer that is the first step in proving DARPA’s plan to create a foundry that can compete with the world’s leading-edge foundries. The potential advantage of the new foundry’s technology over today’s 2D silicon is the ability to stack multiple layers of CMOS logic and nonvolatile memory. Such a technology can’t be achieved in silicon, so it uses carbon nanotube-based transistors instead.

At DARPA’s Electronics Resurgence Initiative Summit (July 15-17, 2019), an MIT assistant professor showcased a silicon wafer that is the first step in proving DARPA’s plan to create a foundry that can compete with the world’s leading-edge foundries. The potential advantage of the new foundry’s technology over today’s 2D silicon is the ability to stack multiple layers of CMOS logic and nonvolatile memory. Such a technology can’t be achieved in silicon, so it uses carbon nanotube-based transistors instead.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have made a new material that is both liquid and magnetic. This discovery could lead to a revolutionary class of printable liquid devices for a variety of applications – from artificial cells that deliver targeted cancer therapies to flexible liquid robots that can change their shape to adapt to their surroundings.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have made a new material that is both liquid and magnetic. This discovery could lead to a revolutionary class of printable liquid devices for a variety of applications – from artificial cells that deliver targeted cancer therapies to flexible liquid robots that can change their shape to adapt to their surroundings.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed the first programmable #memristor computer, which could lead to the processing of artificial intelligence directly on small, energy-constrained devices such as smartphones and sensors. A smartphone AI processor would mean that voice commands would no longer have to be sent to the cloud for interpretation, speeding up response time. Memristors represent one of today’s latest technological advances in nanoelectronics.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed the first programmable #memristor computer, which could lead to the processing of artificial intelligence directly on small, energy-constrained devices such as smartphones and sensors. A smartphone AI processor would mean that voice commands would no longer have to be sent to the cloud for interpretation, speeding up response time. Memristors represent one of today’s latest technological advances in nanoelectronics.

Researchers at the University of Florida, who are part of an international consortium, have found that silver nanowires are safer to use than the thicker wires used in today’s touchscreens. Combined with the ability to create interconnected joints, nanowires have potential use in not only cell phones but clothes, wearable electronics, medical sensors, and solar panels.