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

Date Published
(Funded by the Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the US Army Research Laboratory)

To help study entire neuronal networks comprising thousands of interconnected cells, researchers at Harvard University have created an electronic chip on which neurons can grow while their electrical activity is closely monitored. The technology has allowed the team to create synaptic connectivity maps with hundreds of unique connections.

(Funded by the Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the US Army Research Laboratory)

To help study entire neuronal networks comprising thousands of interconnected cells, researchers at Harvard University have created an electronic chip on which neurons can grow while their electrical activity is closely monitored. The technology has allowed the team to create synaptic connectivity maps with hundreds of unique connections.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

If you’ve ever dropped your smartphone on a concrete floor, you know that dreaded feeling as you turn it over to see how badly the screen has cracked — but that stress may soon be a thing of the past. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a way to make glass less brittle and less likely to break.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

If you’ve ever dropped your smartphone on a concrete floor, you know that dreaded feeling as you turn it over to see how badly the screen has cracked — but that stress may soon be a thing of the past. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a way to make glass less brittle and less likely to break.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Harnessing light's energy into nanoscale volumes requires novel engineering approaches to overcome a fundamental barrier known as the “diffraction limit.” Now, researchers at the University of Illinois College of Engineering have breached this barrier by developing nanoantennas that pack the energy captured from light sources, such as light-emitting diodes, into particles with nanometer-scale diameters, making it possible to detect individual biomolecules, catalyze chemical reactions, and generate photons with desirable properties for quantum computing.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Harnessing light's energy into nanoscale volumes requires novel engineering approaches to overcome a fundamental barrier known as the “diffraction limit.” Now, researchers at the University of Illinois College of Engineering have breached this barrier by developing nanoantennas that pack the energy captured from light sources, such as light-emitting diodes, into particles with nanometer-scale diameters, making it possible to detect individual biomolecules, catalyze chemical reactions, and generate photons with desirable properties for quantum computing.

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

Researchers at Northwestern University and Columbia University have developed a tiny nanolaser that can function inside living tissues without harming them. The laser, which is about 1/1,000th the thickness of a single human hair, has the potential to sense disease biomarkers or perhaps treat deep-brain neurological disorders, such as epilepsy.

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

Researchers at Northwestern University and Columbia University have developed a tiny nanolaser that can function inside living tissues without harming them. The laser, which is about 1/1,000th the thickness of a single human hair, has the potential to sense disease biomarkers or perhaps treat deep-brain neurological disorders, such as epilepsy.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Rice's Brown School of Engineering have created what may be viewed as the world's smallest incandescent light bulb. Composed of near-nanoscale materials that absorb heat and emit light, this light source promises to advance sensing, photonics, and perhaps computing platforms beyond the limitations of silicon.

(Funded by the National Science Foundation)

Researchers at Rice's Brown School of Engineering have created what may be viewed as the world's smallest incandescent light bulb. Composed of near-nanoscale materials that absorb heat and emit light, this light source promises to advance sensing, photonics, and perhaps computing platforms beyond the limitations of silicon.