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

Chemists at Rice University have discovered that bovine serum albumin is prone to pushing gold nanorods into right-handed chiral assemblies. The work suggests that it may become possible to sense the handedness, or chirality, of single proteins – a potential boon for pharmaceutical companies that require drug purity. A molecule with the correct chirality can save a life, while the same molecule of the opposite chirality can be highly toxic.

Researchers at the University of Delaware have designed an integrated photonics platform with a one-dimensional metalens – a thin lens that can be designed at the nanoscale to focus light – and metasurfaces – tiny surfaces made with nanostructures to manipulate the transmitted or reflected light. This new device could have applications in imaging, sensing, and quantum information processing.

Researchers at the University of Delaware have designed an integrated photonics platform with a one-dimensional metalens – a thin lens that can be designed at the nanoscale to focus light – and metasurfaces – tiny surfaces made with nanostructures to manipulate the transmitted or reflected light. This new device could have applications in imaging, sensing, and quantum information processing.

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize technology, medicine, and science by providing faster and more efficient processors, sensors, and communication devices. But transferring information and correcting errors within a quantum system remains a challenge to making effective quantum computers. Now researchers from Purdue University and the University of Rochester have demonstrated a method of relaying information by transferring the state of electrons. The research brings scientists one step closer to creating fully functional quantum computers.

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize technology, medicine, and science by providing faster and more efficient processors, sensors, and communication devices. But transferring information and correcting errors within a quantum system remains a challenge to making effective quantum computers. Now researchers from Purdue University and the University of Rochester have demonstrated a method of relaying information by transferring the state of electrons. The research brings scientists one step closer to creating fully functional quantum computers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.