Materials Sciences

The U.S. Navy needs lighter materials so ships will go further faster. One way to do that is to use new composite materials. But how will these materials respond to fire — one of the most critical safety concerns on a ship? Virginia Tech material scientists have developed models to test composites for fire resistance – and have a recommendation.

John Bausano, a doctoral student in the chemistry-engineering interdisciplinary Macromolecular Science and Infrastructure Engineering program at

Modern medicine has the desire to replace damaged tissue with newly grown tissue, such as to repair skin, bone, cartilage, or arteries. But what kinds of surfaces could be used to grow suitable tissues?

Suolong Ni, a graduate student in chemistry at Virginia Tech, has fabricated a biopolymer onto solid surfaces with a range of properties to enable the study of the effects of different surfaces on cell adhesion and tissue growth. He will present his research in the Excellence in Graduate Po

Simulation of local microstructure of amorphous alloys

Modern engineering places increasing demands on components. It is the job of the designers and materials scientists to create components that are up to the challenge.

Many new materials and components can be time consuming and expensive to manufacture with costs escalating if samples or trials prove unsuitable. Computer modelling goes some way to minimizing the developments costs and fast tracking development.

Experiment reveals layers of data missed by traditional ink fingerprints

In the future, law enforcement officials may take full-colour fingerprints using new technology developed by a University of Toronto-led team of international researchers.

Far from the basic black-and-white fingerprints collected today, the new technology would use elastic photonic crystals to capture data-rich fingerprints in multiple colours, but the fingerprinting technique is just one potent

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found how coffee can reduce the risk of alcohol-induced pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed, causing severe abdominal pain. It is often triggered by alcohol consumption which causes digestive enzymes to digest part of the pancreas.

Scientists have known for some time that coffee can reduce the risk of alcoholic pancreatitis, but have been unable to determine how. Researchers at

Materials science gets a nitride boost

Like modern day alchemists, materials scientists often turn unassuming substances into desirable ones. But instead of working metal into gold, they create strange new compounds that could make the electronic components of the future smaller, faster, and more durable. Alexander Goncharov of the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory and colleagues* have used extreme temperatures and pressures to make two durable compounds call