Materials Sciences

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a novel carbon-nanotube-based material that chokes vibration and may have applications for both large and small devices.

In the January 9, 2004, advance online edition of Nature Materials, the researchers describe the new material and demonstrate its usefulness as a filler to enhance traditional vibration-reduction materials.

Conducted by Nikhil Koratkar and colleagues at Rensselaer, the research arose from Ko

Engineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego are using the shell of a seaweed-eating snail as a guide in the development of a new generation of bullet-stopping armor. The colorful oval shell of the red abalone is highly prized as a source of nacre, or mother-of-pearl, jewelry, but the UCSD researchers are most impressed by the shell’s ability to absorb heavy blows without breaking.

In a paper published in the Jan. 15 issue of Materials Science and Engin

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a novel carbon-nanotube-based material that chokes vibration and may have applications for both large and small devices.

In the January 9, 2004, advance online edition of Nature Materials, the researchers describe the new material and demonstrate its usefulness as a filler to enhance traditional vibration-reduction materials.

Conducted by Nikhil Koratkar and colleagues at Rensselaer, the research arose fro

International team shows collapse of Fermi volume in quantum critical matters

Modern materials science has been a boon for electronics, providing average consumers with palm-sized computers that would have filled a room just a few years ago for instance. But the push to create materials with radically new electronic properties has also produced a host of experimental results that textbook theories simply cannot explain.

In the Dec. 16 issue of Nature magazine, a team

When it comes to protecting America’s combat troops in battle, research under way at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering could be a lifesaver.

Under a partnership with Armor Holdings, Inc. of Jacksonville, FSU researchers are developing and testing first-of-its-kind body armor for soldiers’ arms and legs that could reduce fatalities and loss of limbs when they are wounded.

“Most of the folks who die in military conflicts don&

Advanced ceramics are wonderful materials – they withstand temperatures that would melt steel and resist most corrosive chemicals. If only they weren’t so brittle. Poor resistance to fracture damage has been the major drawback to the widespread use of advanced ceramics as structural materials. Help, however, may be on the way.

A collaboration of scientists led by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has uncovered cl