Using a bio-mimicking analog of one of nature’s most efficient light-harvesting structures, blades of grass, an international research team led by Alejandro Briseno of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has taken a major step in developing long-sought polymer architecture to boost power-conversion efficiency of light to electricity for use in electronic devices.
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For decades, polymer scientists and synthetic chemists working to improve the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells were hampered by the inherent drawbacks of commonly used metal electrodes, including their instability and susceptibility to oxidation. Now for the first time, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a more efficient, easily processable and lightweight solar cell that can use virtually any metal for the electrode, effectively breaking the “electrode barrier.”
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UMass Amherst Polymer scientist James Watkins and colleagues, in collaboration with General Electric Co. and the Air Force, are developing a patch that would gauge stress and fatigue among armed services personnel.
Video at: UMass Amherst News Office
Article and video at: BostonGlobe.com
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced three-year, $162,770 collaborative research awards each to polymer chemist Todd Emrick at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and chemical engineer Benny Freeman at the University of Texas at Austin, who will work together to explore new ways to make energy-efficient, self-cleaning water purification membranes for municipal wastewater treatment and industrial and agricultural applications.
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Eight University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty members have been named “Highly Cited Researchers 2014” in a new, updated list announced recently by Thomson Reuters. Those named are among “the world’s leading scientific minds” whose publications are among the most influential in their fields.
The eight are Eric Decker, David Julian McClements, Yeonhwa Park, all of food science; Vincent Rotello, chemistry; Thomas Russell, polymer science and engineering, Baoshan Xing, environmental soil and chemistry; Derek Lovley, microbiology, and space scientist Mauro Giavaliso, astronomy.
The Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences of the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium on May 27 conferred the title of doctor honoris causa on Thomas Russell, the Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor in the department of polymer science and engineering.
The honor pays tribute to his “fundamental contributions to polymer science and to the ingenious applications derived from them, particularly in the field of controlled block copolymer assembly for nanotechnology, and of the structure of functional polymers at interfaces and in the bulk.”
With support from the National Science Foundation, Watkins and his team are bringing nanotechnology to industrial-scale manufacturing through a process called hierarchical manufacturing.
View video at: UMass Amherst News Office
The Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences of the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium on May 27 conferred the title of doctor honoris causa on Thomas Russell, the Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor in the department of polymer science and engineering.
The honor pays tribute to his “fundamental contributions to polymer science and to the ingenious applications derived from them, particularly in the field of controlled block copolymer assembly for nanotechnology, and of the structure of functional polymers at interfaces and in the bulk.”
With support from the National Science Foundation, Watkins and his team are bringing nanotechnology to industrial-scale manufacturing through a process called hierarchical manufacturing.
View video at: UMass Amherst News Office
The ability to stick objects to a wide range of surfaces such as drywall, wood, metal and glass with a single adhesive has been the elusive goal of many research teams across the world, but now a team of University of Massachusetts Amherst inventors describe a new, more versatile version of their invention, Geckskin, that can adhere strongly to a wider range of surfaces, yet releases easily, like a gecko’s feet.
Read full article at: UMass Amherst News Office
