Researchers Create Self-Sustaining, Intelligent, Electronic Microsystems From Green Material
A research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has created an electronic microsystem that can intelligently respond to information inputs without any external energy input, much like a self-autonomous living organism. The microsystem is constructed from a novel type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals and incorporates a novel device that can generate electricity “out of thin air” from the ambient environment.
A UMass Amherst research team has developed an electronic microsystem made from protein nanowires, a "green" electronic material that is renewably produced from microbes without producing "e-waste."
The groundbreaking research was published today in the journal Nature Communications.
Jun Yao, an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) and an adjunct professor in biomedical engineering, led the research with his longtime collaborator, Derek R. Lovley, a Distinguished Professor in microbiology.