Industry News

October 2021
Rondo-Pak Announces Major Solar Energy Project with Dynamic Energy
Dynamic Energy LLC was selected by Rondo-Pak to deliver solar power to its Camden, New Jersey operations. Rondo-Pak, which produces quality folding cartons and printed components for the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer industries, will invest over $4 million in the major solar project. Once installed, the pr
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Date:
10/21/2021
Imaging Technique Reveals Strains and Defects in Vanadium Oxide

Edwin Fohtung, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Researchers led by Edwin Fohtung, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have developed a new technique for revealing defects in nanostructured vanadium oxide, a widely used transition metal with many potential applications including electrochemical anodes, op
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Date:
10/18/2021
Valve Testing Capabilities to aid Carbon Capture, Storage

The Flow Component Testing Facilities (FCTF) consist of a number of dedicated facilities housed in a single location that are used to perform both standard and custom testing. SwRI engineers will be exhibiting the Institute’s CO2 SSSV testing capabilities, as well as the other FCTF valve testing capabilities, at the Valve World Americas Expo & Conference in Houston, Texas Oct. 13-14 at Booth no. 405.

The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Nitrogen Blowdown Facility has succeeded at recreating the intense conditions of a gas event, making it possible to test subsurface safety valves’ (SSSV) ability to withstand associated gas flow rates at high pressures to prevent injury, loss of life and environmental ef
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Date:
10/18/2021
Harvard Researchers use Dyes to Store Data

Amit Nagarkar helped develop a data-storage system that uses fluorescent dyes.

In the digital age, every byte of data needs to go somewhere — and preferably stay there a long time. That last part is a major problem when it comes to data-storage systems, which typically last less than 20 years. A group of Harvard chemists is trying to solve the issue with an innovation that resembles ti
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Date:
10/14/2021
Quarks at High Momentum Shake Foundations of Visible Matter

Artistic rendering of quarks in deuterium.

Two independent studies have illuminated unexpected substructures in the fundamental components of all matter. Preliminary results using a novel tagging method could explain the origin of the longstanding nuclear paradox known as the EMC effect. Meanwhile, authors will share next steps after the recent observation of
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Date:
10/14/2021
Single-Atom Catalyst Produces Hydrogen from Urea

▲ The schematic diagram for the UOR process using high-loading RhSA stabilized on strained oxide surface (left). Full urea electrolysis system for green hydrogen evolution (middle). Energy-saving urea electrolysis compared to water electrolysis (right).

While hydrogen is widely suggested as an alternative fuel with zero carbon emission, the majority of commercial hydrogen fuel production is obtained from the refining of fossils fuels. The limited reservoir of fossils fuels and their negative impact on the environment has encouraged researchers to develop alternative te
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Date:
10/14/2021
Ultrasound Enables Faster, more Sustainable Battery Recycling

A view of the experimental metal ion recovery system.

Known by expectant parents as the technology that enables them to see their child for the first time, ultrasound can be used at extremely low frequencies to serve an entirely different purpose. Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology report the first time ultrasound to extract valuable metals from electric ca
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Date:
10/14/2021
Artificial Ferroelectric Materials Help Induce Mechanical Behaviors
A pair of University of Texas at Arlington researchers is trying to understand how “smart” mechanical behaviors can be engineered in artificial ferroelectric materials. Ye Cao, an assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, and Joseph Ngai, an associate professor in the Physi
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Date:
10/14/2021
Engineer Awarded $5M to Build Quantum-Powered Navigation Tools

University of Arizona assistant professor of materials science and engineering Zheshen Zhang

Zheshen Zhang, a University of Arizona assistant professor of materials science and engineering, is leading a $5 million quantum technology project to advance navigation for autonomous vehicles and spacecraft, as well as measurement of otherworldly materials such as dark matter and gravitational waves. The National
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Date:
10/07/2021
New GPS Data Helps Scientists Better Understand Ionosphere

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of satellites orbiting the Earth approximately 11,000 miles in space. The GPS satellites in this animation are not drawn to scale. However, their orbits and orientation to the Earth are approximately correct. GPS satellites are organized into six different orbital paths completely covering the Earth. Looking at the Earth top down from the North Pole, the six orbits are spaced at 60-degree intervals. Looking at the Earth from the equator, each orbit is moderately tilted at 50 degrees.

A new data source to help scientists better understand the ionosphere and its potential impact on communications and positioning, navigation, and timing—an essential utility for many critical operations—is now available to the public. The data, which was collected by sensors on GPS satellites in 2018, was re
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Date:
10/07/2021
Illinois Tech Professor Joins National Program for STEM Faculty

Georgia Papavasiliou, Professor of Biomedical Engineering in Armour College of Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech)

Georgia Papavasiliou, Professor of Biomedical Engineering in Armour College of Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), has been named a fellow in the third cohort of the IAspire Leadership Academy, a leadership program aimed at helping STEM faculty from underrepresented backgrounds ascend to
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Date:
10/06/2021
Murata Announces Engineering Fund at Kennesaw State University

Dean Ian Ferguson with Kennesaw State University

Murata announced that it established the Futoshi “Fred” Chanoki Honorary Engineering Fund at Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (SPCEET) at Kennesaw State University (KSU). Named after Murata Electronics North America’s first president, the funding will support the needs of
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Date:
10/05/2021
$18M Grant to Build National Semiconductor Fabrication Facility

Professor Alan Mantooth from the University of Arkansas

Engineering researchers led by Distinguished Professor Alan Mantooth have received $17.87 million from the National Science Foundation to build and operate a national silicon carbide research and fabrication facility at the University of Arkansas. “The national impact of having a fabrication facility such a
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Date:
10/04/2021
Specific UV Light Wavelength Offers Safe way to Curb COVID-19

UV light being emitted by a krypton chloride excimer lamp, fueled by molecules moving between different states of energy.

A specific wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) light is not only extremely effective at killing the virus which causes COVID-19, but is also safer for use in public spaces, finds new University of Colorado Boulder research.  The study, published this month in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, is the fi
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Date:
10/04/2021
Quantum Computers can be Better than the sum of their Parts

A chip containing an ion trap that researchers use to capture and control atomic ion qubits (quantum bits).

Pobody’s nerfect—not even the indifferent, calculating bits that are the foundation of computers. But JQI Fellow Christopher Monroe’s group, together with colleagues from Duke University, have made progress toward ensuring we can trust the results of quantum computers even when they are built from pieces th
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Date:
10/04/2021
Induced Flaws in Quantum Materials Could Enhance Superconducting

Irreversible, plastic deformation causes extended crystalline defects in the quantum material strontium titanate (SrTiO3) to organize into periodic structures, as revealed by neutron and x-ray scattering processes. These structures enhance electronic properties such as superconductivity.

In a surprising discovery, an international team of researchers, led by scientists in the University of Minnesota Center for Quantum Materials, found that deformations in quantum materials that cause imperfections in the crystal structure can actually improve the material’s superconducting and electrical properties. The groundbre
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Date:
10/04/2021
SwRI Receives $1.6 Million Contract for new Inspection Methods

The dark regions in this image show the “dirty white spots” sometimes found in nickel alloy engine components, anomalies that can lead to catastrophic failures. SwRI, under a new FAA contract, will develop new inspection methods to ensure anomalies like these are detected during the manufacturing process.

Southwest Research Institute is leading a team effort to develop new inspection methods for nickel alloy billet materials used in commercial aircraft engine components under a new $1.6 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contract. In 2016, American Airlines Flight 383 was preparing to take off fr
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Date:
10/04/2021
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