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| Engineers at the University of
Dayton Research Institute have developed the first
solid-state, rechargeable, lithium-air battery. This
breakthrough was designed to counter the fire and explosion
risk of other lithium rechargeable batteries and pave the way
for development of large-size lithium rechargeables for a
number of industry applications, including hybrid and electric
cars. The Journal of the Electrochemical Society
recently noted the researchers’ achievement.
Binod Kumar, leader of the research institute's
electrochemical power group, said there is enormous demand in
defense and industry for safer, lighter lithium rechargeable
batteries for applications ranging from electric cars to
unmanned aerial vehicles. He noted that billions of federal
stimulus dollars have already been directed for research,
development, and manufacturing of lithium batteries. http://news.udayton.edu/News_Article/?contentId=25610 |
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For
more information, contact Binod Kumar, Leader of
UDRI’s electrochemical power group, 937/229-3452, binod.kumar@udri.udayton.edu
OR Shawn Robinson, assistant director of media
relations, University of Dayton, 937/229-3391, Shawn.Robinson@notes.udayton.edu. |
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| Suppose there was a glass-like
material that could expand instantaneously — up to eight
times it volume — and extract harmful substances from air
and water. Imagine if that same material could lift 10,000
times it own weight and then be reused like a sponge.
Impossible? Not at all. Paul Edmiston, associate professor
of chemistry at The College of Wooster, accidentally
discovered an animated material that could become one of the
most significant environmental remediation tools in history.
The innovation has won two major awards, including the NorTech
Advanced Materials Award of 2010.
Marketed as "Osorb" for "organic sorbent,"
this glass material may be a breakthrough in cleaning water by
rapidly and reversibly absorbing toxins from the environment.
It also holds great potential as a new tool for biofuel
extraction, medical diagnostic testing, or oil spill
remediation — countless uses for an inert material that
sponges up virtually any organic substance other than water. |
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For
more information, contact Paul Edmiston,
associate professor of chemistry, The College of Wooster,
330/263-2113, pedmiston@wooster.edu
OR John Finn, director of public information, The College of
Wooster, 330/263-2145, jfinn@wooster.edu. |
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| Macalester College Physics and
Astronomy Professor John Cannon made science waves when he
co-published a report in The Astrophysical Journal of
the discovery of a very extreme galaxy — one where gas is
distributed over an area much larger than researchers had
expected to find.
"Because the stars are so compact, we expected to see
a system that has a similarly compact gaseous disk," says
Cannon. "To our surprise, the gaseous disk is enormous—
some 44 times larger than the size of the galaxy as seen in
stars."
This discovery raises questions about disk stability and
the nature of the "dark matter" seen in most
galaxies. |
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For more information, contact John
Cannon, professor of Physics & Astronomy, Macalester
College, 651/696-6798, jcannon@macalester.edu
OR Barbara K. Laskin, media relations manager,
Macalester College, 651/696-6451, laskin@macalester.edu.
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The University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s (UMBC)
Chemistry Discovery Center –a radical reinvention of a
Chemistry 101 course — has led to a dramatic increase in
student performance. The Center is a problem-based, high-tech
learning lab focused on cooperative learning. Working in teams
of four, students serve in rotating roles to tackle Chemistry
ideas and principles. This real-world approach holds students
accountable for their work within a community-based setting —
something not always available in lectures. Students solve
problems with only materials at their station, and personal
items (such as cell phones) are left at the door. In addition to
increased pass rates for Chemistry 101 and better grades, this
new approach equips students with skills in communication,
team-building, management, and entrepreneurship.
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For more information, contact Eleanor Lewis, senior
communications director, University of Maryland, Baltimore
County, 410/455-2065, elewis@umbc.edu.
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Despite improvements in the use of the Pap smear, cervical
cancer continues to be the leading cause of death in middle-aged
women in the developing world and fatal to more than 4,000
American women annually. Now, early and cost-effective detection
of this disease may be improved thanks to NSF-funded research by
Lehigh University Assistant Professor of Computer Science and
Engineering Xiaolei Huang.
Huang and her team are using a new computer-assisted visual
interactive recognition system to improve detection of abnormal
tissue patterns with the use of a cervigram (a digital
photograph of the cervix that is complementary to the Pap
smear). Although only in the second year of her project, Huang’s
software can already reliably identify cervical cancer at a rate
of approximately 70 percent.
Huang’s goal is to develop a software system that will
facilitate the recognition process and reduce the number of
false-positive and false-negative results.
For their research, the National Library of Medicine and
National Cancer Institute have granted them rare access to more
than 100,000 anonymous cervigrams and their corresponding
diagnostic notes. Future uses of this approach may be extended
to other imaging diagnostic fields such as the analysis of
mammograms.
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For more information, contact Jennifer
Tucker, assistant vice president, university communications and
public affairs, Lehigh University,
610/758-4314, jlb291@lehigh.edu.
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Rick
Oches, associate professor of environmental sciences at
Bentley University, began teaching a Science of Sustainability
course in September 2008 that has since morphed into a fully
integrated service learning project with the Waltham
Fields Community Farm (WFCF).
"I saw the potential for my students to perform a great
service and learn about sustainable farming practices at the
same time," explains Oches, who will lead 30 Bentley
students this semester in developing an energy management and
renewable energy implementation plan for the farm. The students
will help the farm identify ways to reduce fossil fuel
consumption and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions, conserve
energy, and ultimately reduce energy costs in WFCF’s
agricultural operations.
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For more information, contact
Joanna Aven, assistant director of public and media
relations, Bentley University, 781/891-2725, javen@bentley.edu.
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Faculty and students at Washington and Lee University will soon
be using the latest technology in museum studies to examine art
and archeological artifacts in a non-destructive manner — all
without taking any samples. Thanks to a National Science
Foundation major research instrumentation grant, the university
is purchasing a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, a
digital IR InGaAs camera, and a stereomicroscope.
The new equipment will enhance the interdisciplinary research
that Chemistry Professor Erich Uffelman conducts with Washington
and Lee students, allowing study of the university’s
substantial art collection to determine pigments used in the
palette, brushstroke patterns, and under drawings used in the
composition. Professor Uffelman has researched the methods and
examples of investigations performed by art conservators and
conservation scientists on Dutch Golden Age paintings. He offers
a seminar on 17th century Dutch painting, which includes
fieldwork in The Netherlands.
In addition, Washington and Lee Archeology Professor Alison
Bell will utilize the equipment to examine the university’s
collection of artifacts, including recent findings at a dig at
Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.
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For more information, contact
Sarah Tschiggfrie, news director, Washington and Lee
University, 540/458-8235, stschiggfrie@wlu.edu.
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The U.S. Department of Energy awarded its highest honor in
January 2010 to materials scientist John Goodenough, the
mastermind behind developing batteries small yet powerful enough
to make laptops and cell phones possible.
At age 87 and in the lab every day, he is still doing
cutting-edge science, except when he is collecting awards—the DOE’s
2009 Enrico Fermi Award, the 2001
Japan Prize, and even an informal Top-Five
Unsung Contemporary Hero of Science. He is now working to
develop batteries for storing wind and solar energy.
Goodenough studied the classics before focusing on
engineering. The lessons of history, the critical thinking, and
the nimbleness of intellect he absorbed from those early classes
carried him through downturns in funding and his unorthodox
approach to battery development.
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For more information, contact
John B. Goodenough, professor, mechanical engineering, The
University of Texas at Austin, 512/471-1646, jgoodenough@mail.utexas.edu
OR Becky Rische, Engineering Public Affairs Director, The
University of Texas at Austin, 512/471-7272, brische@mail.utexas.edu.
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