Clik here to view.
1 × 10^3 Words: Branched Nanorods
G. Ramanath (This is the first of many “1 × 10^3 Words” – a new, ongoing feature at The Approach where us humble writers keep quiet and let the sheer magnificence and beauty of science speak for...
View ArticleStranger Than Friction
Professor Hanchen Huang recently published an intuitive and interesting journal paper on using nanostructures to create additional friction between two pieces of glass. Dragging a pieces of glass...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with Lupita Montoya
Lupita Montoya We asked Lupita Montoya, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering at Rensselaer, about her research: 1. You have a sharp focus, in your research and in your...
View ArticleClik here to view.
1 × 10^3 Words: Tabuckling
Here’s a wonderful image from the lab of professor Joel Plawsky. What you see is the spontaneous buckling of a thin tantalum (Ta) film deposited atop a nanoporous xerogel. Read more about this...
View ArticleShawn-Yu Lin on the Mic
After you finish reading our new story on professor Shawn-Yu Lin’s most recent study, which is all about leveraging the interesting characteristics of nanoscale gold to boost the strength of infrared...
View ArticleClik here to view.
1 × 10^3 Words: Ferroelectric Nanopowder
If you’ve ever wondered what this is: It’s a Pb-based perovskite relaxor ferroelectric PFN, with a Perovskite crystal structure that looks like this: Professor Doug Chrisey and team are working hard...
View ArticleBlogging (and Molecules) to the MAX!
Molecules to the MAX! continues to educate and entertain audiences around the country. The 3-D version premiered last month across the Hudson River at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. The film—created...
View ArticleClik here to view.
NASA Concedes RPI’s Darkest Dark is Darker
(Photo credit: NASA) You know things are going well when NASA concedes that you beat them to the chase. I ran across a news story, posted today, about a team of NASA engineers who are developing a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To Coin a Phrase: Nanoscoops
Our story last week introduced the world to “nanoscoops” – a new, novel nanomaterial that holds great promise for advancing rechargeable battery technology. The release has secured a nice foothold in...
View ArticleWings with Extra Strong Sauce
The tangy smell of Buffalo wings is common in our office. A lunchtime favorite, wings are often discussed and often enjoyed by my colleagues. Last summer, renowned science journalist Miles O’Brien...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with Dan Lewis
Professor Dan Lewis, in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, recently won an NSF CAREER Award for his research into the structure and performance of metals and ceramics. He also leads...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Neat and Nano – Part 1
Here’s a candid admission for a gray and cloudy Tuesday afternoon: I’m kind of a neat freak. I wash my hands probably more than necessary, don’t eat leftovers that are more than a day old, and I put...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Neat and Nano – Part 2
Picking up from where we left off yesterday, one of the first stops along the tour of the Rensselaer clean room was a photolithography demonstration from Process Engineer Bryant Colwill. He’s hard at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Neat and Nano – Part 3
Picking up where I left off yesterday. At another stop on the tour of the Rensselaer clean room, Applications Engineer David Frey gave us the inside scoop on lab’s dual beam scanning electron...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Neat and Nano – Part 4
Here’s another tidbit from our tour of the Rensselaer clean room lab. Along with faculty and staff researchers, the clean room is heavily populated by students who have been trained and certified to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Neat and Nano – Part 5
Continuing on with our tales from the Rensselaer clean room lab, let’s talk about lighting. More specifically, LEDs. At one stop along the clean room tour, physics doctoral student Christoph Stark,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s Not Easy Being Green
In a recent post, I briefly mentioned the work of physics professor Christian Wetzel to develop high-power green LEDs. The hunt for the elusive green LED is one of my favorite research endeavors here...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with Marc-Olivier Coppens
Marc-Olivier Coppens is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer. We ask him about his work: Q: Your research group is called “Nature Inspired Chemical...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Many Nanoparticles Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?
Here’s a question for the ages: just how small are nanoparticles? Well, Rensselaer resident nanotech expert and professor Linda Schadler helps put this quandary in perspective. In her Academic Minute,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with Diana Borca-Tasciuc
Diana-Andra Borca-Tasciuc is a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. We ask Diana about her work: Q. Much of your research involves heat...
View ArticleClik here to view.
1 × 10^3 Words: Superlattice
What you see above is a collection of nanoscale gold on a silicon surface, made by physics Professor Sang-Kee Eah. To get a sense of the size, 1micron, or 1 μm, equals one-millionth of a meter. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Guest Blogger: John Oxaal
(Mechanical engineering doctoral student John Oxaal wrote this excellent post for The Approach. It’s about his time this summer at a prestigious fellowship in Spain with three other Rensselaer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with Linda Schadler
Linda Schadler is an associate dean in the Rensselaer School of Engineering and a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. We ask Linda about her work: Q: Of all the stuff in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Remote Control for Your Body
This will be my last post on The Approach. Thank you to all of our readers who have taken this little research blog and helped it to grow into what it is today. I leave Rensselaer for a new position,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with Liping Huang
Liping Huang is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer. We ask Liping about her work: Q: What problems are you trying to solve? A: Glasses are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3° with with Emily Liu
Nuclear engineering expert Emily Liu is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. We ask Emily about her work: Q: Your research is...
View Article
