Science and technology in the electronics area have always been driven by the development of materials with unique properties and their integration into novel device concepts with the ultimate goal to enable new functionalities in innovative circuit architectures. In particular, a shift in paradigm requires a synergistic approach that combines materials, devices and circuit aspects [...]
Studying mechanical resonators via radiation pressure offers a rich avenue for the exploration of quantum mechanical behavior in a macroscopic regime. However, quantum state preparation and especially quantum state reconstruction of mechanical oscillators remains a significant challenge. Here we propose a scheme to realize quantum state tomography, squeezing, and state purification of a mechanical resonator [...]
Six full-size pickup trucks took a wild ride on a 16-foot-high steel bridge when it shook violently in a series of never-before-conducted experiments to investigate the seismic behavior of a curved bridge with vehicles in place. The 145-foot-long, 162-ton steel and concrete bridge was built atop four large, 14-foot by 14-foot, hydraulic shake tables in [...]
Sustainable Energy Pathways (SEP) is part of the National Science Foundation’s initiative on Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES). The SEP solicitation calls for innovative, interdisciplinary basic research in science, engineering, and education by teams of researchers for developing systems approaches to sustainable energy pathways based on a comprehensive understanding of the scientific, technical, [...]
At 5:00 a.m. every morning for the last few decades, when much of the world around him is barely stirring, Krishan (Krish) Chawla heads to the pool to swim laps. He rarely, if ever, misses a day. Now professor emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s [...]
Smart windows that can reversibly alternate between extreme optical characteristics via clicking counteranions of different hydration energies were developed on glass substrates through the facile spray-casting of poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyltrimethylammonium chloride-co-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate]. The optical transmittance was either 90.9% or 0% over the whole spectral range when alternately immersed in solutions containing thiocyanate (SCN–) or bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (TFSI–) ions, [...]
Researchers at Purdue are perfecting a new technique that could speed construction of skyscrapers while also providing enough stiffness and strength to withstand earthquakes and forces from high winds. The project aims to develop a new kind of core wall, a vertical spine that runs through the center of skyscrapers. A skyscraper’s core wall supports [...]
Single-electron circuits of the future, consisting of a network of quantum dots, will require a mechanism to transport electrons from one functional part of the circuit to another. For example, in a quantum computer decoherence and circuit complexity can be reduced by separating quantum bit (qubit) manipulation from measurement and by providing a means of [...]
Electrons in a metal are indistinguishable particles that interact strongly with other electrons and their environment. Isolating and detecting a single flying electron after propagation, in a similar manner to quantum optics experiments with single photons, is therefore a challenging task. So far only a few experiments have been performed in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron [...]
This paper describes the fabrication and design principles for using transparent graphene interconnects in stretchable arrays of microscale inorganic light emitting diodes (LEDs) on rubber substrates. We demonstrate several appealing properties of graphene for this purpose, including its ability to spontaneously conform to significant surface topography, in a manner that yields effective contacts even to [...]