News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

A chameleon can alter the color of its skin by using periodic optical nanostructures, called photonic crystals, in its skin. So far, scientists have made versions of a photonic crystal "smart skin" that changes color in response to the environment, but the sizes of these versions of “smart skin” also change. This time, chemists at Emory University have developed a flexible smart skin that reacts to heat and sunlight while maintaining a near constant volume.

A Northwestern University research team has developed a new method for making catalysts from metal nanoparticles that could lead to better fuel cells. The researchers also discovered that the method can take spent catalysts and recycle them into active catalysts.

A Northwestern University research team has developed a new method for making catalysts from metal nanoparticles that could lead to better fuel cells. The researchers also discovered that the method can take spent catalysts and recycle them into active catalysts.

Scientists from Caltech, Georgia Tech, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich have developed a metamaterial that can change shape in a tunable fashion. While most reconfigurable materials can toggle between two distinct states – the way a switch toggles on or off – the new material's shape can be finely tuned, adjusting its physical properties as desired. The material has potential applications in next-generation energy storage and bio-implantable micro-devices.

Scientists from Caltech, Georgia Tech, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich have developed a metamaterial that can change shape in a tunable fashion. While most reconfigurable materials can toggle between two distinct states – the way a switch toggles on or off – the new material's shape can be finely tuned, adjusting its physical properties as desired. The material has potential applications in next-generation energy storage and bio-implantable micro-devices.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a total of nearly $4 million in grants to 19 small businesses to support innovative technology development. Five of the 19 small businesses (Graphene Waves LLC, Parman Tech LLC, Xallent LLC, Advanced Silicon Group, and Applied NanoFluorescence) were awarded nearly $1.1 million awarded for nanotechnology development.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a total of nearly $4 million in grants to 19 small businesses to support innovative technology development. Five of the 19 small businesses (Graphene Waves LLC, Parman Tech LLC, Xallent LLC, Advanced Silicon Group, and Applied NanoFluorescence) were awarded nearly $1.1 million awarded for nanotechnology development.

The typical method for delivering genes inside cells is by using altered viruses that carry genome-editing machinery rather than their own viral genes into cells. But alterations of such viruses can be laborious and manufacturing them can be complicated. To address these issues, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have, instead, packed a gene-editing payload into a tiny customizable, synthetic nanocapsule.

The typical method for delivering genes inside cells is by using altered viruses that carry genome-editing machinery rather than their own viral genes into cells. But alterations of such viruses can be laborious and manufacturing them can be complicated. To address these issues, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have, instead, packed a gene-editing payload into a tiny customizable, synthetic nanocapsule.

Platinum has long been used as a catalyst in fuel cells, but the metal's high cost has hindered fuel cells from competing with cheaper ways of powering automobiles and homes. Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new platinum-based catalytic system that is more durable than traditional commercial systems and has a potentially longer lifespan. The process involves using nanoscale spheres of selenium that react with a salt precursor to platinum to generate particles of platinum smaller than two nanometers in diameter.