Distorted cell-phone photos and big, clunky telephoto lenses could be things of the past.

UW-Madison Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma and colleagues have developed a flexible light-sensitive material that could revolutionize photography and other imaging technologies.

Their technology is featured on the cover of the January 5 issue of Applied Physics Letters.
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Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma was among 67 researchers honored with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) at a White House ceremony on Friday, Dec. 19. Since 1996, the annual PECASE awards have honored the most promising researchers in the United States, nominated by nine federal departments and agencies. Though at the start of their careers, these scientists and engineers have already demonstrated exceptional research and promise.  [MORE]

James Thomson, director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute for Research and John D. MacArthur Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, has received the prestigious Massry Prize for 2008. The award recognizes Thomson for his groundbreaking discovery made a decade ago of human embryonic stem (ES) cells and his subsequent work in developing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

The Meira and Shaul G. Massry Foundation established the Massry Prize in 1996 to recognize outstanding contributions to the biomedical sciences and the advancement of health. Founded by Shaul Massry, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), the nonprofit foundation promotes education and research in nephrology, physiology, and related fields. The Massry Prize includes a substantial honorarium and eight of its recipients have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize.
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Plastics are everywhere in our modern world, largely due to properties that render the materials tough and durable, but lightweight and easily workable. One of their most useful qualities, however — the ability to bend rather than break when put under stress — is also one of the most puzzling.

This property, described as "plastic flow", allows many plastics to change shape to absorb energy rather than breaking apart, says UW-Madison chemistry professor Mark Ediger. For example, one type of bulletproof glass stops a bullet by flowing around it without breaking. Regular window glass, unable to flow in this way, would simply shatter.  [MORE]

Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science in Materials Science and Engineering Max Lagally lent his expertise to the "Chicago Tribune" for an August 6 story about an eyelike camera developed at the University of Illinois in collaboration with Northwestern University. The camera uses a curved screen rather than typical lenses, granting a wider field of view while reducing distortion. Lagally has collaborated with the project PI, John Rogers of the University of Illinois, on several occasions, and envisions applications beyond consumer digital cameras. "I won't be surprised if [Rogers] comes up with something really magical in short order," Lagally said.  [MORE]

Ten years ago today (Nov. 6, 1998), the publication in the journal Science of a short paper entitled "Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts" rocked biology — and the world — as the all-purpose stem cell and its possibilities were ushered into the limelight.

Since then, the cells have become a household word, a source of hope for the afflicted, and a boon to biologists and biology everywhere. The cells, which in nature exist for only a fleeting period before marching down different development pathways to become any of the 220 types of cells of the human body, had been shown by Wisconsin developmental biologist Jamie Thomson to be controllable in the lab dish.
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Engineering Physics Associate Professor Wendy Crone authored an op-ed piece that appeared November 6 on the Discovery Channel online. In "TV needs a female engineer," Crone cites the success of such television shows as LA Law, ER and CSI in raising womens' awareness of and interest in law, medicine and the physical sciences. Engineering, on the other hand, remains largely male-dominated—in part, says Crone, because women have limited exposure to and understanding of what engineers do. To help bridge that gap, Crone envisions a popular television show whose central character is an attractive, energetic, woman engineer with a dynamic, meaningful career and a full life. "I hope it will make for great buzz around the water cooler each week and influence young women to view engineering as a viable and attractive career option," wrote Crone.  [MORE]

UW-Madison engineers and physicists have developed a method of measuring how strain affects thin films of silicon that could lay the foundation for faster flexible electronics.

Silicon is the industry standard semiconductor for electronic devices and silicon thin films have the potential to produce faster, more flexible electronics. Researchers have long known that inducing strain into the silicon increases device speed, yet have not fully understood why.

Developed by a team of researchers led by Max Lagally, the Erwin W. Mueller and Bascom Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UW-Madison, the new method enables the researchers to directly measure the effects of strain on the electronic structure of silicon. The group published its findings in the Oct. 10 online edition of Physical Review Letters, and the paper will soon appear in the journal's print edition.
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Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Irena Knezevic has received a 2009 Air Force Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) award for her proposal, "Semiconductor nanowire and nanoribbon thermoelectrics: A comprehensive computational study". Knezevic will use this three-year, $395,190 award to study nanostructured thermoelectric (TE)elements that offer tremendous potential for refrigeration and
conversion of heat waste into electricity. Knezevic will perform a large-scale, comprehensive computational study of the TE properties on semiconductor nanowires and nanoribbons over a large parameter space of materials compositions, dimensions, surface roughness parameters, doping densities, and temperatures, with focus on SiGe and GaN-based structures. Knezevic is among 39 researchers chosen for their exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research while still in the first five years of their careers.