New material promises better solar cells

(PhysOrg) Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology show that a recently discovered class of materials can be used to create a new kind of solar cell...The team from TU Vienna was assisted by Satoshi Okamoto (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, USA) and Professor Giorgio Sangiovanni, a former employee of TU Vienna, who is now working at Würzburg University, Germany...2/12

UT bringing significant funds into Tennessee with NSF grants

(Knoxville News Sentinel) The University of Tennessee takes its STEM (science, technology, energy and math) responsibilities seriously...Since the start of the grant, at $65 million in 2007, UT has worked with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to add "significant computing capability" for researchers nationwide...These resources, combined with ORNL, have put Tennessee in the forefront as a site for supercomputing activities...2/12

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State & Regional

Georgia asks for new border, water from Tennessee River

(AP) Georgia lawmakers are once again asking to redraw its northern border in the hope of getting water from the Tennessee River. The House of Representatives voted 171-2 on Tuesday to adopt a resolution seeking a thin strip of land leading to the river...2/12

Sierra Club urges TVA to close coal plants

(Knoxville News Sentinel) The Sierra Club officials said Tuesday TVA could keep rates lower by retiring coal plants and making more use of energy efficiency for meeting power needs, than spending money installing scrubbers on the plants...2/13

Geology Professor to Discuss Her Work with Curiosity Rover at Science Forum

(Tennessee Today) Linda Kah, an associate professor in earth and planetary sciences, has been working with NASA on the Curiosity rover mission to Mars for eight years. She will be discussing the mission at the Science Forum on Friday...2/112

National

Obama Urges Action on Expansive Agenda

(Wall Street Journal) President Barack Obama outlined an ambitious agenda in his State of the Union address Tuesday that included raising the minimum wage, increasing spending on infrastructure, attacking climate change and passing gun-control legislation...2/12

DOE

U.S. Energy Dept. wants more cybersecurity

(UPI) The U.S. Department of Energy said as much as $20 million is available in funding for cybersecurity research for the nation's energy infrastructure...2/12

Sandia National Laboratories Researcher Looks for Bad Guys in Cyberspace

(Newswise) The weakest link in many computer networks is a gullible human. With that in mind, Sandia National Laboratories computer science researcher Jeremy Wendt wants to figure out how to recognize potential targets of nefarious emails and put them on their guard...2/12

energy & science policy

Update Report on Benchmarks of US Innovation and the Knowledge Economy

(AIP) The America Exceptionalism, American Decline? report, published by the Task Force on American Innovation, provides an update of two previous Task Force reports that focused on key benchmarks and economic competitiveness...2/12

science & technology

When Will the Internet Reach Its Limit (and How Do We Stop That from Happening)?

(Scientific American) The number of smartphones, tablets and other network-connected gadgets will outnumber humans by the end of the year...2/12

Spotting the Invisible Cracks in Wind Turbines

(Science Daily) A new approach is available for real-time monitoring of the structural health of wind turbine components during exposure to turbulence...2/12

Pentagon Inks Deal for Smartphone Tool That Scans Your Face, Eyes, Thumbs

(Wired) In a few years, the soldier, marine or special operator out on patrol might be able to record the facial features or iris signature of a suspicious person all from his or her smartphone — and at a distance, too...2/13

Researchers developed cheap, strong lithium-ion battery

(PhysOrg) Researchers at USC have developed a new lithium-ion battery design that uses porous silicon nanoparticles in place of the traditional graphite anodes to provide superior performance...2/12

Sunlight Stimulates Release of Climate-Warming Gas from Melting Arctic Permafrost

(Science Daily) Ancient carbon trapped in Arctic permafrost is extremely sensitive to sunlight and, if exposed to the surface when long-frozen soils melt and collapse, can release climate-warming carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere much faster than previously thought...2/11