Tag Archives: Metamaterials

A week in Review: 6/24/12 to 6/30/12

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A quick recap of AFRL and AFOSR news mentions over the past week.

June 25, 2012
Squashed nanotubes may be ripe with new possibilities for scientists, according to a new study by Rice University.
Researchers at Rice’s Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology have come up with a set of facts and figures about carbon nanotubes that appear to collapse during the growth process; they found that these unique configurations have properties of both nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=25679.php

June 26, 2012

Better surfaces could help dissipate heat
Heat transfer in everything from computer chips to powerplants could be improved through new analysis of surface textures.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/better-heat-transfer-0626.html

June 27, 2012

WaveRider set for third hypersonic test-flight
Boeing expects to conduct the third flight of the X-51A WaveRider hypersonic technology demonstrator “imminently”, having spent the previous year investigating the source of an engine issue that caused the first two flights to be ended prematurely.
http://www.janes.com/products/janes/defence-security-report.aspx?ID=1065968970&channel=defence&subChannel=systems

June 28, 2012

First 3D nanoscale optical cavities from metamaterials hold promise for nanolasers, photonic communications
The world’s smallest three-dimensional optical cavities with the potential to generate the world’s most intense nanolaser beams have been created by a scientific team led by researchers with the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley.
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-3d-nanoscale-optical-cavities-metamaterials.html

Research lab helps solve C-5 cracking issues
Newly developed structural technologies developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory have solved critical cracking issues with the C-5 cargo aircraft, thereby expanding the aircraft’s serviceability.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123307617

A Week in Review: 05/13/12 to 5/19/12

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A quick recap of AFRL and AFOSR news mentions over the past week.

May 14, 2012

SmallSat Lab nurtures spaceport opportunities for NMSU students
New Mexico State University has received $99,999 from the Air Force Research Laboratory to re-establish the SmallSat Laboratory in the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_20615615/smallsat-lab-nurtures-spaceport-opportunities-nmsu-students

New type of retinal prosthesis could better restore sight to blind
Using tiny solar-panel-like cells surgically placed underneath the retina, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a system that may someday restore sight to people who have lost vision because of certain types of degenerative eye diseases.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sumc-nt050912.php

May 15, 2012

Air Force, EPA may collaborate
The Air Force Research Laboratory and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are in talks about a research collaboration that could improve water decontamination detection and cleanup procedures, with applications for military and homeland security programs.
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/air-force-epa-may-collaborate-1375082.html

Adapter Could Help Air Force Get More Out of Its Launches
The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter, also known as an ESPA ring, can give up to six 400-pound secondary satellites a ride into space, or be converted into one free-flying spacecraft….
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2012/June/Pages/AdapterCouldHelpAirForceGetMoreOutofItsLaunches.aspx

May 16, 2012

Researchers Turn Algae Into Fuel at Tyndall’s Air Force Research Laboratory
Algae, it grows fast and it grows just about anywhere. That’s just one of the reasons the Air Force is trying to figure out how to use it as a fuel source. Researchers at Tyndall Air Force Base began exploring the possibilities of algae-based biofuel three years ago, and it looks promising.
http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/Researchers_Turn_Algae_Into_Fuel_at_Tyndalls_Air_Force_Research_Laboratory_151517405.html?ref=405

May 17, 2012

New ‘metamaterial’ practical for optical advances
Researchers have taken a step toward overcoming a key obstacle in commercialising “hyperbolic metamaterials,” structures that could bring optical advances including ultrapowerful microscopes, computers and solar cells.
http://www.domain-b.com/technology/materials/20120515_metamaterial.html

May 18, 2012

US Department of Defense Awards $155 Million in Research Funding
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced May 16 that it will issue 23 awards to academic institutions across the country to perform multidisciplinary basic research. The program expects to award $155 million over the next five years.
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/35529/?SID=2261715f13e937c9a0fa11d81aca8762

Purdue researchers use AZO for optical metamaterials
Researchers at Purdue University have shown how to create metamaterials without the traditional silver or gold previously required for creating optical metamaterials.
http://eetimes.com/electronics-news/4373297/Purdue-researchers-use-AZO-for-optical-metamaterials-

A Week in Review: 3/11/12 to 3/17/12

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A quick recap of AFRL and AFOSR news mentions over the past week.

March 13, 2012

Metamaterials may advance with new femtosecond laser technique
Researchers in applied physics have cleared an important hurdle in the development of advanced materials, called metamaterials, that bend light in unusual ways. Working at a scale applicable to infrared light, the Harvard team has used extremely short and powerful laser pulses to create three-dimensional patterns of tiny silver dots within a material. Those suspended metal dots are essential for building futuristic devices like invisibility cloaks.
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2012/03/09/metamaterials.may.advance.with.new.femtosecond.laser.technique

Harvard Engineer Robert J. Wood to receive NSF’s Alan T. Waterman Award
The annual award, the NSF’s most prestigious honor, recognizes an outstanding researcher under the age of 35 in any field of science or engineering that the NSF supports. In addition to a medal, Wood and Aaronson will each receive a million-dollar grant over a 5-year period for further advanced study. [Editor’s Note: Dr. Wood has been supported by AFOSR since 2007 and is currently funded under Dr. Bonneau’s (AFOSR/RSL) Programmable Microrobot Swarms program].
http://www.physorg.com/wire-news/92682481/engineer-robert-j-wood-to-receive-nsfs-alan-t-waterman-award.html

March 14, 2012

Students Square off Using Brain Power to Compete at National Robotics
The annual National Robotics Challenge (NRC) helps students develop their skills in creativity, engineering, problem-solving and leadership….This year, the NRC partnered with the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a new contest called Rescue Robot. One team from the Rescue Robot event will be selected to work with the Air Force Research Laboratory and a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency response team to further develop their design into an autonomous/semi-autonomous rescue robot prototype.
http://www.ecampusnews.com/business-news/students-square-off-using-brain-power-to-compete-at-national-robotics-challenge-april-12-14-2012/

March 16, 2012

AFOSR Adds Features, Influences Future in Annual Review
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research wrapped up its annual review earlier this month, during which the organization’s program managers had a chance to showcase their work to authorities from defense, government, academia and the general public.
http://www.afcea.org/signal/articles/templates/Signal_Article_Template.asp?articleid=2915&zoneid=342

Killer silk: Making silk fibers that kill anthrax and other microbes in minutes
A simple, inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria — even the armor-coated spores of microbes like anthrax — in minutes, scientists are reporting in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/45250