Physical Sciences
Nine university scientists and engineers named AAAS fellows
Nine University of Michigan faculty members are among 503 newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), who are honored for their distinguished efforts in advancing science, AAAS announced today. U-M faculty honored are: Kon-Well Wang, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Stephen P. Timoshenko Collegiate Professor; Joel Blum, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Geological Sciences and a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Lee Hartmann, a professor in the Department of Astronomy; Lori Isom, a professor in the departments of Pharmacology, and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, as well as director of the Program in Biomedical Sciences at the U-M Medical School; Farnam Jahanian, chair of computer science and engineering and the Edward S. Davidson Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Anna Mapp, a professor in the Department of Chemistry; Adam Matzger, a professor in the Department of Chemistry as well as a professor of macromolecular science and engineering in the College of Engineering; and John Montgomery, a professor in the Department of Chemistry; Melanie Sanford, professor in the Department of Chemistry. [Read more...]
Generating matter and antimatter from the vacuum
Under just the right conditions—which involve an ultra-high-intensity laser beam and a two-mile-long particle accelerator—it could be possible to create something out of nothing, according to University of Michigan researchers. "We can now calculate how, from a single electron, several hundred particles can be produced. We believe this happens in nature near pulsars and neutron stars," says Igor Sokolov, an engineering research scientist who conducted this research along with associate research scientist John Nees, emeritus electrical engineering professor Gerard Mourou and their colleagues in France. [Read more...]
Nuclear materials detector shows exact location of radiation sources
A table-top gamma-ray detector created at the University of Michigan can not only identify the presence of dangerous nuclear materials, but can pinpoint and show their exact location and type, unlike conventional detectors. "Other gamma ray detectors can tell you perhaps that nuclear materials are near a building, but with our detector, you can know the materials are in room A, or room B, for example," said Zhong He, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences. [Read more...]
Physics experiment supports existence of new particle
The results of a high-profile Fermilab physics experiment involving a University of Michigan professor appear to confirm strange 20-year-old findings that poke holes in the standard model, suggesting the existence of a new elementary particle: a fourth flavor of neutrino. The new results go further to describe a violation of a fundamental symmetry of the universe asserting that particles of antimatter behave in the same way as their matter counterparts. "These results imply that there are either new particles or forces we had not previously imagined," says Byron Roe, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics. [Read more...]
New $46-million labs to enable research at frontiers of mechanical engineering and nanotechnology
A next-generation nano-mechanical engineering lab complex at the University of Michigan will enable researchers to study the forces at work at the smallest scales and to advance nano-technologies in energy, manufacturing, healthcare and biotechnology. The three-story complex will include 60 lab modules and space for 18 professors in a 62,880 square-foot addition to the G.G. Brown Laboratories on Hayward Street on North Campus. "Michigan Engineering has always been strong in traditional large-scale mechanical engineering areas including automotive research. This new facility will propel us to the next level. It will allow researchers to pursue exciting projects at the frontiers of mechanical science and engineering, where the discipline intersects with nanoscience and biology," said David Munson, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering. [Read more...]
CI Days in November
Cyberinfrastructure Days (CI Days) is a free, community-building conference held on Tuesday, November 2 and Wednesday, November 3, 2010 and organized by the Office of Research Cyberinfrastructure (ORCI) and Information and Technology Services (ITS). The conference is an opportunity for faculty, students, and staff from across campus to share information and ideas about advanced, integrated computation and information resources and their use in research and learning; learn from nationally renowned leaders; attend tutorials, presentations, and panels; and present your research and learn about others' research at a poster session. [Read more...]
Pressure-cooking algae into a better biofuel
University of Michigan professors are working to understand and improve the process for converting algae into biofuel in an effort to speed up development of affordable biofuels that could replace fossil fuels and power today's engines. They are also examining the possibility of other new fuel sources such as E. coli bacteria that would feed on waste products from previous bio-oil batches. "The vision is that nothing would leave the refinery except oil. Everything would get reused. That's one of the things that makes this project novel. It's an integrated process. We're combining hydrothermal, catalytic and biological approaches," said Phillip Savage, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the U-M Department of Chemical Engineering. [Read more...]