Materials science

Small-scale understanding, large-scale enhancementBetter fuel cells and reactors, built from the atomic level

Fibers that can hear and singMIT researchers pass a milestone on the path to sophisticated fibers that interact with their surroundings in new ways.

Explained: PhononsWhen trying to control the way heat moves through solids, it is often useful to think of it as a flow of particles.

Professor Ronald Ballinger appointed to MWRA Independent Review PanelWill investigate what caused breach in major eastern Massachusetts water line in early May

Christine Ortiz is appointed dean for graduate educationThe DMSE professor says she is honored to be chosen to work with and on behalf of MIT’s graduate students.

Thin films show surprising reactivityMIT findings of high oxygen activity in thin-film materials might someday lead to greatly increased power production from future fuel cells

Enhancing the power of batteriesMIT team finds that using carbon nanotubes in a lithium battery can dramatically improve its energy capacity.

Researchers seek to put the squeeze on cancerCell contractions may be key to initiating new blood-vessel growth near tumors.

A good many years before GoodyearMesoamerican people perfected details of rubber processing more than 3,000 years ago, new MIT study suggests.

Where the rubber meets the road"Why Chemomechanical Design of Materials is Critical to Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure" with Krystyn Van Vliet

Explained: ThermoelectricityTurning temperature differences directly into electricity could be an efficient way of harnessing heat that is wasted in cars and power plants.

Liquid-solid interactions, as never before seenNew technique improves researchers’ ability to measure a key property of material surfaces.

Viruses harnessed to split waterMIT team’s biologically based system taps the power of sunlight directly, with the aim of turning water into hydrogen fuel.

Slideshow: Solar power, shaped up3-D shapes covered in solar cells could produce more power than flat panels, MIT researchers find.

A step toward lighter batteriesResearch shows metal catalysts play important role in improving the efficiency of lithium-oxygen batteries

A manufacturing renaissance for America?At an MIT forum, experts examine new ways to pursue a good old idea: making things.

Taming the wild phonon‘Particles’ of heat are everywhere, and usually a nuisance, but newly designed materials could help put them to good use.

Self-assembling computer chipsMolecules that arrange themselves into predictable patterns on silicon chips could lead to microprocessors with much smaller circuit elements.

Unraveling silks’ secretsA new analysis of the structure of silks explains the paradox at the heart of their super-strength, and may lead to even stronger synthetic materials.

Transforming the Infinite CorridorThe Laboratory for Advanced Materials puts materials science and engineering research on display.

Insulators made into conductorsMIT team coaxes polymers to line up, transforming them into materials that could dissipate heat.

Big power from tiny wiresNew discovery shows carbon nanotubes can produce powerful waves that could be harnessed for new energy systems.

A new way to build membranes for fuel cellsLayer-by-layer assembly system could lead to improved fuel cells, batteries and solar panels

First germanium laserNew results from MIT’s Electronic Materials Research Group bring us closer to computers that use light instead of electricity to move data.

CRTs going down the tubes? HardlySurprisingly, old-style television sets and computer screens are still in demand — to make new TV sets

Iron-plated snail could inspire new armorAnalysis of unique deep-sea mollusk offers insights into design of armor for soldiers and vehicles.

‘Micro-ants’: Tiny conveyor belts for the 21st centuryA new method of moving tiny particles using magnetic polymer beads and magnetic fields could find uses in microchips and in medicine

The 'sci' behind the 'fi'A public television program explores the ways real science is starting to catch up with the futuristic visions in Star Trek.