Nanoscience and nanotechnology

Tiny tools help advance medical discoveriesMIT researchers are designing tools to analyze cells at the microscale.

Researchers demonstrate record-setting p-type transistorNew design for a basic component of all computer chips boasts the highest ‘carrier mobility’ yet measured.

Recent Course X grad named one of Forbes magazine's '30 Under 30'Pedro Valencia PhD '12 honored for drug research.

Flexible, light solar cells could provide new opportunitiesMIT researchers develop a new approach using graphene sheets coated with nanowires.

New experiments, new insights into stress corrosion crackingMIT researchers now have new insights into how 'stress corrosion cracking' may be affected by nanoscale disruptions in the crystalline structure of metallic materials.

New technology may enable earlier cancer diagnosisNanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in the urine.

Tiny compound semiconductor transistor could challenge silicon’s dominanceMIT researchers develop the smallest indium gallium arsenide transistor ever built.

How ‘transparent’ is graphene?MIT researchers find that adding a coating of graphene has little effect on how a surface interacts with liquids — except in extreme cases.

Buongiorno and McKrell awarded more than $400,000 by CEA, FranceThe researchers will investigate transient boiling heat transfer phenomena under rapidly escalating heat fluxes.

Making ‘nanospinning’ practicalNanofibers have a dizzying range of possible applications, but they’ve been prohibitively expensive to make. MIT researchers hope to change that.

Chiang honored for achievements in energy and environmentWins Innovation Award from The Economist

New injectable gels toughen up after entering the bodyThese more durable gels could find applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Stronger than a speeding bulletNew tests of nanostructured material could lead to better armor against everything from gunfire to micrometeorites.

Department snapshot: Civil and Environmental EngineeringFrom bacteria to bridges, CEE researchers tackle natural and built environments.

A better way to shed waterMIT researchers find that lubricated, nanotextured surfaces improved performance of condensers in power and desalination plants.

‘Invisibility’ could be a key to better electronicsMIT team applies technology developed for visual ‘cloaking’ to enable more efficient transfer of electrons.

A new way to create rare sugarsMIT team discovers an inorganic catalyst that could pave the way to a more robust synthesis of valuable rare sugars.

A novel ultracapacitorEnergy when and where you need it.

Drawing a line, with carbon nanotubesNew low-cost, durable carbon nanotube sensors can be etched with mechanical pencils.

New technique reveals lithium in actionFundamental reactions behind advanced battery technology, revealed in detail by advanced imaging method, could lead to improved materials.

Oscillating microscopic beads could be key to biolab on a chipMIT team finds way to manipulate and measure magnetic particles without contact, potentially enabling multiple medical tests on a tiny device.

Merging tissue and electronicsNew tissue scaffold could be used for drug development and implantable therapeutic devices.

Engineers achieve longstanding goal of stable nanocrystalline metalsMethod developed by MIT researchers could produce materials with exceptional strength and other properties.

Patterning defect-free nanocrystal films with nanometer resolutionNew process developed at MIT could enable better LED displays, solar cells and biosensors — and foster basic physics research.

New nanoparticles shrink tumors in miceParticles that shut off cancer genes could also allow researchers to screen potential drug targets more rapidly.

Plants exhibit a wide range of mechanical properties, engineers findBiological structures may help engineers design new materials.

Dripping faucets inspire new way of creating structured particlesResearchers find new method for making spherical particles, from nanoscale to pinhead-sized — including complex beach-ball-like shapes.

Researchers explain how dye-based nanotubes can help harvest light’s energyTiny cylinders help reveal how natural-light-harvesting antennae collect light with exceptional efficiency.