Materials Science and Engineering

May 2, 2017

Flexible, organic, biodegradable: Developing a new wave of electronics

Materials

Crystals, which have fascinated humans for millennia, are common today in smartphones, laptops and televisions. | Illustration by Stefani Billings

Apr 10, 2017

Crystal paradox: Almost perfect structures made useful by tiny flaws

Materials Issue #20

The next generation of wearable electronics could be modeled off human skin. | Stocksy/BONNINSTUDIO

Mar 30, 2017

Reinhold Dauskardt: Human skin — the ultimate bio-interface

Materials, Technology & Society Issue #19

Neuron cell network | Stock/Polina Shuvaeva

Mar 1, 2017

A step toward building a more brain-like computer

Electronics & Networking Issue #22

What's happening inside the cell? | iStock/Man_at_Mouse

Feb 24, 2017

A new technique could help uncover mysteries about how cells function

Health

Behind-the-scenes human rights advocates | iStock/Possawat

Feb 24, 2017

An advocacy group uses analytics to uncover human rights violations

Technology & Society Issue #18

“We have a lot of work to do still but these are big steps toward practicality." | Image credit: Stephen Crowley

Feb 17, 2017

How to extract uranium from seawater for nuclear power

Energy, Environment Issue #18

In the Dionne lab at Stanford, a laser causes nanoparticles suspended in cyclohexane to emit light. | Image by Alice Lay

Feb 1, 2017

How a study of worms could aid our understanding of human health

Health Issue #17

Graduate student Fariah Hayee (left), Professor Jen Dionne and senior research scientist Ai Leen Koh. | Photo by L.A. Cicero

Jan 27, 2017

A team of researchers record reactions at near-atomic-scale resolution

Energy, Materials Issue #16

Hydrogels are a versatile class of materials with many uses, including wine-making. | iStock/Rapid Eye

Nov 30, 2016

How nontoxic hydrogels could aid in food production and fire fighting

Materials, Security

A DUI checkpoint | REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Sep 8, 2016

A new "potalyzer" could determine if a driver is impaired by marijuana

Technology & Society Issue #9

A new plastic could help keep people cool in hot climates. | Photo by Linda Cicero

Sep 2, 2016

Engineers develop a new plastic material that can help beat the heat

Materials Issue #10

A researcher holds a small, nanostructured device that uses sunlight to disinfect water. | Photo by Jin Xie/Stanford University

Aug 17, 2016

Engineers invent a device that purifies water quickly using sun power

Environment, Health Issue #9

It may be possible to create a memory technology that can store data a thousand times faster than today’s chips. | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

Aug 9, 2016

Can we design memory chips 1,000 times faster than those we use today?

Electronics & Networking, Materials

Artistic rendition of lithium-ion battery particles under the illumination of a finely focused beam of X-rays. | Courtesy of Chueh Lab

Aug 9, 2016

Precise imaging helps to reveal the secrets of rechargeable batteries

Materials

What can we learn from the way squid use light to blend in with their surroundings? | iStock/Cor Bosman

Jul 5, 2016

Squid camouflage themselves through natural processes that manipulate light

Electronics & Networking, Materials Issue #4

All electronic devices are in a constant state of flux. Understanding it can lead to better products. | iStock/KevMaw

Jun 27, 2016

How do we build more durable electronic devices?

Electronics & Networking, Materials Issue #6

At a hybrid power plant | REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Jun 22, 2016

How can we address some of the world's biggest energy challenges?

Energy Issue #5

Potential for a new way to store data | iStock/ilbusca & iStock Matej Moderc

May 4, 2016

Imagine a “cool” data-storage technology that’s just a few atoms thick

Electronics & Networking, Materials

Yi Cui | Photo by Matt Beardsley/SLAC

Apr 28, 2016

Yi Cui: Nano materials can help improve everything from batteries to face masks

Energy, Materials

Stanford engineers studying the structures of phase-changing nanoparticles have found that shape matters. Materials composed of cubes and pyramids, for instance, may yield more efficien

Apr 26, 2016

How the shape and structure of nanoparticles affects energy storage

Energy Issue #8

A time-lapse image shows the trajectories of tumor cells (green) after being stained with fluorescent dyes and labeled with magnetic nanoparticles. | Image courtesy of R. J. Wilson, C.

Apr 12, 2016

Shan Wang: How magnetic nanoparticles can be used as medical sensors

Electronics & Networking, Health

Too small to see with the naked eye, diamondoids are visible only when they clump together in fine, sugar-like crystals like these. | Photo by Christopher Smith, SLAC National Accelera

Apr 11, 2016

How could we use the tiniest specs of diamonds?

Materials

Visualizing the properties of nanoscale materials at ultrafast time scales | Photo courtesy of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Mar 31, 2016

What will the batteries and electronics of the future look like?

Energy