Georgia Tech Physics and Physical Sciences News

Invitation for Program on Strategic Stability Evaluation (POSSE)

Jene Gladstone — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Professor Adam N. Stulberg of the Center for International Strategy, Technology & Policy at Georgia Tech and Professor William C. Potter of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies invite applications to participate in the newly formed Program on Strategic Stability Evaluation (POSSE). This joint initiative, generously supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), seeks to promote international scholarship on issues of strategic stability under deeply reduced or eliminated nuclear arsenals. The objectives of the program are to: a) forge a global network of young scholars on strategic stability; b) increase interaction both between members of the network and between the network and policy practitioners; c) fill knowledge and methodological gaps concerning analysis of strategic stability; and d) identify the means to advance and sustain nuclear arms reductions and disarmament under changing strategic landscapes.

New Protocols Will Test Effects of RFID Systems on Medical Devices

Abby Vogel — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) recently began developing testing protocols for RFID technology in the health care setting. The researchers will test whether radio frequency-emitting devices cause any negative effects on the medical devices.

Friction Differences Offer New Means for Manipulating Nanotubes

John Toon — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Publishing in the journal Nature Materials, researchers report measuring different friction forces when a carbon nanotube slides along its axis compared to when it slides perpendicular to its axis. The observation could provide a new tool for assembling and sorting nanotubes.

Graphene Shows High Current Capacity & Thermal Conductivity

John Toon — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Recent research into the properties of graphene nanoribbons provides two new reasons for using the material as interconnects in future computer chips.

Study Reveals Sandfish Tucks Legs to Slither Like Snake Through Sand

Abby Vogel — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In the first thorough examination of subsurface sandfish locomotion, researchers found that the small lizards place their limbs against their sides and create a wave motion like snakes to propel themselves through granular media.

Predrag Cvitanović Tapped for Humboldt Award

David Terraso — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Physics Professor and Glen P. Robinson Chair Predrag Cvitanović is the recipient of a 2009 Alexander von Humboldt Award for his body of work in chaos and turbulence theory.

Nanogenerators Produce Electricity from Running Rodents

John Toon — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Could hamsters help solve the world

Researchers Learn Why Robots Get Stuck in the Sand

John Toon — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

A new study takes what may be the first detailed look at the problem of robot locomotion on granular surfaces. Among the study

Researchers See Complex Atomic Choreography as Crystals Melt

John Toon — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Conga lines of atoms wend their way through a crystal, their numbers growing as more and more atoms join the migration. The worm-like lines of atoms randomly converge, forming tangles that evolve into droplets of liquid that signal the beginning of the complicated process known as melting.

Uzi Landman Honored with Humboldt Award

David Terraso — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Uzi Landman, professor of physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is the recipient of a Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists. He will accept the award in June 2009 at the annual meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, to be held in Berlin.

Physicists Set New Record for Quantum Memory Storage and Retrieval

John Toon — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Physicists have taken a significant step toward creation of quantum networks by establishing a new record for the length of time that quantum information can be stored in and retrieved from an ensemble of very cold atoms.

Severe Storms Research Center Boosts Defenses Against Twisters

John Toon — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Severe Storms Research Center explores and develops new technologies for improving the accuracy and timeliness of tornado warnings. Part of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the Center is studying the complex role that lightning and acoustics play in severe storms.

Study Reveals Principles Behind Gold Nanocluster Stability

Abby Vogel — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A report published in the July 8 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is the first to describe the principles behind the stability and electronic properties of tiny nanoclusters of metallic gold.

New Technique Measures Ultrashort Laser Pulses at Focus

Abby Vogel — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Researchers have developed a system that measures aberrations caused by ultrashort laser pulses passing through lenses or other instrumentation. Knowing how the light is distorted allows researchers to correct for the aberrations.

AFM Shows Liquids Adjust Viscosity When Confined, Shaken

Abby Vogel — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A new study

OLED Sealing Process Reduces Water Intrusion and Increases Lifetime

Abby Vogel — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Researchers have developed an improved organic light emitting diode (OLED) sealing process to reduce moisture intrusion and improve device lifetime. They are using advanced ion assisted deposition to deposit a high-density, pinhole-free thin silicon oxynitride film on the OLED surface. The process can be completed at room temperature, which keeps the organic material intact.

Physicists Discover Gold Can Be Magnetic on the Nanoscale

David Terraso — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

Physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made two important findings regarding gold on the nanoscale.

Tech Creates New Ph.D. In Computational Science And Engineering

David Terraso — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

The Colleges of Computing, Engineering, and Sciences at Georgia Tech today announced the creation of a new doctoral degree in Computational Science and Engineering.

Fiber-based Nanotechnology Could Power Electronic Devices

John Toon — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

Nanotechnology researchers are developing the perfect complement to the power tie: a

AAAS Names Four to Fellows List

David Terraso — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Four Georgia Tech faculty members were named American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows for 2007. Honored for their outstanding social or scientific efforts were Judith Curry, Randall Engle, Cheryl Leggon and Rick Trebino.

David Terraso — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Taming Tiny, Unruly Waves for Nano Optics

Megan McRainey — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Georgia Tech researchers have discovered a method of predicting the behavior of light on the nanoscale during radiation heat transfer, opening the door to the design of a spectrum of new nanodevices and nanotechnologies, including solar thermal energy technologies.

A Better Definition for the Kilogram?

John Toon — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Two Georgia Tech emeritus professors

Drawing Nanoscale Features the Fast and Easy Way

David Terraso — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Scientists at Georgia Tech have developed a new technique for nanolithography that is extremely fast and can be used in liquids and outside of a vacuum. The technique could help make the manufacturing of nanocircuits commercially viable.

Scientists Discover New Way to Study Nanostructures

David Terraso — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Physicists at Georgia Tech have discovered a phenomenon which allows measurement of the mechanical motion of nanostructures by using the AC Josephson effect. The findings may be used to identify and characterize structural and mechanical properties of nanoparticles, including materials of biological interest.

Scientists Report Java Tsunami Gave No Warning

John Toon — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Though categorized as magnitude 7.8, the earthquake could scarcely be felt by beachgoers that afternoon. A low tide and wind-driven waves disguised the signs of receding water, so when the tsunami struck, it caught even lifeguards by surprise -- contributing to the death toll.

Water Flows Like Molasses on the Nanoscale

David Terraso — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

A Georgia Tech research team has discovered that water exhibits very different properties when it is confined to channels less than two nanometers wide

Seats Helped Ancient Greeks Hear From Back Row

Megan McRainey — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT

The theater at Epidaurus has been known for centuries as an acoustic marvel that allowed spectators to hear in the back row

Fluid Dynamics Works on Nanoscale in Real World

David Terraso — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

In 2000, Georgia Tech researchers showed that fluid dynamics theory could be modified to work on the nanoscale, albeit in a vacuum. Now, seven years later they've shown that it can be modified to work in the real world, too

Scientists Find Why Conductance of Nanowires Vary

David Terraso — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

A Georgia Tech physics group has discovered how and why the electrical conductance of metal nanowires changes as their length varies. Determining the structural properties of nanowires is a big challenge facing the future of nanotechnology.

Georgia Tech Physicist Pens Nanocatalysis Book

David Terraso — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

Georgia Tech physicist Uzi Landman, along with a colleague from Technical University of Munich, has written the first book in the field of nanocatalysis.

Physicists Discover Structures of Gold Nanoclusters

David Terraso — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST

Using different experimental techniques, two separate and independent research groups have verified the predictions of a Georgia Tech physics group regarding structure of gold nanoclusters from 11 to 24 atoms in size.

Analyses of Rare Tsunami Earthquake Yield Insight

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST

Analyses of a classic, slow-rupturing tsunami earthquake whose massive waves devastated the coast of Java, Indonesia, this past summer are providing insight to seismologists and engineers.

Ga. Tech Announces Two Honorary Degree Recipients

Elizabeth Campell — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EDT

The Georgia Institute of Technology announced today that Dr. Catherine Br

Scientists Uncover Critical Step in DNA Mutation

David Terraso — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Scientists at Georgia Tech have made an important step toward solving a critical puzzle relating to a chemical reaction that leads to DNA mutation. The research uncovers knowledge that could be critical to the development of strategies for cancer prevention and treatment.

Researchers Find Controls to Gold Nanocatalysis

David Terraso — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made a discovery that could allow scientists to exercise more control over the catalytic activity of gold nanoclusters, an important development in the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology.