This months stories

Supercomputer-assisted Calibration Methodology Enhances Accuracy of Energy Models

Most people appreciate a bargain, an advantageous purchase that affords the customer value (such as convenience and comfort) at minimal cost. Improved energy efficiency equates to a bargain that can deeply impact a household or business budget, as well as a nation’s economy and security. Awareness of the significance of sustainable energy practices that preserve finite resources for future generations is growing as the entire world faces the formidable challenge of developing and implementing strategies that will stem the increases in power consumption that are expected to occur during the next two decades. Buildings and the Growing Demand for Energy The world energy demand is rebounding after recovery from the global economic recession of 2008–2009 and will continue to grow,…

Long Predicted Atomic Collapse State Observed in Graphene

Berkeley Lab researchers recreate elusive phenomenon with artificial nuclei The first experimental observation of a quantum mechanical phenomenon that was predicted nearly 70 years ago holds important implications for the future of graphene-based electronic devices. Working with microscopic artificial atomic nuclei fabricated on graphene, a collaboration of researchers led by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have imaged the "atomic collapse" states theorized to occur around super-large atomic nuclei. "Atomic collapse is one of the holy grails of graphene research, as well as a holy grail of atomic and nuclear physics," says Michael Crommie, a physicist who holds joint appointments with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division…

How to predict the progress of technology

Researchers at MIT and the Santa Fe Institute have found that some widely used formulas for predicting how rapidly technology will advance — notably, Moore's Law and Wright's Law — offer superior approximations of the pace of technological progress. The new research is the first to directly compare the different approaches in a quantitative way, using an extensive database of past performance from many different industries. Some of the results were surprising, says Jessika Trancik, an assistant professor of engineering systems at MIT. The findings could help industries to assess where to focus their research efforts, investors to pick high-growth sectors, and regulators to more accurately predict the economic impacts of policy changes. The report is published in the online…

SuperComputer Model May Help Athletes, Soldiers Avoid Brain Damage, Concussions

Concussions can occur in sports and in combat, but health experts do not know precisely which jolts, collisions and awkward head movements during these activities pose the greatest risks to the brain. To find out, Johns Hopkins engineers have developed a powerful new supercomputer-based process that helps identify the dangerous conditions that lead to concussion-related brain injuries. This approach could lead to new medical treatment options and some sports rule changes to reduce brain trauma among players. The research comes at a time when greater attention is being paid to assessing and preventing the head injuries sustained by both soldiers and athletes. Some kinds of head injuries are difficult to see with standard diagnostic imaging but can have serious long-term…

Mathematician Arthur Szlam named Sloan Research Fellow

Dr. Arthur Szlam, assistant professor of mathematics at The City College of New York, has been awarded the Sloan Research Fellowship for 2013. Professor Szlam develops mathematics for cutting-edge applications in machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence research focused on improving the abilities of computers to learn in a more human way. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowships identify early-career scientists and scholars judged to be rising stars, whose achievements and independent scholarship demonstrate their potential to become leaders in their field. "The Sloan Research Fellows are the best of the best among young scientists," said Dr. Paul Joskow, president of the Sloan Foundation. "If you want to know where the next big scientific breakthrough will come from, look…

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