Beckman Institute News

Invisible electronics made with carbon nanotubes

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:03:42 GMT

Nanowerk News -- Researchers at Illinois led by John Rogers, a Beckman researcher and U. of I. professor of materials science and engineering, have turned to single-walled carbon nanotubes in their search for materials that can offer higher mobility and better performance in flexible circuitry.

Pop Paper in Physical Review Letters

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:24:07 GMT

Beckman Institute faculty member Eric Pop has a paper in the current online edition of Physical Review Letters (Vol. 101, No. 25) titled Avalanche-Induced Current Enhancement in Semiconducting Carbon Nanotubes. Pop, a member of the Computational Electronics group, and collaborators Albert Liao and Yang Zhao report on results that demonstrate the importance of multiband transport in one-dimensional wires.

Beckman to Observe Reduced Hours during Holiday Break

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The Beckman Institute will observe reduced hours during the holiday break at the University of Illinois. The Institute will be closed at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 23, and will reopen at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 5. In addition, the Beckman Café will be closed from Dec. 22 and will reopen Jan. 5.

Rogers, Braatz Named AAAS Fellows

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:02:01 GMT

U of I News Bureau -- Beckman Institute faculty members John Rogers and Richard Braatz have been named as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Scientists Fool Bacteria into Killing Themselves to Survive

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:42:46 GMT

U of I News Bureau -- Like a firefighter fighting fire with fire, researchers at the U. of I. and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have found a way to fool a bacteria’s evolutionary machinery into programming its own death. “The basic idea is for an antimicrobial to target something in a bacteria that, in order to gain immunity, would require the bacteria to kill itself through a suicide mutation,” said Gerard Wong, a Beckman affiliate and professor of materials science and engineering, of physics, and of bioengineering at the U. of I.

Paper-Thin Speakers Made From Carbon Nanotubes

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:53:51 GMT

IEEE Spectrum -- Earlier this year, scientists at Illinois demonstrated the first radio receiver made from carbon nanotubes. Now Chinese researchers have built the speakers to go with it – out of the same material. “I think it’s very cool,” says John Rogers, a Beckman researcher and professor of materials science and engineering at the U. of I. who led the development of the nanotube radio.

Beckman Researchers Report Cognitive Skill Transfer Effects

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:48:20 GMT

A new study by the Beckman Institute’s Art Kramer and Beckman Fellow Chandramallika Basak reports that, for the first time, a training program produced cognitive skill effects that could be transferred to skills not related to the experiment. Using an interactive video game, the researchers found that multi-dimensional training can affect several individual components of cognitive function.

Synergy Winter 2009

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:02:08 GMT

Beckman Institute cognitive aging researchers are not only leaders in their field, but are also working to promote interventions that prevent cognitive decline. That topic, as well as looks at Beckman’s Fulbright scholars, an academic team that finished high at a big international competition, an alumnus who made a name for himself at Google, and a faculty member who does unique research into the science of exercise, are all part of the Winter 2009 issue of Synergy.

Faculty Profile: Marni Boppart

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:00:00 GMT

After serving her country in the Air Force, Marni Boppart went on to earn a Ph.D. and eventually a faculty position at Illinois and the Beckman Institute. She is now pursuing research that is providing insights into the science of exercise.

The Right Search Engine

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:45:00 GMT

Ashutosh Garg came to Illinois to study with Beckman’s Image Processing group and left with a Ph.D. and a ticket to success. After working as a top research scientist for Google, Garg is now running his own company.