Dr Jakub Sitek | Growing Stacks of 2D Materials for Electronic Applications

Dr Jakub Sitek | Growing Stacks of 2D Materials for Electronic Applications

By stacking layers of atom-thick materials on top of each other, researchers are opening up a whole host of exciting new possibilities for technology and scientific research. Particularly interesting properties in these 2D materials could be achieved by stacking three or more of these layers – but so far, the large-scale production of these structures has proven difficult. Using carefully applied techniques, Dr Jakub Sitek and his team at Warsaw University of Technology have made important steps towards overcoming this challenge.

Professor Henning Schmidt | DESIREE: Recreating Interactions Between Ions

Professor Henning Schmidt | DESIREE: Recreating Interactions Between Ions

Interactions between positive and negative ions are important processes in nature. However, there is a lack of experimental facilities designed to study them in detail. This picture could now be changing thanks to DESIREE: a facility where different ion beams can be stored and cooled for extensive periods within separate rings, before colliding with each other. Run by an extensive team of physicists at Stockholm University, the instrument is shedding new light on how ions interact in a wide range of environments – from dynamic stellar atmospheres, to interstellar space.

Dr Sara Stančin | Dr Sašo Tomažič – Improving 3D Orientation Tracking in Gyroscope Sensors

Dr Sara Stančin | Dr Sašo Tomažič – Improving 3D Orientation Tracking in Gyroscope Sensors

Gyroscopes are widely used to measure the orientations and rotation speeds of moving objects – but according to one pair of researchers, the techniques we currently use to measure them are introducing significant and easily avoidable errors. Through their research, Dr Sara Stančin | Dr Sašo Tomažič, both at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, introduce a mathematical framework which accounts for how all three rotations measured by a gyroscope happen simultaneously, rather than in a sequence.

Professor Andrew R. Barron | Repurposing Plastic COVID Facemasks to Improve the Steel-Making Process

Professor Andrew R. Barron | Repurposing Plastic COVID Facemasks to Improve the Steel-Making Process

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, billions of plastic facemasks have been used and disposed of, with the majority destined for landfill. Professor Andrew R. Barron and his team at the Energy Safety Research Institute in Swansea, Wales, have developed an innovative method for repurposing these used facemasks. By transforming them into a powdered material that acts as a reducing agent, Professor Barron’s team aim to make the steel-making process more energy-efficient and sustainable.

Dr Peter Melchior | SCARLET: Exploring the Universe in Unprecedented Detail

Dr Peter Melchior | SCARLET: Exploring the Universe in Unprecedented Detail

Wide-area scans of the sky are an important tool for astronomers as they seek to learn more about the universe. However, as the latest observation techniques have become increasingly sensitive, faint objects within these surveys can appear to blend together. Through his research, Dr Peter Melchior at Princeton University presents a computer-based framework for disentangling these blended sources, and for artificially reconstructing the components they contain. Named SCARLET, the technique could soon help astronomers to study the depths of the observable universe in unprecedented levels of detail.

Dr Surjani Wonorahardjo – Dr Suharti Suharti – Dr I Wayan Dasna | Exploring the Ethics and Environmental Impact of Chemistry

Dr Surjani Wonorahardjo – Dr Suharti Suharti – Dr I Wayan Dasna | Exploring the Ethics and Environmental Impact of Chemistry

From its early days, the field of chemistry has been exploring nature at the molecular level. As such, chemistry is also used to explore natural resources and possible ways of exploiting them. As Earth’s environment is now rapidly deteriorating, chemists need to adapt their practices with the aim of contributing to its protection. Dr Surjani Wonorahardjo, Dr Suharti Suharti and Dr I Wayan Dasna, three researchers in Indonesia, have recently conducted a study exploring the ethical and environmental issues associated with current chemistry practices, in the hope to inspire reflection and positive change in the field.