Materials Science and Engineering News

CleanTechnica, a clean technology news website, published an article about the research of Associate Professor Yun Hang Hu on using graphene, a two-dimensional honeycomb of carbon atoms, to improve the efficiency of solar panels.

“The excellent electrical conductivity of graphene sheets allows them to act as bridges, accelerating electron transfer from the titanium dioxide to the photoelectrode,” said Hu.

See “Next-Gen Solar Cells Receive Efficiency Boost from Graphene.”

Michigan Tech scientists find a clean source of energy

“Carbon dioxide is very stable so normally it’s very typical to convert carbon dioxide to another useful compound. We found a way to convert carbon dioxide into carbon nitride with energy release,” said Yun Hang Hu, Michigan Tech professor.

“The single biggest contribution to carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is power plants. We get electricity from a power plant by burning coal,” Hang Hu said.

Read more at Upper Michigans Source, by Gabrielle Mays.

Assistant Professor Durdu Guney (ECE/IMP) and CoPIs Associate Professor Joshua Pearce (MSE/IMP) and Associate Professor Paul Bergstrom (ECE/IMP) have received $299,631 from NSF for a three-year project, “Increasing Solar Energy Conversion Efficiency in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaic Devices with Plasmonic Perfect Meta-Absorbers.“

Associate Professor Joshua Pearce (MSE), “Globally Distributed Collaborative STEM Research Experiences for Undergraduates: the Global CREU Project,” Sienna College/NSF.

Professor Jaroslaw Drelich’s business, Micro Techno Solutions, has won a Sector Award from GLEQ: Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest for Spring 2012. The award was part of the GLEQ Business Plan Competition for Michigan entrepreneurs. Participants are matched with business coaches who advise them as they write their business plans. Drelich’s Sector Award was in the area of food safety.

Associate Professor Joshua Pearce (MSE/IMP), “A competitive free market for the distribution of electricity,” Hayek Foundation.

Professor Miguel Levy (Physics), “Highly-integrated, Multifunctional Magneto-photonic Crystal Devices,” US DOD, Air Force Research Laboratory.

Associate Professor Joshua Pearce (MSE/IMP), “International Collaboration in Prototyping of Sustainable Innovation,” NCIIA.

Professor Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE/IMP), “Inexpensive Antibacterial Water Filter for Presenting Diarrheal Disease,” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Associate Professor Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) coauthored a chapter, “Hybridizing Virtual- and Field-Based Service Learning in Green IT,” in the book, Service-Learning in the Computer and Information Sciences: Practical Applications in Engineering Education, published by IEEE Press and Wiley-IEEE Press.