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AirGel Takes Top Prize and People’s Choice Award for Innovative Water-Harvesting Device
*Reposted from UT News*
Weixin Guan and Yaxuan Zhao, graduate researchers with the Texas Materials Institute and the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering, were recognized for their innovative and cost-effective device, AirGel, which extracts drinking water from humidity in the air. Their invention also won the competition’s People’s Choice Award and received a USPTO Patent Acceleration Certificate from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
$2.5 Million Grant Awarded to Deji Akinwande for Wearable Health Technology
Dr. Deji Akinwande, a professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering department and an affiliate of TMI, was awarded a contract of up to $2.5 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a governmental agency aimed at funding research that supports biomedical and health breakthroughs. This award will help advance Dr. Akinwande's development of a wearable blood pressure monitoring system, a key vital sign for assessing cardiovascular health.
Team from Samanta Group Publishes on DNA Tweezers & Enzyme Control
Dr. Devleena Samanta, a faculty affiliate of Texas Materials Institute, and a small team from her lab, have recently published a new article introducing the use of single-moledule DNA tweezers (SMDTs) to control enzymes and turn them on and off. Dr. Shivudu Godhulayyagari, a postdoctoral fellow, and Sara Nixon, a graduate student in chemistry, developed this new way to control enzymes without needing to change the enzyme itself.
Roberts' Lab Publishes New Work on Quantum Dots
Dr. Sean Roberts, a faculty affiliate of the Texas Materials Institute, and his group have had their work on lead halide perovskite quantum dots recently published in ACS Energy Letters. The team studied how different variants of naphthalene energy acceptors stick to these dots, which impact their ability to facilitate photon upconversion, a process wherein low-energy visible photons are used to drive emission of high-energy UV light. The production of UV light via this process has several potential uses, such as initiating chemical reactions and facilitating high-resolution 3D printing.
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Texas Materials Seminar Series
The Texas Materials Seminar Series features MSE 397 Seminars, TMI Distinguished Lectureships, and TMI Special Seminars, where leading faculty and professionals from around the world share cutting-edge innovations and advancements in materials engineering with our students.
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$12M+
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Research Patents
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News
Subhashini Sugumar Wins in Empower Your Research Pitch Finals
Subhashini Sugumar, a Materials Science & Engineering graduate student, won the Overall Excellence in Research Communication award for her talk, "Reading a Battery's Mind."
Yunlan Emma Zhang Awarded Outstanding Technical Contribution Award from the Aerospace Division of ASCE
Yunlan Emma Zhang, an assistant professor in the Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and an affiliate faculty member of Texas Materials Institute, was recently awarded the Outstanding Technical Contribution Award from the Aerospace Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Subhashini Sugumar Reaches Finals of University's Empower Your Research Pitch
Subhashini Sugumar, a Materials Science & Engineering graduate student in Venkat Subramanian's lab, is a finalist in the University's Empower Your Research Pitch competition with her talk "Reading a Battery's Mind."
Gavin Latham Awarded SMART DoD Scholarship
Gavin Latham, a Materials Science & Engineering doctoral student under the supervision of Xiuling Li, has been awarded a scholarship the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship-for-Service Program. The SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program provides scholarship recipients with full tuition, annual stipends, summer internships, and civilian employment in a DoD facility after graduation.
Siddhartha Nanda Publishes on the Safety of K-ion Batteries
Siddhartha Nanda, a Materials Science & Engineering graduate student and member of Dr. Hadi Khani's lab, has just had an article published in Energy & Environmental Science that answers the important question, "Is a non-flammable electrolyte safer?"