To recognize the innovative research gaining attention across the diverse span of its topical interest areas, the Society highlights the top five most-downloaded journal articles in each TIA during each quarter of the year.

The most-downloaded ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology articles by TIA during the third quarter of 2018 (July through September) are listed below.

Highlights are based on articles published since January 1, 2016.

ALL of the articles listed below are open access.

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Wind turbines, the ideal alternative to burning fossil fuels: plentiful, renewable, clean energy. Or is it?

A recent study is forcing us to take a closer look at this green energy alternative, according to ScienceDaily. Extracting energy from large-scale wind farms has the potential to warm the Continental United States by 0.24 degrees Celsius, due to the wind turbine’s redistribution of heat in the atmosphere.

At the end of the day really, all large-scale energy systems have environmental impacts. But, the ability to compare the impacts of renewable energy sources is an important step in planning a future. Extracting energy from the wind causes climatic impacts that are small compared to current projections of 21st century warming, but large compared to the effect of reducing U.S. electricity emissions to zero with solar. (more…)

Photo Credit: Northwestern University

Researchers at Northwestern University and Washington University School of Medicine have developed the first example of a bioelectronic medicine, according to ScienceDaily. The biodegradable, implantable, wireless device was created with the goal to speed up nerve regeneration in nerve injury patients. It works by delivering pulses of electricity to damaged nerves, accelerating regrowth, and also enhancing the recovery of muscle strength and control.

Not only does the new technology improve healing time, there’s also no need to worry about undergoing a separate procedure for removal. The implant, about the size of a dime and the thickness of a sheet of paper, absorbs naturally into the body about a week or two after implantation, taking care of its own disposal. (more…)

…and the 2018 Corrosion Division Morris Cohen Graduate Student Award goes to Rebecca Schaller of, The University of British Columbia in Canada!

Each year, the ECS Corrosion Divisions offers the Morris Cohen Graduate Student Award to recognize academic achievements in corrosion science and/or engineering. The next nomination deadline is December 15, 2018. Apply today! (more…)

ECS teamed up with Amazon to bring ECS members Amazon Catalyst at ECS. ECS members were able to interact with one of the world’s largest companies and potentially be awarded a grant to tackle a number of different challenges.

Through the catalyst program, ECS and Amazon looked for solutions that make life easier, healthier, more sustainable, more enjoyable, or more satisfying. The Amazon Catalyst at ECS serves as a prime vehicle for change. Applicants did not need to be established in their field – they just needed a good solution and the passion to carry it out. Amazon Catalyst committed up to $100,000 to help fund the selected ideas.

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Did you know? ECS awarded 82 students with travel grants to attend the latest ECS meeting, AiMES, last week in Cancun, Mexico. And, of all the presentations given at AiMES, 27% came from student oral presentations and student posters. We couldn’t have done it without your help and support! 

Your donations helped provide young researchers with the opportunity to learn and bring more value to their work, explore new opportunities and network at our international meetings. But don’t take our word for it. Take theirs:

Samuel Castro Pardo, a PhD student at Rice University in Texas, says because of his travel grant, he was able to attend AiMES last week and discover a solution he was looking for. “I’ve been struggling with a project for a few months, and a speaker mentioned something during a talk, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I know why my experiment isn’t working.'” Pardo is already planning for future experiments with this newfound information.

 

Raisa Oliveira, a PhD student from the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Portugual, says she wouldn’t have been able to attend AiMES without her travel grant, as her supervisor doesn’t have the finances to support the trip. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be here,” said Oliveira. “I can be drinking coffee, look up, and say, ‘this is the person whose paper I read yesterday.’ I’m meeting my stars, my scientific stars.”

 

Matthias Künzel, a PhD student from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, says his travel grant allowed him to attend AiMES, which he finds particularly important due to its international reach. “I think people learn different in different countries,” says Künzel. “In Germany, we follow rules strictly. Talking to other people who have different views pushes you to approach things differently.”

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ECS is pleased to announce that articles published in its two peer-reviewed journals, the Journal of The Electrochemical Society and the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, are being indexed in Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science (WoS) faster than ever before—on a rolling, article-by-article basis.

How did it work before? Until recently, WoS indexed ECS journals upon issue close, and it could take about six weeks from the close of an issue for receipt/delivery to WoS. This means if the first article in an issue was published at the beginning of the month, and the last published at the end of the month, the first article could go 10 weeks or more before being indexed in WoS. (more…)

Help early-career researchers reach their potential!

Young researchers Guruprakash Karkera and Madeline Sciullo share what receiving the ECS travel grant meant to them and put in perspective why the grant is more than funding; it’s a gateway to the future. Here are their stories:

Madeline Sciullo, travel grant recipient

Worldwide reach

Madeline Sciullo is a fourth-year student studying electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida.

She says she realized her first time attending and presenting at an ECS meeting, which happened to be PRiME 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii, would be costly. But, she knew it was a meeting she had to attend.

“These international meetings are so crucial to the development of the field,” says Sciullo, of why she found it particularly important to attend the ECS meeting. “A lot of the work that I’m doing, nobody in the United States is doing. So there’s no point for me going to a conference that only has attendees from the United States.” (more…)

Photo Credit: René Frampe, Alstrom

Last week, we told you about California’s commitment to go 100 percent carbon-free by 2045. Well, it turns out the Golden State is in good company. Germany has welcomed two of their first, state-of-the-art hydrogen-powered trains, according to Ars Technica.

The trains are built to run a total of 62-miles throughout the windswept hills of Northern Germany before refueling. These cutting-edge trains, known as  Coradia iLint trains, are the first of its kind — with 14 more hydrogen-powered trains expected to be delivered before 2021 by the French train-building company Alstom. A big step towards Germany’s goal to lower transportation-related emission. (more…)

Dai Shen says the travel grant lead to opportunities.

The travel grant recipient shares his first-hand experience.

Meet Dai Shen. He is a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University and received an ECS travel grant to attend his first ECS meeting — the 232nd ECS Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland. Every meeting, ECS awards a number of travel grants to defray the costs of attending our meetings. This provides an invaluable experience for students and early career scientists and engineers.

Unfortunately, we only have the funding to support 52% of requests at AiMES. You can change that for future meetings by donating today! (more…)