A new chemical sponge out of the University of Nottingham has the potential to lessen the carbon footprint of the oil industry.

Professor Martin Schröder and Dr. Sihai Yang of the University of Nottingham led a multi-disciplinary team from various institutions, which resulted in the discovery of this novel chemical sponge that separates a number of important gases from mixtures generated during crude oil refinement.

Crude oil has many uses – from fueling cars and heating homes to creating polymers and other useful materials. However, the existing process for producing this fuel has not been as efficient as it could possibly be.

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Today, families, businesses, charities and communities around the world are joining together to celebrate generosity and to give support through #GivingTuesday.

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Your donations make it possible for ECS to support students and scientists in the field of electrochemical and solid state science and technology. Thank you for your generosity!

The ballistic test shows that graphene is excellent at both absorbing and spreading the energy of an impact.
Credit: Jae-Hwang Lee

We’ve been talking a lot about graphene – from its potential in energy storage to its ability to improve and revolutionize personal electronic devices, this material seems to be everywhere. Now, engineers out of the University of Massachusetts believe it could help save lives.

Engineers developed a mock-up of multilayered graphene body armor and tested it in a miniature shooting range. The results suggest that graphene may be able to absorb 10 times the amount of energy that its steel competitor can before failing.

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Photographs of Blaberus discoidalis (A), the transmitter circuit (B) and of a quarter coin (C) to compare the scales involved.

While browsing through the vast array of Open Access articles that ECS hosts in its Digital Library, one title in particular caught our eye here at headquarters.

I mean, it is pretty hard to ignore an academic article titled “Wireless Communication by an Autonomous Self-Powered Cyborg Insect.”

The article, published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society by researchers from Case Western Reserve University (one of the authors is ECS Board of Directors Senior VP Dan Scherson), details – to put it simply – how a cyborg cockroach can generate and transmit signals wirelessly.

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ECS Executive Director, Roque Calvo marks 34 years of service

This week at ECS, we’re celebrating Executive Director Roque J. Calvo’s 34th anniversary with the Society. Through hard-work and a clear vision, Calvo has helped transform the Society into what it is today.

Here’s a brief look at Calvo’s roots with ECS and his 34-year journey with the Society.

Roque J. Calvo joined the Society staff in 1980 as the Accounting Supervisor, managing the financial operations for the headquarters. After two years, he was promoted to Assistant Executive Secretary. In 1991, ECS’s Bud Branneky retired and was succeeded by Calvo as the Executive Secretary – being only the fourth to claim this title in the Society’s 98-year history. The title was changed to Executive Director in 1994 – the title that Calvo holds to this day.

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Find openings in your area via the ECS job board.

ECS’s job board keeps you up-to-date with the latest career opportunities in electrochemical and solid-state science. Check out the latest openings that have been added to the board:

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Chemical Engineering
Case Western Reserve University – Cleveland, Ohio
The Postdoctoral Research Associate will conduct research and development on titanium electrowinning from molten salts. Technical responsibilities will include high-temperature electrochemical reactor design and fabrication, experimental investigations of electrodeposition from molten salts, and some mathematical modeling studies.

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The Bio-Bus, nicknamed “the number two,” will transport riders between Bath and Bristol.
Credit: GENeco

Here at ECS, we love to talk about renewable resources – and we also like talking about poop. And with Britain’s first ‘poo-powered’ bus hitting the roads, we have a perfect excuse to talk about both.

GENeco has developed the new 40-seat Bio-Bus, which is powered by human waste. In technical terms, the bus runs on the biomethane gas that is produced at a sewage treatment works in Avonmouth.

According to BBC, the bus can travel up to 300 km – or 186 miles – on one tank of gas. One tank would be equivalent to the annual waste of five people. Further, the vehicle will emit up to 30 percent less carbon dioxide than conventional diesel vehicles.

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More and more households are using LED light bulbs due to improved efficiency, reliability, and now a more affordable cost over their incandescent cousins. With droves of scientists researching in the area of LED and producing new developments, these bulbs are beginning to become the new norm.

Let’s take a look at the journey the LED bulb has gone though thus far.

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Shopping for the electrochemist or solid state scientist in your life can be difficult. But don’t panic, we’re here to help. (If you happen to be that scientist, well, that’s the reason for the “share” button.) We’ve searched the Internet to find the perfect gift – from witty novelties for those with a sense of humor, to practical tools that he or she will use every day.

Take a look at the list we’ve complied and let us know if we’ve missed anything in the comments!

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