Allen J. Bard

Allen J. Bard, regarded as the “father of modern electrochemistry,” was recently announced the winner of the 2019 King Faisal International Prize in Science. According to UT NEWS, the University of Texas at Austin professor of chemistry received $200,000 and a gold medal from the King Faisal Foundation, as a result of the big win.

Bard, an ECS member for over 50 years, is a big believer in chemistry—the chemistry found among people.

“There’s a chemistry that can develop in a group, and that chemistry can lead to very good science,” says Bard.

So it’s no surprise that his team player mentality has indeed led him to “very good science,” so good it earned him the international award, given to only those who have made outstanding contributions in physics, chemistry, biology, or mathematics through original scientific research that brings major benefits to humanity.

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It’s winter. And with that comes heavy coats, icy winds, and occasionally, below freezing temperatures: conditions not favorable for batteries.

Car batteries

Temperature extremes, in general, are not favorable to batteries. According to Lifewire, lead-acid batteries drop in capacity by about 20 percent in normal to freezing weather, and down to about 50 percent in temperatures that reach about -22 degrees Fahrenheit.

As a result, you may find your car battery giving out on any given winter morning. This is due to reduced capacity and increased draw from starter motors and accessories. This is because starter motors require a tremendous amount of amperage to get going: knocking out the capacity of even the newest batteries. (more…)

When it comes to growing crops, it’s a balancing act. You need just the right amount of sun, water, and soil composition to keep plants happy and blooming.

Researchers have recently discovered that light sensors might be able to help with that. According to New Food, the sensors work by actively measuring the various wavelengths of light coming off of crop leaves. These measurements are then used to calculate how much nitrogen crops need for optimal health. (more…)

Let’s face it. Anyone can benefit from a boost in their cell phone’s battery life, with the use of social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the daily connectedness of email, texting, FaceTime, and selfies, it’s a surprise if our cell phone batteries last a day—which most often they don’t. Cut to, Apple’s newly released smart battery case that extends the life of their latest iPhones: the XS and XR. (more…)

Schematic representation of the movement of the flower-like particle as it makes its way through a cellular trap to deliver therapeutic genes. Credit: WSU

According to ScienceDaily, researchers have developed a new method to deliver drugs and therapies into cells at the nanoscale level.

What makes this new approach particularly promising is that it does not lead to toxic side effects, unlike other similar efforts attempted by researchers. The problem frequently faced was in the delivery of the therapeutic genes into cells, the nanomaterials only showing low delivery efficiency of medicine and possible toxicity. (more…)

University of Houston researchers Yan Yao, left, Hui Dong and Yanliang Leonard Liang. Photo Credit: University of Houston

A new version of high-energy magnesium batteries has been discovered by researchers from the University of Houston and the Toyota Research Institute of America, according to Phys.org. The battery operates with limited electrolytes while using an organic electrode, allowing it to store and discharge much more energy than earlier magnesium batteries.

Yan Yao, an ECS member, UH Student Chapter faculty advisor, and an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UH, said the researchers identified chloride—in the commonly used electrolyte—as a contributor to magnesium batteries’ sluggish performance.

Yao, a principal investigator with the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH, used the chloride-free electrolyte to test organic quinone polymer cathodes with a magnesium metal anode; the battery remaining stable through 2,500 cycles.

Magnesium batteries are particularly exciting as magnesium itself offers far more natural advantages over lithium. (more…)

Plan S, created to teardown scholarly journals’ paywalls, is still shy from achieving its goal, according to Science Magazine. Whether it will achieve its mission in part on details that remain to be settled, including a cap on the author charges that funders will pay for OA publication.

Still, the Europe-backed program—which launched in September 2018—is gaining traction. China, for one, expressed strong support for Plan S back in December. It seems they’re not alone. This month, a national funding agency in Africa is said to join, as well as a second U.S. funder. Others around the world are also considering jumping onboard.

Plan S is projected to be in full swing by January 2020 and is receiving support from many scientists who welcome the change to the publishing system. While other scientists and publishers worry that Plan S could restrict their choices. (more…)

Michael Arnold, recipient of the ECS Charles W. Tobias Young Investigator Award.

At AiMES 2018, Michael Arnold was presented with the ECS Charles W. Tobias Young Investigator Award for his work “Overcoming the Materials Science Challenges to Nanocarbon Electronics.” The award recognizes outstanding scientific or engineering work in fundamental or applied electrochemistry or solid state science and technology.

“It’s certainly fantastic recognition,” says Arnold, “not only just of my efforts but my students’ efforts. I mean, the students are the ones in my group doing the work, so it makes me proud to receive the reward, but it’s really pride in my group.”

Arnold, a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, work addresses fundamental challenges—in controlling the growth, processing, ordering, and heterogeneity of nanomaterials and in understanding phenomena beyond the scale of single nanostructures—that must be overcome to exploit nanomaterials in technology. (more…)