By: William Messner, Tufts University When a May 2016 crash killed the person operating a Tesla Model S driving in Autopilot mode, advocates of autonomous vehicles feared a slowdown in development of self-driving cars. Instead the opposite has occurred. In August, Ford publicly committed to field self-driving cars by 2021. In September, Uber began picking up passengers with self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, albeit with safety drivers ready to take over. October saw Tesla itself undeterred by the fatality. The company…
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By: Sebastian Deffner, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Static electricity is a ubiquitous part of everyday life. It’s all around us, sometimes funny and obvious, as when it makes your hair stand on end, sometimes hidden and useful, as when harnessed by the electronics in your cellphone. The dry winter months are high season for an annoying downside of static electricity – electric discharges like tiny lightning zaps whenever you touch door knobs or warm blankets fresh from the clothes…
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There’s a major player in the autonomous, electric car industry that may just outpace transportation mogul Tesla. Faraday Future, an American start-up focused on developing intelligent electric vehicles, just unveiled its first self-driving supercar called the FF91. Faraday Future states that the vehicle’s 130 kWh battery delivers a range of 378 miles on a single charge. Additionally, 10 cameras, 13 radar sensors, and 12 ultrasonic sensors help power the vehicle’s autonomous abilities. But Nick Samson, Faraday Future’s senior vice president…
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ECS would like to formally commend the University of South Carolina for being presented the Outstanding Student Chapter Award this year at PRiME 2016! The chapter has proven an incredible asset to the organization, and it was an honor to recognize its prodigious achievements. The Outstanding Student Chapter Award was established in 2012 to recognize distinguished student chapters that demonstrate active participation in The Electrochemical Society’s technical activities, establish community and outreach activities in the areas of electrochemical and solid state science and engineering education, and create…
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Two researchers from Cornell University recently put forward research describing their development of an aluminum-based electrochemical cell that has the potential to capture carbon emissions while simultaneously generating electricity. Globally, carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to harmful greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions accelerate climate change, leading to such devastating effects as rising sea levels that can dislocate families and radical local climates that hurt food production levels. (MORE: Read past meeting abstracts by co-author of the research, Lynden…
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Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a new technique that has the potential to boost a traditional chemical reaction, opening doors for new developments in pharmaceuticals and other industries. The researchers developed an easier, cheaper, and greener way to preform allylic oxidation – a process that typically employs toxic or expensive reagents and has previously been difficult, if not impossible, to implement on a large scale. By using the power of old-fashioned electrochemistry, the TSRI researchers discovered…
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There may soon be a shift in the transportation sector, where traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles become a thing of the past and electric vehicles start on their rise to dominance. In fact, we may be seeing that shift already. Last year, battery prices fell 35 percent, which contributed to the 60 percent increase in sales of electric vehicles. If that growth continues along the same path, electric vehicles have the potential to displace oil demand of two million barrels a…
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When we think of carbon and the environment, our minds often develop a negative association between the two in light of things such as greenhouse gases and climate change. But what if carbon is the answer to clean energy? A team of researchers at Griffith University is looking toward carbon to lead the way in the clean energy revolution. Their latest research showed that carbon could be used to produce hydrogen from water. This could offer a potential replacement for…
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202nd ECS Meeting | Salt Lake City, UT | Oct. 21, 2002 New Chemical Technologies – The Dow Perspective Carol Jensen, vice-president of global R&D for The Dow Chemical Co., presented the plenary lecture on Monday morning, entitled, “New Chemical Technologies – The Dow Perspective.” She noted that the historical beginnings of the company were in the electrolytic manufacture of bromine from brine by Herbert Dow in 1890. (See Interface, spring 2002, p. 23). The company’s charter was to bridge academia,…
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ECS President | 1904-1905 Henry S. Carhart (1844-1920), second President of The Electrochemical Society, was Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan. He retired from Michigan as Professor Emeritus. He took an active part in the welfare of the Society during its early days when its future success depended greatly on the support by those who, like Dr. Carhart, had a national reputation for creditable work done in the science of electrochemistry. He served as Vice President prior to…
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