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At the University of Chicago MRSEC, we demonstrate that controlling the molecular crystal hosting the active qubit is a powerful means for enhancing coherence.

The planar dynamics of a semi-flexible filament anchored at one end and comprised of connected, self-propelled, spheres were predicted using Brownian dynamics simulations and continuum elastic theory theory. For certain parameter ranges the filament undergoes periodic motion. With a clamped anchor, the filament undergoes flagella-like beating (top right), while a pivoting end leads to a steadily rotating coiled conformation (bottom right).

Scientists design experiments to increase excitement K-12 science education

NYU-MRSEC investigators have worked alongside BioBus scientists to develop new K-12 materials science-related curricula since 2009. This collaboration brought exciting and educational engineering projects to over 1,000 NYC students in 2019-2020.

•The ability to design and assemble three-dimensional structures from colloidal particles, such as open structures for photonic band gap applications, is limited by the absence of specific directional bonds.

In a paper titled Persistence of Small Polarons in Doped Bismuthate Superconductors, researchers study Ba1−xKxBiO3, which becomes a high-Tc superconductor when doped into a charge-density-wave insulator. They show that short-range lattice distortions and strong electron-phonon coupling persist into the metallic phase. Using resonant inelastic x-ray and neutron scattering plus modeling, the team suggests BKBO’s metallic state is an unusual bipolaronic liquid with persistent polarons.

In nature, actin bundling is a key capability that enables cells to apply substantial forces to overcome obstacles. Similarly, in the design of actin-based materials, the ability to bundle semi-rigid filaments into bundles of higher rigidity is a key step toward building more complex architectures. For this reason, developing a toolbox for controlling bundling is an important goal of our IRG. The approaches we have developed for controlling the bundling of actin filaments on a microscopic level allow us to construct actin-based materials with tunable mechanical properties.

  •“Lewis dots” smartphone app showcased at the New York Technology Meetup, a special University-themed roundup in November 2011

LCMRC researchers have found an extraordinary nematic liquid crystal phase, a new entry in the most widely studied and widely applied class of liquid crystals. In the whole history of liquid crystals only four distinct nematic ground states have been found: the uniaxial, the biaxial, and, for chiral molecules, the helical nematic and blue phases.