Researchers demonstrate new way to control nonvolatile magnetic memory devices (May 2012)
Cornell researchers, Daniel Ralph and Robert A. Buhrman, have demonstrated a new strategy for making energy-efficient, reliable nonvolatile magnetic memory devices — which retain information without electric power.
Reported online in the journal Science May 3 the researchers use a physical phenomenon called the spin Hall effect, that turns out to be useful for memory applications because it can switch magnetic poles back and forth — the basic mechanism needed to make magnet-based computer memory. more
Atomic-scale visualization of electrons confirms theory of iron-based superconductors (May 2012)
Research at Cornell has for the first time confirmed key theoretical predictions about how iron-based high-temperature superconductors behave.
J.C. Seamus Davis, the James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor in the Physical Sciences at Cornell and director of the Center for Emergent Superconductivity at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and colleagues report in the May 4 online edition of the journal Science that they have identified gaps in the energy levels of electrons in an iron-based superconductor that were predicted by leading theories in this new field. more
Graphene is sort of a scientific rock star (Nov 2011)
Graphene is sort of a scientific rock star, with countless groups studying its amazing electrical properties and tensile strength and dreaming up applications ranging from flat-panel screens to elevators in space.
The single-layer carbon sheets’ stellar qualities are only just being understood in all their capacities, say scientists at Cornell — and researchers can dream big (or rather, very small) when it comes to everything graphene can offer. more
Kyle Shen Receives Cottrell Scholar Award (Winter 2011)
Assistant Professor of Physics Kyle Shen has received a Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) Fall 2010 Cottrell Scholar Award. These awards provide $75,000 to early career scientists who are leaders in integrating science teaching and research at America’s leading research universities.
The candidates’ research was judged on originality, feasibility, and the prospect for significant fundamental advances to science. Shen was cited for shedding light on quantum interactions in new correlated electronic states of matter; his lab focuses on cutting-edge research into condensed matter physics. Shen is also a recent winner of the Air Force Young Investigator Research Program, which awarded him $700,000 for a project on developing new superconductors in artificially engineered correlated materials.
The physics of turbulent flow is everywhere (June 2011)
From the mixing of milk in coffee to the formation of raindrops in clouds, the physics of turbulent flow is everywhere. Researchers at Cornell have discovered that seemingly random turbulent flows, which are the flow of a fluid in which velocity varies rapidly and irregularly, actually have an astonishing structure.
The work, published online June 5 in the journal Nature Physics, was led by Eberhard Bodenschatz, Cornell adjunct professor of physics and of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The work was in collaboration with researchers Haitao Xu of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Germany and Alain Pumir of Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon in France. more
Paul McEuen elected to National Academy of Sciences (May 2011)
Cornell professors Jon Kleinberg and Paul McEuen, and Weill Cornell professor Carl Nathan are among 72 new members of the National Academy of Sciences.
McEuen, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics and director of the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science and the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics (LASSP), studies the electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanomaterials.
McEuen’s group has conducted seminal studies of carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and single molecules. Recently he discovered that single photons can create multiple electron-hole pairs in carbon-nanotube photodiodes, suggesting a new strategy for enhancing efficiency in photovoltaic devices. more
Sol Gruner elected to AAAS (Apr 2011)
University faculty elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. more
David Mermin is awarded Majorana Prize (April 2011)
N. David Mermin received this prize for his fundamental contributions on the solid state physics, quantum field theory and statistical mechanics, especially Mermin-Wagner theorem and its remarkable applications. And for his promoting the scientific international interdisciplinary collaborations. To read more about Majorana Prize awardees see http://www.majoranaprize.com/
Four on faculty named Weiss fellows (Jan 2011)
Cornell professors Harry Greene, Paul Sawyer, Robert Smith and Robert Thorne have been chosen for the 2011 Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowships, the Cornell Board of Trustees announced at the Jan. 21-22 meeting in New York City. more