Humans have achieved spectacular large-scale engineering feats, but “we are still kind of stuck when it comes to engineering miniaturized machines,” says Itai Cohen, a Cornell University physicist and senior author of a new Nature study describing his team’s cilia chip. Researchers had previously tried to make artificial cilia that worked by means of pressure, light, electricity and even magnets. But a major hurdle remained: designing extremely tiny actuators—the motion-triggering parts of a machine—that can be controlled individually or in small clusters rather than all at once.

“The information content in a piece of material can quickly exceed the total information content in the Library of Congress, which is about 20 terabytes,” said Eun-Ah Kim, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, who is at the forefront of both quantum materials research and harnessing the power of machine learning to analyze data from quantum material experiments. “The limited capacity of the traditional mode of analysis – largely manual – is quickly becoming the critical bottleneck,” Kim said.

Researchers have now designed a micro-sized artificial cilial system using platinum-based components that can control the movement of fluids at such a scale. The technology could someday enable low-cost, portable diagnostic devices for testing blood samples, manipulating cells or assisting in microfabrication processes.

Cornell researchers have untangled the intricate physics and neural controls that enable dragonflies to right themselves while they’re falling.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

The College of Arts and Sciences awarded $1.25 million in grants to faculty members pursuing critical developments in areas ranging from quantum materials to sustainable technologies.

Cornell researchers discovered a strategy to switch the magnetization in thin layers of a ferromagnet – a technique that could eventually lead to the development of more energy-efficient magnetic memory devices.

In the Spring 2022 Hans Bethe Lecture, physicist John Martinis will explain the basic concepts behind quantum computing, show recent data from a “quantum supremacy” experiment and explain future uses of quantum algorithms.

A team of researchers at Cornell’s Center for Bright Beams has developed a technique to address limitations with photocathodes, which are vital to the performance of some of the world’s most powerful particle accelerators.

Ten faculty members in the College of Arts & Sciences were approved in the last several months as endowed professors by the Cornell Board of Trustees, continuing the college’s priority to recognize faculty excellence and accomplishments.