Physical Science News

Emissions regulations do have an environmental impact, according to a long-term study of acidic rainfall by researchers at the University of Illinois.

Tiny wires could help engineers realize high-performance solar cells and other electronics, according to University of Illinois researchers.

New observations could improve industrial production of high-quality graphene, hastening the era of graphene-based consumer electronics, thanks to University of Illinois engineers.

University of Illinois chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Charles Schroeder has been named a Packard Fellow in science and engineering. He is among 16 early career researchers honored by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation in 2011 for outstanding creative research.

Nick Holonyak Jr., the Bardeen professor of electrical and computer engineering, will be inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame for his development of the first practical light-emitting diode (LED).

University of Illinois physicists have experimentally demonstrated for the first time how three-dimensional conduction is affected by the defects that plague materials. Understanding these effects is important for many electronics applications.

An Illinois research team has succeeded in overcoming one major obstacle to a promising technology that simultaneously reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide and produces fuel.

University of Illinois professor Gang Logan Liu is among the 94 researchers to receive the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor the U.S. government confers upon young investigators establishing their independent research careers.

Professors Bruce Rhoads and Jim Best and graduate student Jessica Zinger documented development of two cutoff channels in a bend in the Wabash River, pictured in the background. The cutoffs released huge amounts of sediment into the river.

A new physics-based theory could give researchers a deeper understanding of the unusual, slow dynamics of liquids composed of large polymers. This advance provides a better picture of how polymer molecules respond under fast-flow, high-stress processing conditions for plastics and other polymeric materials.