University of Florida
New test adds to scientists' understanding of Earth's history
December 5, 2012 12:37 pm | News | CommentsA new study provides the first direct chronological test of sequence stratigraphy, a tool for exploring Earth's natural resources. The model allows geologists to better understand how sedimentary rocks are related to one another in time and space and predict what types of rocks are located in different areas. The information may help scientists more reliably interpret various aspects of Earth's history.
Well-ordered nanorods could improve LED displays
October 25, 2012 2:16 pm | News | CommentsSynchrotron-based imaging has helped develop enhanced light-emitting diode (LED) displays using bottom-up engineering methods. Collaborative work between researchers from the University of Florida and Cornell University has produced a new way to make colloidal "superparticles" from oriented nanorods of semiconducting materials.
Chemists pioneer new technique for nanostructure assembly
October 19, 2012 8:51 am | by Donna Hesterman, University of Florida | News | CommentsEngineered nanostructures are typically challenging to create with any sort of sophisticated. However, a new technique for growing new materials from nanorods has been developed the could represent a major breakthrough in the field. It shows how thermodynamic forces can be used to manipulate growth of nanoparticles.
Biologist discovers mammal with salamander-like regenerative abilities
September 26, 2012 5:38 pm | News | CommentsFor years biologists have studied salamanders for their ability to regrow lost limbs. But amphibian biology is very different than human biology, which makes the recent discovery of a small African mammal with an unusual ability to regrow damaged tissues potentially crucial to new research in regenerative medicine.
Experiment corrects prediction in quantum theory
September 20, 2012 8:03 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists is rewriting a page from the quantum physics rulebook using a University of Florida laboratory once dubbed the coldest spot in the universe. The Microkelvin laboratory is one of the few places cold enough to generate and study the Bose-Einstein Condensate, a state of matter in which individual particles act as a whole. Recent research has confirmed, and corrected, certain predictions about the phase transitions for this state of matter.
Physicists set new record for graphene solar cell efficiency
May 24, 2012 7:52 am | News | CommentsDoping may be a no-no for athletes, but researchers at the University of Florida say it was key in getting unprecedented power conversion efficiency from a new graphene solar cell created in their laboratory.
Making an emerging technology safe for the environment
March 22, 2012 3:35 am | News | CommentsThe percentage of electronic waste occupying our landfills has grown at an alarming rate over the last decade, giving rise to concerns about the toxicity of components used in consumer electronics. Researchers at the University of Florida are looking for ways to minimize environmental hazards associated with a material likely to play an increasingly important role in the manufacture of these goods in the future.
Discovery refutes previous theory about galaxies
October 11, 2011 5:28 am | News | CommentsThe world's largest optical telescope has allowed University of Florida astronomers to see new details about deep space galaxies, finding new clues to explain the evolution of galaxies like our own.
Manufacturing method paves way for quantum dot-based LEDs
September 6, 2011 6:55 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Florida researchers may help resolve the public debate over America's future light source of choice: Edison's incandescent bulb or the more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamp. It could be neither. Instead, America's future lighting needs may be supplied by a new breed of light-emitting diode, or LED, that conjures light from the invisible world of quantum dots.
Discovered: Oldest evidence of nails in modern primates
August 19, 2011 5:54 am | News | CommentsResearchers have recovered and analyzed the oldest fossil evidence of fingernails in modern primates, confirming the idea nails developed with small body size and disproving previous theories nails evolved with an increase in primate body size.
Study shows tundra fires could accelerate climate warming
July 29, 2011 5:09 am | News | CommentsAfter a 10,000-year absence, wildfires have returned to the Arctic tundra, and a University of Florida study shows that their impact could extend far beyond the areas blackened by flames. With the amount of carbon released in these tundra wildfires, roughly twice the amount of greenhouse gases put out by the city of Miami in a year, the study suggests that these fires could impact the global climate.
UF-led team awarded more than $6.5 million for oil spill projects
July 8, 2011 6:18 am | News | CommentsThe National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a University of Florida (UF)-led team more than $6.5 million to study the environmental and psychological effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on communities along the Gulf coasts of Florida and Alabama.
Making peanuts safer with pulsed light
June 13, 2011 4:51 am | News | CommentsA Univ. of Florida researcher has developed a new technique to make peanuts safer for people with peanut allergies. Using a pulsed ultraviolet light, or PUV, the researcher reduced the allergenic potential of peanuts by up to 90%.
Researchers refine system to detect explosive materials
June 10, 2011 7:50 am | News | CommentsAirport security workers this year will employ an array of pre-boarding detection measures to scan for deadly materials smuggled into the luggage of the world’s 625 million passengers expected to travel this year. None, however, yet uses what researchers at the Univ. of Florida believe is the world's first explosive detection system that utilizes ultraviolet light to zero in on specks of dangerous explosives found on these items.
Making plastic from discarded plant material
May 31, 2011 10:17 am | by Robert H. Wells | News | CommentsPlastic may compete with paper in the grocery line, but it doesn’t have to compete with the world’s food supply, according to Univ. of Florida researchers. They've developed a way to produce plastic that doesn't use valuable natural resources, such as food or fuel, for raw materials. The new method uses a strain of bacteria to create bioplastic from discarded plant material, such as yard waste.
A new way to analyze epidemics
May 24, 2011 11:01 am | by John Pastor | News | CommentsAn international team of researchers led by the Univ. of Florida has created a new way to analyze the spread of dangerous viruses. The method uses sets of mathematical rules to do something software cannot easily accomplish—analyze subtle DNA difference to more fully understand health threats such as HIV, hepatitis, or even influenza.
Researchers develop method to remove phosphate from water
May 11, 2011 8:31 am | News | CommentsPhosphate poses one of Florida's ongoing water-quality challenges, but a process developed by Univ. of Florida researchers could provide an affordable solution, using partially burned organic matter called biochar to remove the mineral.
UF leads world in reconfigurable supercomputing
February 15, 2011 5:44 am | News | CommentsUniv. of Florida researchers say their supercomputer, Novo-G, is the world’s fastest reconfigurable supercomputer. They claim Novo-G is able to perform some important science applications faster than the Chinese supercomputer touted as the world’s most powerful.
Revisited human-worm relationships shed light on brain evolution
February 11, 2011 4:41 am | News | Comments“Man is but a worm” was the title of a famous caricature of Darwin’s ideas in Victorian England. Now, 120 years later, a molecular analysis of mysterious marine creatures unexpectedly reveals our cousins as worms, indeed. An international team of researchers has produced more evidence that people have a close evolutionary connection with tiny, flatworm-like organisms scientifically known as “Acoelomorphs.”
Nanosponges speed semiconductor devices
August 31, 2005 8:00 pm | Award WinnersThe semiconductor device industry is continually driven to improve performance. In order to achieve increasing speeds and decreasing costs, manufacturers have introduced new materials such as ultra-low k dielectrics. These dielectrics, however, are soft, fragile, and can be easily scratched and delaminated during chemical mechanical planarization. Researchers from Sinmat Inc., in a joint effort with the Univ. of Florida, have developed Soft, Elastic Nanosponge Materials that have significant advantages over to state-of-the-art slurries based on conventional particles.
Less is better, and less expensive
August 31, 2004 8:00 pm | Award WinnersSinmat, Inc., and two other collaborators, developed the Genteel Slurry, a mixture of chemicals and particles that enables a CMP process to make multi-level nanoscale copper wires to connect millions of transistors on an integrated circuit device.
