a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
co-written by Claire Alford People love to categorize themselves by personality type, whether it’s describing what kind of baked potato we are, or which character we have most in common with from Stranger Things. But have you ever wondered what kind of nanoparticle you would be? We thought it would be fun to create a …
Continue reading "What Nanoparticle Are You? Take Our Quiz to Find Out!"
When you hear the term “plastic pollution,” what do you think of? If you’re like me, you might picture a pile of garbage on a beach, or microplastic beads inside a fish. Most of us are aware that plastic pollution can be found everywhere. But you might be surprised to learn that "everywhere" in this …
Continue reading "Accidental nanoparticles in the environment: the nanoplastic pollution problem"
When I began my undergraduate degree, I had just been diagnosed with an eating disorder. Within my first few weeks of being at my university, I walked into the campus health services building, told a receptionist exactly that, and got an appointment with a healthcare provider. This began my long, but rewarding, journey navigating campus …
Continue reading "Why I Think Grad Students Should Give Campus Mental Health Services A Try"
Spring is here! We’re very excited for the weather to warm up and for our flowers to bloom (we’ve got several planters of tulips and hyacinths on their way!). We’ve also got a gardenia that we love and are trying to help survive in Wisconsin. Folly? Probably. What we’re not so excited for, however, are …
Continue reading "Nano in the Environment: Allergens"
Hey Science Readers and Writers! We’ve launched a new survey about how readers respond to different text styles. We would appreciate any and all participation to help us understand what kind of texts are most engaging and effective for readers. Please CLICK HERE to take the survey! This will be us looking at your survey …
Continue reading "Please Take Our Science Communication Survey!"
As we come to the end of Black History Month for 2022, I find myself contemplating the banner that hangs year-round in front of Noyes Chemistry Lab to celebrate one of the shining stars of my own department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC): St. Elmo Brady. Dr. Brady was the first African-American …
Now that we’ve passed the winter solstice and are starting to get some more daylight here in Wisconsin, it seems like a good time to talk about how valuable photons are. And not just big groups of photons like what are emitted from lasers or LEDs – I’m talking about the importance of just one …
Continue reading "A Photon Saved is a Photon Earned"
The dwindling supply of non-renewable energy sources (I’m looking at you, fossil fuels!) and their impact on the environment have driven the pursuit for more sustainable energy sources. 1 According to the International Energy Agency, global energy demands decreased by 1% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this statistic is quickly turning around, …
Continue reading "Electrifying the night: supporting solar energy conversion in the dark"
With winter and our first snowfall right around the corner where I live in Wisconsin, I am really looking forward to playing in the snow! One of my favorite activities is to throw snowballs up in the air while on a walk with my dog, Ginny. She jumps to catch the snowball on its way …
Continue reading "Snowballs and… Nanoparticles?"
Now that children from 5 to 11 years old are eligible to receive COVID vaccines, many people are wondering again about exactly how they work. You may have heard that both Moderna and Pfizer make mRNA vaccines (more on that in a minute). But the vaccines would not be effective with mRNA alone. Another significant …
Continue reading "Lipid Nanoparticles in COVID Vaccines"
Sustainable Nano 