a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
You could say that baking runs in my family: the inventor of angel food cake was a distant cousin, the big question at family gatherings when I was a kid was whether my grandfather made a cheesecake, and holidays are always full of homemade cookies, quick breads, and pies. One of my favorite food traditions …
Continue reading "What can frosting teach us about cell membranes?"
Earlier this week I heard a quick piece on NPR's Marketplace called "75 years ago, the transistor ignited the fire of modern innovation," about how the transistor was "born" exactly 75 years ago today: December 16, 1947. It reminded me of a blog post written by CSN graduate student Diamond Jones (now Dr. Diamond Jones!) …
Continue reading "Happy 75th Birthday to the Transistor!"
co-written by Claire Alford People love to categorize themselves by personality type, whether itās 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?Ā 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 āplastic pollution,ā what do you think of? If youāre 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! Weāre very excited for the weather to warm up and for our flowers to bloom (weāve got several planters of tulips and hyacinths on their way!). Weāve also got a gardenia that we love and are trying to help survive in Wisconsin. Folly? Probably. What weāre not so excited for, however, are …
Continue reading "Nano in the Environment: Allergens"
Hey Science Readers and Writers! Weāve 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 weāve 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 ā Iām talking about the importance of just one …
Continue reading "A Photon Saved is a Photon Earned"
The dwindling supply of non-renewable energy sources (Iām 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"
Sustainable Nano 