a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
How are photons like toddlers? And what does that have to do with solar energy? Dr. Jillian Buriak has been researching nanomaterials and renewable energy for over a decade, including work to improve solar panel technology. In this first episode of the Sustainable Nano Podcast's third season, we interview Dr. Buriak, who is a Professor …
Continue reading "Ep 26. Nanomaterials and Renewable Energy: From Solar Panels to Machine Learning"
Nanoparticles and the Environment Series, Part I (click here for part II) More than a year ago on this site, I talked to you about how nanoparticles were already all around us, and have been for most of human history. That day, I was hoping to show you that while nanotechnology may sound cool and …
Continue reading "Nano Contaminants: How Nanoparticles Get Into the Environment"
"You've gotta give it a taste to know!" answered the long-haired, cowboy shirt-wearing distiller dude at Madison, Wisconsin'sĀ Old Sugar Distillery. He was responding toĀ my incessant questions about how long their liquors take to age. His answer was interesting, but I wanted numbers! After some more pointed questions, he told me that most of their liquors …
Continue reading "Liquor Aging, Tiny Barrels, and Next Generation Solar Cells"
Sustainability is a hot topic these days, even making its way into advertisements for one of the worldās biggest companies (see below). I would guess that on this very day, you have thought about sustainability, or at least encountered the idea. Maybe you saw a commercial that told you to āgo greenā, or read an …
Continue reading "What Does Sustainable Have To Do With Nano?"
Beer. Itās one of humanityās finest inventions and is the topic of several blogs on its own. There is a lot that beer can teach us. For example, recently a group of hard working scientists invented a new way to brew batches of nanoparticles that is reminiscent of beer brewing. For those of you not …
Continue reading "Beer and Nano-sustainability"
Today weāve got some important things to talk about. Iām not talking about the how or why weāre here on this planet, or settling the great cake vs. pie debate (because clearly pie is the correct choice). No, today weāre thinking big thoughts on small things. First things first though. Gone are the days when …
Continue reading "“Why all the nano-hype?” or “Do nanoparticles fall in love?”"
Now that youāve somehow gotten to this blog, youāre probably wondering, āWhere am I? What is this āCenter for Sustainable Nanotechnologyā?ā Our ācenterā is actually a group of people who care about our environment and are doing collaborative research to help ensure that our planet will be habitable hundreds of years from now ā in …
Sustainable Nano 