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Evidence of Defects in ZnO | |
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Bar Codes to Safeguard Patients’ Medication | |
Software to Speed Traffic Jam Detection |
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Improving Magnetic Tape Edges | |
Suburban Sprawl |
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Glass Proves To Be Stronger |
New Findings Reported on the Properties of Aluminum
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| Charge density iso surface in Al and Cu during (111) <112> shear. One can see box-shaped interstice charges and think active evolution in Al, but not in Cu. |
Ju Li, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, recently published an article in the journal Science that expands scientists’ fundamental understanding of aluminum on the atomic level. According to Li’s findings, in nanoelectronics aluminum may endure mechanical stress more than 30 percent better than copper, which is normally considered to be the stiffer metal.
One explanation could be that aluminum atoms have a kind of “directional bonding” with each other, in which different atoms share sets of electrons, Li said. Directional bonding is observed in ceramics and in semiconductors such as silicon, but not in highly malleable metals such as aluminum.
Check out the full length article at www.osu.edu/units/research/archive/alstrong.htm
Contact: Ju Li,(614) 292-9743; Li.562@osu.edu
Ohio State researchers have developed a technique to observe previously unseen material defects in Zinc Oxide (ZnO). Using micro-cathodoluminescence spectroscopy in an ultra high vacuum scanning electron microscope, Leonard Brillson, professor of electrical engineering and physics and the Center for Materials Research Scholar, and Xiaoling Sun, a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering, were able to measure optical emissions from crystal defects localized within individual grains of chemically synthesized submicron ZnO-Bi2O3 powders at a microscopic scale.
The research provided evidence that a greater proportion of electron-donating defects are located within the “bulk” making this region very conducting versus the boundary of the ZnO grains, which act as a barrier. These findings corroborate what many researchers have hypothesized to take place at the microscopic level of ZnO, but until now were unable to prove.
Crystalline defects in ZnO are the source of electronic properties, such as ZnO’s ability to perform as an electrical gate by acting as a barrier or conductor in electronic devices. The commercial use of ZnO in varistors, transducers, sensors and thin film coatings has prompted substantial research to better understand and control the nanoscale material defects responsible for its electronic properties.
Contact: Len Brillson, (614) 292-8015, Brillson.1@osu.edu
Bar Codes to Safeguard Patients’ Medication
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Image courtesy of Emily Patterson |
Emily Patterson, a research specialist in Ohio State’s Institute for Ergonomics, recently completed a study evaluating the Veterans Health Administration’s recently designed and newly implemented drug dispensing system called Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA).
BCMA uses bar codes to label both medications and patients. Before administering medication, nurses are able to scan the patient’s bar code to display the patient’s prescription on a laptop computer. The correct medication barcode is then scanned and recorded as administered in the computer.
Patterson’s study examined the interaction of users with the system, in order to find ways to make the system work better.
Check out the full length article at www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/barcode.htm
Contact: Emily Patterson, (614) 688-3938, patterson.150@osu.edu
Software to Speed Traffic Jam Detection
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| Benjamin Coifman |
Benjamin Coifman, assistant professor of electrical engineering and civil and environmental engineering, has developed software that will provide faster detection of traffic jams. In the March issue of the journal Transportation Research, Coifman describes how he was able pinpoint traffic congestion and accurately measure vehicles’ travel time using standard loop detectors.
The software has already been tested in California where it helped road crews discover traffic jams three times faster than before. Coifman also points out that this software could provide drivers with the information they need to plan efficient routes, and even improve future road design.
Check out the full length article at http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/traffic.htm
Contact: Benjamin Coifman, (614) 292-4282, Coifman.1@osu.edu
Bharat Bhushan, Ohio Eminent Scholar and the Howard D. Winbigler Professor of mechanical engineering published a study in the April 2003 issue of the journal Tribology Letters that examined the edges of magnetic tape, one of the world’s most popular data storage materials. Because data storage capacity is increasing, while magnetic tapes are becoming more narrow, the quality of tape edge has become more important.
During the manufacturing process, microscopic tears can occur along the edges of magnetic tapes. According to Bhushan, these microscopic tears could grow large enough to damage the coating of magnetic material near the tape edges, destroying any data stored there.
Bushan and his graduate student Anton Goldade developed a technique to gauge the quality of a tape edge, as well as techniques to measure the forces that affect tape condition over time. This technique can also be used for quality control in the factory during the manufacturing process.
Check out the full length article at http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/magtape.htm
Contact: Bharat Bhushan, (614) 292-0651, Bhushan.2@osu.edu
Hazel Morrow-Jones, professor of city and regional planning, recently received a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to study the effects of sprawl on mature suburbs.
Sprawl has long been associated with the decline of downtown populations, but little research has looked at the phenomenon within mature suburbs. Morrow’s study will explore relationships between property values and different attributes of the property, such as public services, amenities and location. Her results may tell us whether mature suburbs will face the fate of many central city neighborhoods and result in price depreciation.
Contact: Hazel Morrow-Jones, (614) 292-1027, morrow-jones.1@osu.edu
Prabhat K. Gupta, professor of materials science and engineering, and his colleagues have developed an improved method for measuring the strength of fiberglass. As a result, they discovered the strength of E-glass, the most popular type of fiberglass, may be more than one and a half times stronger than previously thought.
The method requires holding a glass fiber at low temperatures and bending it until it breaks. This improved method for measuring fiberglass strength was described in the February issue of the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids.
Check out the full length article at http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/strnglas.htm
Contact: Prabhat Gupta, (614) 292-6769; Gupta.3@osu.edu