University of Rochester

When it comes to solar power, solar cells and panels tend to get all the attention. But there's a different kind of solar power generator known as a STEG, and researchers have just figured out a way to improve its efficiency by a factor of 15.

Scientists at the University of Rochester claim to have created a material that acts as a superconductor at room temperature and lower pressures than ever before. If confirmed, this “reddmatter,” as they call it, could mark a major breakthrough.

Perovskites are one of the most promising new materials for solar cell technology. Now engineers at the University of Rochester have developed a way to more than triple the material’s efficiency by adding a layer of reflective silver underneath it.

A University of Rochester team says it's come up with a relatively cheap and easy way to build rotating, city-sized space habitats that's technically feasible using current technologies. All you need to do, it seems, is turn an asteroid inside out.

Researchers have now developed the fastest logic gates ever created, by zapping graphene and gold with laser pulses. The new logic gates are a million times faster than those in existing computers, demonstrating the viability of “lightwave electronics.”

Researchers have discovered a material that can switch between an insulator and a conductor freely, even at room temperature. The material, a compound of manganese and sulfide (MnS2), starts off as an insulator but becomes conductive under pressure.

Usually optical coatings either reflect or transmit a given color of light, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a new class of optical coating that can both transmit and reflect the same wavelengths at the same time.

A research team from the US Army and the University of Rochester is throwing a new water purification solution into the mix, showing off a “superwicking” aluminum panel that uses solar power to purify water with great efficiency.

Superhydrophobic materials, which are excellent at repelling water, can be extremely useful for a whole range of reasons. Now engineers have found a quirky new use for them – making “unsinkable” metals that stay floating even when punctured.

Graphene is incredibly thin, flexible, strong and electrically conductive, but it’s tricky to manufacture on large scales. Now researchers at the University of Rochester have recruited bacteria to make the stuff, which is cheaper and faster than current methods and doesn’t require harsh chemicals.

​Besides simply looking nice when used in jewellery, mother-of-pearl is also one of nature's hardest, stiffest, most stable materials. Scientists have now utilized bacteria to develop a cheap and eco-friendly method of replicating it, for possible use in a variety of areas.

Shape memory materials have shown promise in a number of applications. Now one team of scientists is examining potential biomedical applications, with polymer that can revert to its original form when triggered by heat from a human body. ​