Coaxing order from unpredictable layers, mollusks do what humans can’t
Materials
How pearls achieve nanoscale precision
Resurrecting quasicrystals: Findings could make an exotic material commercially viable
Self-healing phenomenon could reduce defects that rendered quasicrystals impractical.
Nanoengineering integrates crystals that don’t usually get along
A team of computational and experimental engineers demonstrate a blueprint for building materials with new properties from nanocrystals .
Designing lightweight glass for efficient cars and wind turbines
Lighter, stiffer glass fibers could make composite materials thinner without sacrificing strength.
Researchers gain control over internal structure of self-assembled composite materials
Researchers new templating technique instills greater order and gives rise to new 3D structures in a special class of high-performance materials, called eutectics.
How an age-old process could lead to new materials and even invisibility
A Q&A with Ashwin Shahani, U-M assistant professor of materials science and engineering
