David L. Chandler

MIT News Office

latest from David L. Chandler

Vision and Discrete Sensors

Sensing, controlling microscopic spin density in quantum materials

Optical light source for quantum computers developed

Engineers discover way to control nuclei to encode quantum information

Assembler robot groups have potential for making larger structures

Process Instrumentation and Sensors

Engineers develop shape-memory material for actuators

Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Material’s insulating properties can be tuned at will

New research by engineers at MIT and elsewhere could lead to batteries that can pack more power per pound and last longer. Courtesy: MIT News

Electrode design may lead to more powerful batteries

Sequence of photos shows an assembler robot at work, carrying one structural unit over the top and down the other side of a structure under construction. Courtesy: Benjamin Jenett, MIT

Assembler robots make large structures from little pieces

Using the 3D printing method developed by the MIT researchers, a structure such as this model airplane wing could have both light emitters and light detectors embedded in the material, so that it could continuously detect any micro-cracks as they begin to form. Courtesy: Felice Frankel, MIT

Discrete Manufacturing

Engineers develop multimaterial fiber ink for 3-D-printed devices

Large anions with long tails (blue) in ionic liquids can make them self-assemble into sandwich-like bilayer structures on electrode surfaces. Ionic liquids with such structures have much improved energy storage capabilities. Courtesy: Xianwen Mao, MIT

Electrolyte developed to enhance supercapacitor performance

MIT graduate student Will Langford developed a machine that's like a cross between a 3-D printer and the pick-and-place machines that manufacture electronic circuits, but that can produce complete robotic systems directly from digital designs. Courtesy: Will Langford, MIT

Tiny motor designed to walk to carry out tasks

A gel-like yield stress fluid, top, moves as a plug without shearing in a tube with the new surface coating. At bottom, the same fluid is seen shearing while it flows in an uncoated tube, where part of the fluid gets stuck to the tube while part of it continues to flow. Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Engineered surface developed to reduce waste, improve efficiency

Molecular diagram shows the structure of molybdenum sulfide, one of the materials used to create the new kind of cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries. Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Hybrid cathode developed for lithium batteries

Image shows the rate of heat transfer from a metal surface, with red the highest and blue the lowest. The large blue areas show the beginning of a boiling crisis. Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Efficient boiling research for power plants to improve energy efficiency

A view aboard the Coast Guard cutter Spencer, where the MIT-developed system spotted problems that could have led to an electrical fire. Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Vision and Discrete Sensors

Energy monitor can find electrical failures before they happen

Introducing a small amount of strain into crystalline materials, such as diamond or silicon, can produce significant changes in their properties, researchers have found. The mechanical strain is represented here as a deformation in the diamond's shape. Courtesy: Chelsea Turner, MIT

Using artificial intelligence to engineer materials’ properties

Two versions of the device designed by MIT researchers, using a strip of metal to block direct sunlight, were built and tested on the roof of an MIT building to confirm that they could provide cooling well below ambient air temperature. Courtesy: Bikram Bhatia, MIT

Energy Efficiency

Researchers develop device to provide cooling in harsh locations