Kate McAlpine

Kate McAlpine, senior writer & assistant news editor, University of Michigan

latest from Kate McAlpine

Center to improve advance research for quantum computing, sustainability and more

July 15, 2023

Walking and slithering aren’t as different as you think

The semiconductor nanosheets in the water-cooled copper mount turn an infrared laser pulse into an effectively unipolar terahertz pulse. The team says that their terahertz emitter could be made to fit inside a matchbox. Credit: Christian Meineke, Huber Lab, University of Regensburg. Courtesy: University of Michigan.

Laser pulse development paves the way for processing quantum information

Courtesy: Robert Coelius, Michigan Engineering

Energy Efficiency

Nanotech OLED could cut power consumption

Courtesy: Christina Harvey, AIMS Lab, University of Michigan

Bird-like wings could help drones keep stable in gusts

Courtesy: University of Michigan

Expanded funding for COVID-19 wastewater monitoring

July 3, 2021

This message will self-destruct in seven days, or it can be erased with a flash of blue light. Written with UV light, the letters are marked out by molecules that shrink by storing energy, stretching the atoms of the semiconductor above. This shifts the light emitted by the semiconductor to longer wavelengths, represented in the visible spectrum by yellow on a blue background. Courtesy: Che-Hsuan Cheng, Excitonics and Photonics Lab, University of Michigan

Self-erasing chips stop counterfeit electronics

September 29, 2020

The electron microscope image shows the air (darkest gray) sandwiched between the gold backing at the bottom and the semiconductor at the top, supported on gold beams. Credit: Dejiu Fan, Optoelectronic Components and Materials Group, University of Michigan

Mirror-like photovoltaics get more electricity out of heat

September 23, 2020

Courtesy: Mingqiang Wang, Kotov Lab, University of Michigan

How biomorphic batteries can provide more power for robots

August 25, 2020

Changyeong Jeong, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science, measures how well light passes through a sheet of flexible transparent conductor. The material sandwiches a thin layer of silver between two “dielectric” materials, aluminum oxide and zinc oxide, producing a conductive anti-reflection coating on the sheet of plastic. Courtesy: Robert Coelius/University of Michigan Engineering

Making plastic more transparent while adding electrical conductivity

July 13, 2020

Hot electrons travel along the molecule into the probe tip. The molecule only allows electrons within a narrow range of energies to pass. Credit: Enrique Shagun, Scixel

Energy Efficiency

Electron energy distribution measured for improved storage, conversion

June 25, 2020

The experimental flow loop that will be used to emulate the cooling loop in a molten salt reactor. Courtesy: Xiaodong Sun, High-temperature Fluoride Salt Test Facility, University of Michigan

AI and Machine Learning

Digital twins could reduce nuclear energy costs

May 22, 2020

Courtesy: Fabrication Studio at the Duderstadt Center, University of Michigan.

Approved face shield design addresses PPE shortage through 3D printing

May 6, 2020

Rendering of COVID-19. Courtesy: Steve Alvey, University of Michigan

AI and Machine Learning

Bioscience company offers free coronavirus test kits to researchers

March 18, 2020

Two iterations of a metal lattice meet at a “grain boundary” defect, with atoms of an alloying element fitting into the defect. Courtesy: Liang Qi, University of Michigan

AI and Machine Learning

Researchers discover method of calculating interactions between metal and alloy metal

October 23, 2019