Materials Science and Engineering

Scientists Create a New State of Matter at Room Temperature Using Light and Nanostructures

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have created a new and unusual state of matter — known as a supersolid — by engineering how light and matter interact inside a nanoscale device. The work, published in Nature Nanotechnology, demonstrates that this exotic quantum phase can exist at room temperature, overcoming a long-standing limitation in the field. 

RPI Researcher Receives Grants to Study Quantum Materials and Superconductors

Wei Bao, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won the Early Career Program (ECP) Award and Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) Award from the Department of Defense to study superconductors and cavity quantum materials, respectively. The two awarded grants, which total nearly $700,000, will allow Bao to further his research into the unique properties of quantum materials and lay the foundation for practical innovations in the decades to come. 

How a Tiny Device Could Lead to Big Physics Discoveries and Better Lasers

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have fabricated a device no wider than a human hair that will help physicists investigate the fundamental nature of matter and light. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, could also support the development of more efficient lasers, which are used in fields ranging from medicine to manufacturing. 

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