Peers honor top materials scientists, engineers

ASM International will bestow its most prestigious honors upon 15 leaders in materials science and engineering at MS+T 2011, the Materials Science and Technology conference in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 18. The awards recognize lifetime achievement or breakthroughs in understanding and use of materials such as metals, ceramics, polymers and nanomaterials.

Graphene might overtake carbon nanotubes in commercial applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have not yet met commercial expectations from a decade ago, and now hot on its heels is graphene. Graphene is considered a hot candidate for applications such as computers, displays, photovoltaics, and flexible electronics. The biggest opportunity for both materials is in printed and potentially printed electronics. In a comparably short time a large amount of graphene materials have become commercially available contributing to further advancements and application development. At a fraction of the weight and cost of CNTs, graphene may displace carbon nanotubes and even indium tin oxide in some applications. Flexible, see-through displays may be the one application that finally puts graphene into the commercial spotlight.

Abrupt escape from flatness

At first glance, it seems as if billions of lead atoms have mysteriously disappeared. When exposed to heat, a layer of lead coated onto a nickel surface becomes almost invisible from one moment to the next. In reality, the slightest disturbance causes these atoms to suddenly switch from a broad "flat pancake" shape to a compact hemisphere.