XPS Workshop, University of Loughborough, 17 January 2013

Join us to learn how XPS works and how it can be used to understand problems on a variety of different sample types. This will be a small, interactive and focused event, there will be ample opportunity to raise questions. We will utilise the Thermo Scientific K-Alpha XPS tool located in LMCC. Contact us for further information, the deadline for early registration is 14th December. 

Behave like a lawyer?

Last month six scientists and one government official were found guilty on manslaughter charges relating to the 2009 earthquake that hit the Italian city of L'Aquila. The authorities who pursued the defendants stressed that the case was never about any failure to predict earthquakes - it was about what was interpreted to be an inadequate characterisation of the risks; of being misleadingly reassuring about the dangers that faced their city. I am not capable of commenting on the legal rights and wrongs of the case or the unpredictable nature of earthquakes but there is an issue here for us all, irrespective of our specific field of work. Within our chosen sphere we are experts familiar with the jargon, the caveats, the axioms and the unproven. We take much for granted as assumed knowledge. When interacting with others from outside of our sphere, particularly in this time of sound bites and limited attention spans, we must be doubly careful when explaining what we mean. Accurate transmission is insufficient; it must be received and understood as we intended.

There is always danger in life in assuming that other people think like ourselves. The way forward cannot be that we work in secret nor all think and behave like lawyers.

What's inside my iPhone or Kindle?

If you have ever wondered what is inside a Kindle or an iPhone but balked at taking apart your own, have a look at the iFixit Teardowns.

Nominations open

Nominations are now open for both the Compound Semiconductor Industry Awards 2013 and the 2013 R&D 100 Awards.

'Flowers in a blue vase'

ESRF have used synchrotron radiation to identify the degradation mechanism between Van Gogh's original cadmium yellow paint and later added protective varnish on his 'Flowers in a blue vase' painting.

Einstein's brain can be yours!

You can download high resolution images of the man's brain onto your iPad.

The crystal ball?

A Northwestern University study claims to have a devised a formula that can predict if scientists will become future stars. It considers factors that contribute to a scientist’s trajectory including the number of articles written, the current h-index, the years since publishing the first article, the number of distinct journals one has published in and the number of articles in high impact journals. Useful or dangerous?

Nanowires on graphene

A group from the Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim have reported and patented the growth of GaAs nanowires on graphene. These nanowires are hexagonal cross section and vertically aligned. Following the initial MBE deposition of Ga and Ga droplet formation, the subsequent addition of an As beam leads through a vapour-liquid-solid mechanism to vertical GaAs nanowire growth at the graphene - Ga droplet interface. The group aim to commercialise this work through CrayoNano AS, a spin out company from NTNU, with the fabrication of efficient and flexible LEDs and solar cells.

Glass never forgets

If you want to store some data for a few hundred million years then Hitachi may have the answer. The company has a method of storing data in binary form by creating dots inside a sheet of quartz glass. glass.  The prototype glass devices currently have four layers of  dots, can hold 40 megabytes per square inch and can endure fires, floods and tsunamis. Dell compatible?

Why am I doing this?

I thoroughly enjoyed being in Hannover last month for the Deutscher MBE Workshop. As always the event was well organised and informative. On the technical front I would highlight the work on the diverse materials and structures aimed at reducing the power consumption in a wide range of devices and circuits. In addition to the specific content of the papers, I was perhaps even more intrigued, and pleased, to note that virtually all of the presentations commenced with a brief statement of the motivation behind doing the work. The question 'Why am I doing this?' has the merit and power of simplicity. It does not seem to me to be at all incompatible with either fundamental research or applied development. I recommend the question Why?

Worth a look - John's pick for October

The Seven Commandments of Silicon Valley

LEDs just a bit more environmentally friendly

Three words to drive innovation

The views from Hubble

Mastering small talk

Boring is good?

Presenters, know your audience