Matt Shipman

Apr 28, 2010

Nanodots Breakthrough May Lead To ‘A Library On One Chip’

A researcher at North Carolina State University has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented amount of data – enough to hold an entire library’s worth of information on a single chip. The new chip stems from a breakthrough in the use of nanodots, or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in… 

Apr 27, 2010

Hey! You! Get Off Of My Cloud Computing!

Cloud computing is a buzzword among tech cognoscenti these days. Its proponents say that it can give people and institutions access to greater computer power than they could otherwise afford by running their programs in a collection of computers and servers located, well, somewhere else. But there are risks too – not least of which… 

Apr 27, 2010

New Research Offers Security For Virtualization, Cloud Computing

Virtualization and cloud computing allow computer users access to powerful computers and software applications hosted by remote groups of servers, but security concerns related to data privacy are limiting public confidence – and slowing adoption of the new technology. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new techniques and software that may be… 

Apr 26, 2010

Don’t Thank Your (Un)lucky Stars

This is an election year, and the fact that there was a surge in voting by young people in the last election has been lost on nobody. Conventional wisdom, and some studies, say that celebrities can help encourage young people to become politically active. But while celebrities may (or may not) be able to get… 

Apr 26, 2010

Study: Celebrity Endorsements Do Not Help Political Candidates

If you’re running for office – and want to shore up support from young voters – you want Hollywood’s support, right? Wrong. Two new studies from North Carolina State University show that young voters are not swayed by celebrity endorsements of political candidates – and sometimes voters like the candidate less as a result of… 

Apr 23, 2010

Trash May Be (Energy) Treasure Trove

Earlier this month, a New York Times article highlighted the fact that European countries are burning garbage as a renewable source of energy – but that similar efforts in the United States are lagging behind. The article cites a 2009 study which “came down strongly in favor of waste-to-energy (WTE) plants over landfills as the… 

Apr 21, 2010

The Buzz On Bees

The plight of honeybees has been the focus of a lot of media attention, as bee populations around the country have plummeted due to colony collapse disorder and other factors. But Dr. David Tarpy, whose research focuses on improving bee health and productivity, is doing something about it. Tarpy, an entomology professor at NC State and… 

Apr 20, 2010

Get Smart

Agent 86 would be proud. Dr. Jay Narayan led the way in the development of “smart sensors,” integrating a sensor material called vanadium oxide with silicon chips to create sensors that can manipulate and respond to information (it has to do with something called “domain matching epitaxy”). These sensors are used in a variety of… 

Apr 20, 2010

Skeleton Crew

The renovated Park Shops building has everything NC State students need to dig into the past: new workspaces, spacious anthropology labs and plenty of skeletons - in the closet and elsewhere. Now, students can bone up on even the most minute details in pursuit of careers ranging from forensics to archaeology, with little concern of classroom overcrowding. 

Apr 20, 2010

Materials Research Advances Reliability Of Faster Smart Sensors

In military and security situations, a split second can make the difference between life and death, so North Carolina State University’s development of new “smart sensors” that allow for faster response times from military applications is important. Equally important is new research from NC State that will help ensure those sensors will operate under extreme conditions… 

Apr 19, 2010

Little Things Mean A Lot

It is widely thought that advances in the use of engineered nanoscale materials will have significant impacts on fields ranging from medicine to electronics – but how do we get there from here? We are talking about manufacturing and manipulating things so small it’s difficult to conceptualize what we’re talking about. After all, William Powell… 

Apr 13, 2010

Research Lays Guidelines For Real World Scholarship

Academia is sometimes viewed as an “ivory tower” environment with little connection to the real world, but new research from North Carolina State University should help academics striving to overcome that reputation. A new paper lays out guidelines that can be used to develop and implement partnerships between academics and local communities to foster research… 

Apr 12, 2010

Study Shows That Size Affects Structure of Hollow Nanoparticles

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that size plays a key role in determining the structure of certain hollow nanoparticles. The researchers focused on nickel nanoparticles, which have interesting magnetic and catalytic properties that may have applications in fields as diverse as energy production and nanoelectronics. 

Apr 7, 2010

NC State Research May Revolutionize Ceramics Manufacturing

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new way to shape ceramics using a modest electric field, making the process significantly more energy efficient. The process should result in significant cost savings for ceramics manufacturing over traditional manufacturing methods. 

Apr 6, 2010

Automobile Control Research Opens Door To New Safety Features

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created a computer program that allows a car to stay in its lane without human control, opening the door to the development of new automobile safety features and military applications that could save lives.