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time-lapse image of a material placed on top of a finger tip as it changes shape
Science & Technology
February 9, 2016 | 10:39 am

Body heat triggers shape change in new type of polymer

Polymers that visibly change shape when exposed to temperature changes are nothing new. But a research team led by chemical engineering professor Mitch Anthamatten has created a material that undergoes a shape change that can be triggered by body heat alone, opening the door for new medical and other applications.

topics: Department of Chemical Engineering, Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Materials Science Program, Mitchell Anthamatten, research finding, URnano,
close up of bed bug
Science & Technology
February 2, 2016 | 11:47 am

Scientists map genome of common bed bug

“There’s an explosion of insect genome sequencing right now,” said Jack Werren, a professor of biology and a member of the research team. “But the bed bug is particularly interesting because it’s a human parasite, a major pest, and has a unique biology.”

topics: Department of Biology, genetics, Jack Werren, research finding,
Timothy Dye
Science & Technology
January 28, 2016 | 02:30 pm

‘Big Data’ generates need for ‘Data Diplomacy’

Part of Professor Timothy Dye’s work as director of biomedical informatics is to combine global health with big data to improve the lives of people around the world. “But there is also incredible risk that this same data will be misused in ways that disadvantage communities and nations,” says Dye.

topics: big data, China, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, data science, global engagement, Timothy Dye,
daguerreotype image of Frederick Douglass
Science & Technology
December 8, 2015 | 12:33 pm

Early Douglass daguerreotype on display

One of the earliest images of the 19th-century abolitionist is on loan at the River Campus Libraries through February. While here, the 1848 portrait will feature in a larger exhibition about the University’s work on researching and preserving daguerreotypes.

topics: announcements, daguerreotype, Frederick Douglass, River Campus Libraries, Susan B. Anthony, URnano,
gas pump says MAY CONTAIN 10% ETHANOL
Science & Technology
December 3, 2015 | 04:10 pm

More efficient way of converting ethanol leads to better alternative fuel

A research team led by chemistry professor William Jones has developed a series of reactions that results in the selective conversion of ethanol to butanol, without producing unwanted byproducts.

topics: Department of Chemistry, energy, featured-post, research finding, School of Arts and Sciences, William Jones,
man holding up a poster that reads WORLD AIDS DAY
Science & Technology
November 30, 2015 | 02:19 pm

December 1 is World AIDS Day

Michael Gottlieb ’73M (MD), examines AIDS awareness posters that are part of the AIDS Education Posters Collection, a collection of more than 6,500 AIDS education posters from around the world. Gottlieb, a graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, was the first to identify the disease that would come to be known as AIDS.

topics: featured-post, HIV and AIDS, HIV Vaccine Trials Unit, vaccines, World AIDS Day,
series of circles that list the digits of pi, 3.14159
Science & Technology
November 10, 2015 | 09:50 am

Discovery of classic pi formula a ‘cunning piece of magic’

When most people think about pi, they associate the mathematical constant with arcs and circles. Mathematicians, however, are accustomed to seeing it in a variety of fields. But two University physicists were still surprised to find it lurking in a quantum mechanics formula for the energy states of the hydrogen atom.

topics: Carl Hagen, Department of Mathematics, featured-post, research finding, School of Arts and Sciences, Tamar Friedmann,
Two photos of Kevin McFarland and Steven Manly at the T2k detector in Japan
Science & Technology
November 9, 2015 | 05:16 pm

Rochester team among those awarded $3 million Breakthrough Prize for work with neutrinos

A team led by professors Steven Manly and Kevin McFarland was honored “for the fundamental discovery of neutrino oscillations, revealing a new frontier beyond, and possibly far beyond, the standard model of particle physics.”

topics: announcements, awards, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Kevin McFarland, School of Arts and Sciences, Steven Manly,
Science & Technology
November 5, 2015 | 10:24 am

What ‘drives’ curiosity research?

Scientists have been studying curiosity since the 19th century, but combining techniques from several fields now makes it possible for the first time to study it with full scientific rigor, according to the authors of a new paper.

topics: Benjamin Hayden, Celeste Kidd, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Natural Sciences, research finding, School of Arts and Sciences,
lightning in sky over Rochester
Science & Technology
October 28, 2015 | 02:48 pm

Can we unconsciously ‘hear’ distance?

Because sound travels much more slowly than light, we can often see distant events before we hear them. That is why we can count the seconds between a lightning flash and its accompanying thunder. Now researchers in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences have shown that our brains can also detect and process sound delays that are too short to be noticed consciously, and that we use that information to fine tune what our eyes see when estimating distance.

topics: Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Duje Tadin, research finding, School of Arts and Sciences,