Top Results for Materials

John B. Goodenough is a chemist renowned for his groundbreaking work on lithium-ion battery technology. His research, primarily conducted at Oxford University, established the core principles behind these batteries’ operation. This innovation has been critical to the development of portable electron...

Russell Shoemaker Ohl was an American engineer and researcher at Bell Telephone Laboratories. In 1939, while investigating the electrical behavior of silicon crystals, he identified the p-n junction, the boundary between regions with different semiconductor properties, and observed its photoelectric...

Stephanie Louise Kwolek was an American chemist renowned for her research in polymer chemistry while working at the DuPont company. In 1965, she synthesized a new, highly durable liquid crystalline polymer called poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. This material was later commercialized under the br...

Omar M. Yaghi is a prominent chemist specializing in materials science. His research focuses on metal-organic frameworks or MOFs – crystalline porous materials exhibiting exceptional properties for applications like gas storage, chemical separations, and catalytic reactions. He achieved significant...

Superconductivity describes a state in materials where electricity flows with absolutely no resistance at extremely low temperatures. This quantum mechanical effect occurs when electrons pair up, forming “Cooper pairs” that move through the material without encountering obstacles. It’s notable for i...

Susumu Kitagawa is a prominent Japanese chemist specializing in materials science. He achieved international recognition for his groundbreaking research on metal-organic frameworks or MOFs. These porous materials are notable for their potential applications including gas storage and separation techn...

Calvin Souther Fuller was an American physical chemist at Bell Telephone Laboratories. In 1954, working with physicist Gerald Pearson and engineer Daryl Chapin, he developed the boron-diffusion process that created a p-n junction in silicon, an essential step in their first practical silicon solar c...

Cai Lun, a Chinese court official during the Han Dynasty, is recognized for pioneering paper production around 105 CE. His innovations utilized readily available materials like bark, hemp waste, and old cloth to create a durable writing surface. This development fundamentally transformed communicati...

Richard Robson was a prominent chemist specializing in materials science based in Melbourne. His research significantly advanced the understanding of porous materials, especially metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). He developed innovative techniques for synthesizing silicone polymers and related compou...

Dan Shechtman is an Israeli chemist recognized globally for his pioneering work on quasicrystals. These materials possess a unique, ordered structure unlike traditional crystals, defying established principles of crystallography. His research fundamentally altered our understanding of solid-state ph...

Moungi G. Bawendi is a chemist recognized for his pioneering work in nanochemistry. His development of colloidal quantum dot synthesis allows scientists to precisely control nanocrystal size and properties. This research has broad applications including advancements in display technology and potenti...

M. Stanley Whittingham is a chemist recognized for his groundbreaking work on rechargeable lithium batteries during the 1970s. His research at Exxon established the fundamental design of lithium-ion batteries, a technology now essential for portable electronics and electric vehicles. This innovation...

Louis E. Brus is a chemist specializing in materials science. He gained recognition for his groundbreaking research on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals—later termed quantum dots—beginning in the 1980s. His work demonstrated how these tiny particles respond to changes in light, impacting areas li...

Margaret Knight was an American inventor credited with developing a machine in 1868 that automatically folded and glued paper to create flat-bottomed brown paper bags. She successfully secured the patent for this device in 1871 after defending her invention against a male machinist who attempted to...

Band theory in physics describes how electrons behave within crystalline materials. It explains that electrons occupy energy levels arranged into “bands,” separated by regions where they cannot exist. The width of these bands and the gaps between them determine a material’s electrical properties – w...

Leo Baekeland was a 20th-century chemist recognized for developing Bakelite, the world’s first wholly synthetic plastic. His creation, achieved in 1907, revolutionized materials science and provided a durable, heat-resistant alternative to natural substances. Initially utilized in electrical compone...

The Meissner effect describes how certain materials, when cooled to extremely low temperatures, expel all magnetic fields. This phenomenon—perfect diamagnetism—is a key characteristic of superconductivity. It’s notable for demonstrating quantum mechanical behavior in condensed matter physics and is...

James L. Fergason was an American inventor instrumental in the development of practical twisted nematic liquid crystal display technology. His work during the 1960s led to significant advancements in materials science and display technology. Fergason’s innovations are foundational for modern LCD scr...

The Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology is an 11-volume reference work published by Elsevier in 2001. Edited by K.H.J. Buschow and an international team of experts, it provides comprehensive coverage of the field of materials science. The encyclopedia features peer-reviewed articles sp...

Aleksey Yekimov is a chemist specializing in nanochemistry and materials science. He gained recognition for pioneering work with quantum dots and their application within coordination compounds. His research significantly advanced understanding of glass chemistry and analytical techniques. Primarily...

A topological insulator is a state of matter where electrons conduct electricity along surfaces while remaining insulating within the bulk. Its notable characteristic arises from topologically protected edge states—conducting pathways immune to scattering by impurities or defects. These materials ar...

Alan Heeger (born 1936) is an American physicist and chemist who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering and developing conductive polymers, underpinning the field of organic electronics.

Mária Telkes was a Hungarian-American inventor renowned for her work integrating solar energy into building design during the 20th century. She developed thermoelectric devices to convert heat from sunlight into usable warmth. Her most notable achievement involved designing and constructing the firs...

The Fermi surface describes the region in momentum space where electrons exist within a solid material at absolute zero. It’s defined by the highest energy levels occupied by electrons and is crucial for understanding electrical conductivity and thermal properties. Physicists and materials scientist...

The Vanguard Materials ETF (VAX) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to track the performance of companies involved in the materials sector, including basic metals and industrial chemicals, utilizing a low-cost, passively managed index approach.

Harry Brearley (1871–1948) was an English metallurgist and inventor credited with the industrial development of stainless steel. While working at the Brown-Firth research laboratory in Sheffield in 1913, he sought a corrosion-resistant alloy for gun barrels and discovered that adding chromium to iro...

The Encyclopedia of Renewable and Sustainable Materials is a multi-volume reference work published by Elsevier that summarizes the interdisciplinary research surrounding eco-friendly materials. It provides comprehensive coverage of topics such as biopolymers, the recycling of industrial and consumer...

The Encyclopedia of Materials: Metals and Alloys is a peer-reviewed reference work published by Elsevier in 2022. It offers detailed, structured coverage of the science of metallurgy, including the physical properties, processing methods, and structural applications of various metallic systems. The...

Roy Plunkett was an American chemist who discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, while working for DuPont in 1938. The material was found unexpectedly during research involving refrigerant gases and was later marketed under the Teflon trademark. PTFE is distinguished by its low friction, chemic...