COST, the intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in
Science and Technology, has been running a series of R&D programmes
in wood. Martin Parley reports on the final Cost Action E53 conference on quality control,
held at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, UK.
The Innovation in Enamel Symposium at University of West England in Bristol, UK, drew an earnest crowd eager to discuss the possibilities of a material weighed down in tradition. Ledetta Asfa-Wossen reports
A recycling method could see carbon fibre-reinforced composites upcycled into more demanding applications. Researchers at Loughborough University, UK, claim to have converted the
composite’s thermoset polymer matrix into a ceramic, which could be
used in ‘friction applications’ such as brake discs for high-end cars.
The INSTINCT-Technology Demonstrator 2 (TD2) project is designed to discover, trial and showcase emergent security technologies, solutions and ideas for aviation security.
The 2011 Literature Review Prize of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, with sponsorship from the UK Centre for Materials Education, is now open for submissions.
Researchers claim to have used the same scientific principles found in cornstarch to invent a lightweight, flexible composite material able to dissipate high-impact energy.
Professor Philip Withers of The University of Manchester has received the Royal Society’s 2010 Armourers and Brasiers’ Company Prize for his work on neutron and hard x-ray beams. Professor Withers is the UK Editor of the Institute’s journal International Materials Reviews, and an Associate Editor of Materials Science and Technology.
UK researchers are playing their part in the long-term quest to
incorporate single molecules into electronic circuits for nanoscale
high speed devices. This technology would not rely on a material’s bulk
properties to perform electronic functions such as switching or logic.
UK scientists exploring the safe storage of hydrogen for powering vehicles have developed an organic polymer capable of storing three per cent hydrogen by weight.
