Over the last decade, researchers have developed two-dimensional materials with fascinating quantum effects that could be harnessed for next-generation technologies. At the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), a research team discovered that one such new material, Fe₅GeTe₂, exhibits a charge-ordered state in which electrons move collectively and unusually slowly while remaining quantum coherent. The research, published in Science Advances and conducted in the lab of Asst. Prof. Shuolong Yang, rewrites current knowledge of the material and unlocks new technological applications. This paper was one of the final research publications of Peter Littlewood, a distinguished physicist at UChicago who died on June 15. 

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are a safer, more cost-effective energy storage option than lithium-ion batteries, but cathode material limitations hinder the practicality of the technology. A team of researchers recently produced ball-milled manufactured electrolytic manganese dioxide (MnO₂), which introduces oxygen vacancies that improve material performance as an AZIB cathode, bringing the technology closer to reality.

FAU’s video-compression technology portfolio has been acquired by Dolby Laboratories, underscoring the global impact of its research. The portfolio includes 683 intellectual property assets, 250 granted patents and 73 U.S. patents, including 16 U.S. patents essential to the international VVC/H.266 standard. The technology enables video to be delivered using about 50% less data without sacrificing quality, advancing streaming, broadcasting, defense communications, autonomous systems, robotics and AI worldwide.

University of Waterloo researchers have developed an AI-powered system that uses data from experimental house fires to better understand how modern homes burn and produce toxic smoke. The technology could help improve evacuations, inform building codes and support emergency responders by predicting dangerous changes in fire behaviour.

It has long been recognized that chiral materials can selectively transport electron spins, yet their role in electrochemical energy storage remained unclear. Now, writing in National Science Review, researchers led by Prof. Hongsen Li at Qingdao University demonstrate that regulating the chiral asymmetry factor enhances spin polarization at catalytic sites, accelerates sulfur redox reactions, and significantly improves the electrochemical performance of lithium–sulfur batteries.