Efficient heat management in solids is key to advancing the next generation of electronics. However, wavelike heat movement — known as phonon focusing — had only been observed at extremely low, or cryogenic, temperatures, limiting its study and practical use.

Now, researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have demonstrated that phonons, atomic heat-carrying vibrations with quantum properties, can travel in focused, ray-like paths at room temperature. Instead of spreading uniformly in all directions, heat can move along guided pathways defined by a material’s crystal structure, opening up new possibilities for managing heat flow in future electronics and quantum technologies.

A team of Virginia Tech geoscientists found a new way to look at the widespread impacts of dams on river temperatures: using Landsat thermal infrared imagery to gather data on rivers across the United States. By using satellite imagery instead of site-specific on-the-ground measurements, researchers can draw from a much larger pool of data.

Existing computer models used to guide decisions about energy infrastructure and contamination often treat microbes as fixed and unchanging, even though they constantly adapt to their surroundings. University of Maine researchers are aiming to close the gap by analyzing microbial genetic information using artificial intelligence to identify the biological processes that most strongly influence underground chemical reactions. Those insights will then be integrated into existing subsurface models, allowing scientists to better simulate how microbes, minerals and groundwater interact in changing environments.