People:
Nick Melosh is More than a Materials Guy
Nick Melosh.
(Photo by Olga Kuchment.)
by Olga Kuchment
Jumping electrons gave Nick Melosh the unexpected idea, as initial results often do.
"Oh, that's interesting, so where do you go next?" said Melosh, a researcher in the Stanford Institute for Material and Energy Sciences at SLAC, the Geballe Laboratory of Advanced Materials, and the Stanford Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
After showing that metals coated with carbon molecules could efficiently emit electrons from their surfaces, Melosh and coworkers thought of applying the results to electron microscopy and flat-panel display technologies. Then they realized this property could be applied to semiconductors for capturing solar energy. "You get to a place you never would have envisioned when you started," he said. And the work has panned out from there.
Last December, the 2010 Mohr Davidow Ventures Innovator Award gave Melosh added funds to develop the new idea for solar energy capture. The method would use the strengths of two existing solar energy technologies—photovoltaic cells and thermal conversion devices— in a novel way.
"It's a good example of how fundamental science in seemingly unrelated materials could give you new directions to go," Melosh said.
Read more...
SLAC911:
Don't Miss an Emergency Alert
by Shawne Workman
During last week's power outage, both SLAC and Stanford University sent emergency
notices and updates via telephone and text messages. Hundreds of SLACers who signed up
with the SLAC911/ALertSU system received these messages
not only on their SLAC phone lines, but also personal phones and e-mail accounts of choice.
SLAC community members can sign up any time, through the
SLAC Phone
Directory. Just search for yourself, then press the Edit button on the dark
blue line that says Optional Information (SLAC/Non-SLAC). Opt in to the system
by choosing up to three phone numbers and/or one email address and tagging them
as "SLAC911" using the View drop-down menu. Information added here
will be added to the AlertSU system.
For more details, see "Can SLAC Reach You in an Emergency?"
WIS Seminar Today:
The Physics of Flesh and Bone
Optimal bone health and strength, even into advanced age,
is all about balanced body alignment. What is "good" posture?
How can we relax into one that uses body physics to place load
where it is best carried?
Today at noon in Panofsky Auditorium, the Women's Interchange at SLAC
presents author, teacher, and founder of the Palo Alto-based Balance Center,
Jean Couch, with "The Physics of Flesh and Bone." Couch will speak on the natural posture held by our
ancestors, children under the age of three, great athletes, and
the millions of people all around the world who stay pain free
because of balanced postural alignment.
Couch authored The Runner's Yoga Book, co-hosted KQED TV's
"Yoga for Today," and is founder and director of the Balance
Center in Palo Alto. She is an inspirational speaker who has
dedicated her life to helping people conquer their pain.
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