The Houston Astros’ José Altuve steps up to the plate on a 3-2 count, studies the pitcher and the situation, gets the go-ahead from third base, tracks the ball’s release, swings … and gets a single up the middle. Just another trip to the plate for the three-time American League batting champion. Could a robot […]
New Method Peeks Inside the ‘Black Box’ of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence—specifically, machine learning—is a part of daily life for computer and smartphone users. From autocorrecting typos to recommending new music, machine learning algorithms can help make life easier. They can also make mistakes. It can be challenging for computer scientists to figure out what went wrong in such cases. This is because many machine […]
Electric Car Batteries Souped-Up With Fluorinated Electrolytes For Longer-Range Driving
The success of electric car batteries depends on the miles that can be driven on a single charge, but the current crop of lithium-ion batteries are reaching their natural limit of how much charge can be packed into any given space, keeping drivers on a short tether. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD), […]
Semiconductor Quantum Transistor Opens The Door For Photon-Based Computing
Transistors are tiny switches that form the bedrock of modern computing; billions of them route electrical signals around inside a smartphone, for instance. Quantum computers will need analogous hardware to manipulate quantum information. But the design constraints for this new technology are stringent, and today’s most advanced processors can’t be repurposed as quantum devices. That’s […]
A Higher-Energy, Safer And Longer-Lasting Zinc Battery
Again establishing the University of Maryland (UMD) as a leader in the development of groundbreaking battery technology, a team led by researchers at UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering has created a water-based zinc battery that is simultaneously powerful, rechargeable, and intrinsically safe. A peer-reviewed paper based on the research was published April 16 in the […]
Higher-Energy, Safer, Longer-Lasting Zinc Battery: Researchers Revive Old Chemistry With New Electrolyte
Again establishing the University of Maryland (UMD) as a leader in the development of groundbreaking battery technology, a team led by researchers at UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering has created a water-based zinc battery that is simultaneously powerful, rechargeable, and intrinsically safe. A peer-reviewed paper based on the research was published April 16 […]
New Hole-Punched Crystal Clears A Path For Quantum Light
Optical highways for light are at the heart of modern communications. But when it comes to guiding individual blips of light called photons, reliable transit is far less common. Now, a collaboration of researchers from the University of Maryland’s Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), led by Associate Professor Mohammad Hafezi and Professor Edo Waks, has created […]
UMD Engineers Invent the First Bio-Compatible, Ion Current Battery
Engineers at the University of Maryland have invented an entirely new kind of battery. It is bio-compatible because it produces the same kind of ion-based electrical energy used by humans and other living things. In our bodies, flowing ions (sodium, potassium and other electrolytes) are the electrical signals that power the brain and control the […]
UMD Physicist Improves Method for Designing Fusion Experiments
“Measure twice, cut once” is an old carpenter’s proverb–a reminder that careful planning can save time and materials in the long run. The concept also applies to the design of stellarators, which are complex nuclear fusion experiments meant to explore fusion’s potential as an energy source. Stellarators work by confining a ring of blazing-hot plasma […]
Transparent Wood Windows Are Cooler Than Glass: Study
Engineers at the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) demonstrate in a new study that windows made of transparent wood could provide more even and consistent natural lighting and better energy efficiency than glass. In a paper just published in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Energy Materials, the team, headed by […]