Washington State University chemists have created new materials that pave the way for the development of inexpensive solar cells. Their work has been recognized as one of the most influential studies published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry in 2016.

Professors Ursula Mazur and K.W. Hipps, postdoctoral researcher Bhaskar Chilukuri and graduate students Morteza Adinehnia and Bryan Borders grew chain-like arrangements of organic nanostructures in the laboratory and then used mathematical models to determine which arrangements were the best conductors of light and electricity.

Journal editors recognized the WSU study as an important step in the advancement of organic semiconductors that perform on par with metal- and silicon-based electronics. They included the work in a collection of 2016’s most influential research publications, or “Hot Papers.”

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The other day I was out ice skating when I started thinking about your question. Water strider bugs skitter across ponds almost as if they were skating on ice.

I decided to visit my friend Dan Pope to find out how this works. He’s a graduate student at Washington State University who studies chemistry.

“Before talking about water, let’s talk about atoms,” he said.

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Scientists at Washington State University and Johns Hopkins Medical School have discovered a fast, noninvasive method that could lead to the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Using ultrasensitive, high-speed technology, the researchers identified a suite of molecules in the feces of mice that signifies the presence of precancerous polyps.

This “metabolic fingerprint” matches changes in both mouse and human colon tumor tissues and suggests a potential new diagnostic tool for early detection of colorectal cancer in a clinical setting.

Herbert Hill, WSU Regents professor of chemistry, and graduate student Michael Williams conducted the study in collaboration with Raymond Reeves, WSU School of Molecular Biosciences, and Linda Resar, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

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The new Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology (INST) will bring together diverse scientists and researchers at Washington State University to address global challenges in security, human health, energy and environmental quality.

“At a national level, one of the major research problems in nuclear science and technology is that experts working on one specific type of problem often are isolated from colleagues working in other areas,” said Aurora Clark, professor of chemistry and director of the institute.

Approved by the WSU Board of Regents in September, INST includes faculty from three colleges and will enable creative solutions to challenges in radioecology, nuclear energy, nuclear medicine and nuclear policy.

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WSU News

Many of us remember writing that dreaded essay about how we spent our summer vacation — often struggling to recall what we did or make it sound interesting.

That won’t be a problem for the almost 800 students at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory this summer.

Tenisha Meadows, a graduate student in chemistry at WSU, is working to understand conditions that affect the processing of legacy tank waste at places like Hanford. She is using a scientific measurement technique called spectroscopy to observe what is happening inside the tank. This data will improve predictions of when certain solids will form, which in turn helps us understand the correlation between material characteristics and process history.

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Tri-City Herald