National Science Foundation

A new guide unfolds origami’s principles for beginners and experts alike
Oct. 9, 2024
Author
Written by Daniel Oberhaus

In July, artists, mathematicians and engineers gathered in Melbourne, Australia, for a quadrennial meeting known as the “Olympics of origami.” Folding paper into ornate three-dimensional designs arose nearly 2,000 years ago in East Asia as a ceremonial practice but has since evolved into a field that blurs the lines between art, science and…

Tougher concrete, inspired by bone
Sept. 19, 2024

Inspired by the architecture of human bone’s tough outer layer, engineers at Princeton have developed a cement-based material that is 5.6 times more damage-resistant than standard counterparts. The bio-inspired design allows the material to resist cracking and avoid sudden failure, unlike conventional, brittle cement-based counterparts.

News Producing ‘green ammonia’ using plasma will be the focus of a new Princeton-PPPL project
Sept. 18, 2024
Author
Written by B.Rose Huber, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

Project supported by a $3.6 million National Science Foundation grant

A new collaborative research project will provide potential solutions for decarbonizing chemical plants, helping to establish American leadership in “green manufacturing.”

The project is supported by a $3.6 million grant from the…

Better mixing leads to faster reactions for key chemicals
July 10, 2024
Author
Written by Scott Lyon, Office of Engineering Communications

Pouring cream into coffee creates a show of eddies that rivals Jupiter’s roiling storms. But one clank of the spoon collapses all that black and tan chaos into a smooth, uniform brown.

It turns out there’s a lot to that mixing. For one thing, industries rely on robust mixing processes to make all kinds of material goods…

Common plastics could passively cool and heat buildings with the seasons
June 27, 2024
Author
Written by by the Office of Communications

Researchers at Princeton and UCLA have developed a passive mechanism to cool buildings in the summer and warm them in the winter.

In an article published June 27 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, they report that by…

Princeton leaders prominent on ROI-NJ lists of higher education influencers
May 16, 2024

Three senior leaders at Princeton — the president, provost and vice dean for innovation — appear on ROI-NJ's annual list of higher education influencers in New Jersey.

President Christopher L. Eisgruber and Provost Jennifer Rexford are ranked No. 2 and No. 9, respectively, on the business publication's…

Quantum crystal of frozen electrons—the Wigner crystal—is visualized for the first time
April 10, 2024
Author
Written by Tom Garlinghouse for the Department of Physics

Electrons—these infinitesimally small particles that are known to zip around atoms—continue to amaze scientists despite the more than a century that scientists have studied them. Now, physicists at Princeton University have pushed the boundaries of our understanding of these minute particles by visualizing, for the first time, direct evidence…

Princeton's world-class microscopes are making a giant impact in the realm of the minuscule
Feb. 1, 2024
Author
Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

Princeton scientists are peering into the smallest corners of matter using an exceptional collection of sophisticated microscopes — some so big they fill a room. These remarkable instruments have established the University as a world leader in microscopy and led to countless discoveries.

A way to stop cancer cells from metastasizing…

Researchers discover an abrupt change in quantum behavior that defies current theories of superconductivity
Jan. 19, 2024
Author
Written by Tom Garlinghouse for the Department of Physics

Princeton physicists have discovered an abrupt change in quantum behavior while experimenting with a three-atom-thin insulator that can be easily switched into a superconductor.

The research promises to enhance our understanding of quantum physics in solids in general and also propel the study of quantum condensed matter physics and…

Edge supercurrent reveals competing electron-pairing mechanisms in a topological superconductor
Jan. 16, 2024
Author
Written by Tom Garlinghouse for the Department of Physics

Three years ago, scientists discovered evidence of edge supercurrents in the Weyl superconductor molybdenum telluride. Now, Princeton researchers have expanded on that finding and uncovered a series of novel features that may broaden our understanding of topological superconductivity. In the new experiment, the superconducting electrons in molybdenum telluride are forced to coexist with a stronger supercurrent injected from the conventional superconductor niobium.  The competition between the two incompatible superconducting populations leaves a distinctive imprint on oscillations executed by the edge supercurrent in the presence of a magnetic field. The oscillations provide a new window on how electrons behave in the superconducting state. This research, to appear in Nature Physics, deepens our understanding of quantum phenomena in novel materials.