The proceedings from the First International Conference on 4D Materials and Systems are now available. ECS Transactions, volume 88, issue 1, contains 49 papers based on the research presented August 26-30, 2018, in Yonezawa, Japan. This issue covers the five parallel tracks held at the conference: (1) Gel Symposium, (2) Flexible and Printed Electronics, (3) Material Processing, (4) Electrochemical Materials and Devices for Energy Conversion and Storage, and (5) Sensors and Systems.

To browse the full table of contents, or purchase individual articles, please visit the ECS Digital Library. This issue is also available as an instant PDF download through the ECS Online Store.

In addition to the ECST issue, ECS is also publishing a JES Focus Issue on 4D Materials and Systems. For more information, or to submit your manuscript, see the focus issue Call for Papers.

University of Houston researchers Yan Yao, left, Hui Dong and Yanliang Leonard Liang. Photo Credit: University of Houston

A new version of high-energy magnesium batteries has been discovered by researchers from the University of Houston and the Toyota Research Institute of America, according to Phys.org. The battery operates with limited electrolytes while using an organic electrode, allowing it to store and discharge much more energy than earlier magnesium batteries.

Yan Yao, an ECS member, UH Student Chapter faculty advisor, and an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UH, said the researchers identified chloride—in the commonly used electrolyte—as a contributor to magnesium batteries’ sluggish performance.

Yao, a principal investigator with the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH, used the chloride-free electrolyte to test organic quinone polymer cathodes with a magnesium metal anode; the battery remaining stable through 2,500 cycles.

Magnesium batteries are particularly exciting as magnesium itself offers far more natural advantages over lithium. (more…)

Plan S, created to teardown scholarly journals’ paywalls, is still shy from achieving its goal, according to Science Magazine. Whether it will achieve its mission in part on details that remain to be settled, including a cap on the author charges that funders will pay for OA publication.

Still, the Europe-backed program—which launched in September 2018—is gaining traction. China, for one, expressed strong support for Plan S back in December. It seems they’re not alone. This month, a national funding agency in Africa is said to join, as well as a second U.S. funder. Others around the world are also considering jumping onboard.

Plan S is projected to be in full swing by January 2020 and is receiving support from many scientists who welcome the change to the publishing system. While other scientists and publishers worry that Plan S could restrict their choices. (more…)

To usher in the new year, ECS is highlighting the articles from the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, ECS Transactions, and Interface that received the most full-text downloads in 2018. 

Please enjoy the articles below, and stay connected with ECS through 2019 for access to more innovative and influential research at the forefront of electrochemical and solid state science and technology.

All of the articles in the following roundup are open access/free to read.

Learn about ECS’s Free the Science initiative.

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Michael Arnold, recipient of the ECS Charles W. Tobias Young Investigator Award.

At AiMES 2018, Michael Arnold was presented with the ECS Charles W. Tobias Young Investigator Award for his work “Overcoming the Materials Science Challenges to Nanocarbon Electronics.” The award recognizes outstanding scientific or engineering work in fundamental or applied electrochemistry or solid state science and technology.

“It’s certainly fantastic recognition,” says Arnold, “not only just of my efforts but my students’ efforts. I mean, the students are the ones in my group doing the work, so it makes me proud to receive the reward, but it’s really pride in my group.”

Arnold, a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, work addresses fundamental challenges—in controlling the growth, processing, ordering, and heterogeneity of nanomaterials and in understanding phenomena beyond the scale of single nanostructures—that must be overcome to exploit nanomaterials in technology. (more…)

To recognize the innovative research gaining attention across the diverse span of its topical interest areas, the Society highlights the top five most-downloaded journal articles in each TIA during each quarter of the year.

The most-downloaded ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology articles by TIA during the fourth quarter of 2018 (October through December) are listed below.

Highlights are based on articles published since January 1, 2016.

Articles marked OA are open access.

(more…)

To recognize the innovative research gaining attention across the diverse span of its topical interest areas, the Society highlights the top five most-downloaded journal articles in each TIA during each quarter of the year.

The most-downloaded Journal of The Electrochemical Society articles by TIA during the fourth quarter of 2018 (October through December) are listed below.

Highlights are based on articles published since January 1, 2016.

ALL of the articles listed below are open access.

(more…)

Marshall Medoff shares his work with Lesley Stahl. Photo Credit: 60 Minutes

Marshall Medoff will make you think twice about what is possible. The 81-year-old took an interest in the environment 25 years ago and decided he was going to take it upon himself to stop global warming. With no science background or financial support, Medoff took it upon himself to “save the world.” For more than a decade, he worked alone out of a garage at a storage facility, educating himself and working towards his goal; his solution, transform inedible plant life into environmentally friendly transportation fuels in a clean, cost-effective alternative.

“Cellulose is everywhere. I mean, there’s just so much cellulose in the world and nobody had managed to use any of it,” explained Medoff, as he chatted with correspondent Lesley Stahl on 60 minutes. “I said, ‘Wow, if I can break through this, we can increase the resources of the world maybe by a third or more.’ Who knows?” (more…)

Each year, the ECS San Francisco Section recognizes a deserving undergraduate student from a college or university in Northern California through the San Francisco Section Daniel Cubicciotti Student Award. The award was established in 1994 to assist a deserving student to pursue a career in the physical sciences or engineering. The award was created to honor distinguished researcher Daniel Cubicciotti. Recipients receive an etched metal plaque and $2,000 prize. In addition, the San Francisco section recognizes up to two additional students with an honorable mention: a framed certificate and a $500 prize. (more…)