A new study, published in the journal Acta Materialia, finds that though perovskite films tend to crack easily, those cracks are easily healed with some compression or a little bit of heat. That bodes well, the researchers say, for the use of inexpensive perovskites to replace or complement pricy silicon in solar cell technologies. Nitin Padture, a professor in Brown’s School of Engineering and director of the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation led the study, with doctoral student Srinivas Yadavalli as first author.

For the study, Yadavalli deposited perovskite films on plastic substrates. He then bent the substrate to put tensile (pulling apart) stress on the perovskite film while using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to detect cracks. Once the film was cracked, the researchers then bent the substrate in the opposite direction to see if compressive stress might heal those cracks. Read more.

As part of a celebration for Black History month, CrossTalk, a blog from Cell Press, named Dean Andrew G. Campbell as one of 100 inspiring black scientists in America. The list includes established investigators that range from tenure track assistant professors to associate and full professors, as well as scientists the organization considers rising stars. "Our hope is that this resource will have a significant and long-lasting effect on all members of the scientific community and continue to emphasize the need for diversity in the academy," says their website. Cell Press is a publisher of cutting-edge biomedical and physical science research and reviews.

Allison Pappas, doctoral candidate in the History of Art and Architecture received a Research Support Grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. She is currently in England, visiting collections in London, Cambridge, and Bradford, to complete archival work for the first chapter of her dissertation, which focuses on the development of the paper photography process in England amongst a community of scientists investigating light, chemistry and optics, among many other subjects. She highlights the language used to describe this new medium, namely the "impression," and the way it shifts between associations with empirical theories of perception and printed images. The chapter is titled Photography's First Impressions: W.H.F Talbot, J.F.W. Herschel, and Experimental Rhetoric.

The Graduate School collected 291 pounds of food during our twelfth annual Holiday Food Drive benefitting the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Thank you to everyone who generously donated!