2011 news highlights – Basic sciences
© 2011 EPFL
Future energies, communications, environment and a better understanding of the Universe are some of the domains explored by SB School scientists. Here is a selection of this year’s headlines.
JANUARY – Mathematics at the service of the forest
Extreme temperatures have a severe impact on vegetation. The result is that, with climate change, certain species of trees are disappearing from Swiss forests. However, mathematical models are coming to the canopy’s rescue.
APRIL – Better lasers for optical communications
A new laser procedure could boost optical fiber communications. This technique could become essential for the future expansion of the Internet and opens up new frontiers in basic research.
APRIL – A chance discovery may revolutionize hydrogen production
Molybdenum based catalysts now enable a more cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen production.
JUNE – Plasma: The trouble with bubbles
Controlling a boiling plasma at several million degrees Celsius – that’s the challenge of nuclear fusion. EPFL’s Plasma Physics Research Center (CRPP) has just published two scientific articles about the great energy hope for the future.
SPETEMBER – Could the Higgs boson explain the size of the Universe?
The Universe wouldn’t be the same without the Higgs boson. This legendary particle plays a role in cosmology and reveals the possible existence of another closely related particle.
NOVEMBER – Dye-sensitized solar cells break a new record
Dye-sensitized Grätzel solar cells have just set a new efficiency benchmark. By changing the composition and color of the cells, an EPFL team has increased their efficiency to more than 12%. Their results were published in Science.