NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has awarded approximately $125,000 to schools and organizations to launch professional development programs for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educators. The award is intended to strengthen STEM programs for K-12 teachers across Ohio through the use of NASA content. The grant also includes support from Glenn’s scientists, engineers and education staff and access to Glenn’s world-class facilities.

Yale scientists have created a device that uses sound waves to store quantum information and convert it from one form to another, all inside a single integrated chip. The device allows a superconducting artificial atom, or qubit, to exchange energy and quantum information with a high-frequency bulk acoustic wave resonator. The ability to manipulate and store fragile quantum data in a robust and easy-to-manufacture way is a crucial step in the development of quantum computing technology, according to the team.

Physicists at CERN are counting on new magnets, ones capable of generating fields of 16 Tesla or more, to increase the energy of its future circular colliders. To achieve these levels, researchers working on CERN's Future Circular Collider (FCC) study have developed a test station known as FRESCA2, a dipole magnet with a large aperture, capable of testing new superconducting cables in a strong magnetic field.

CERN launched the LHC Injectors Upgrade (LIU) project in 2010 to prepare its accelerator complex for the immense challenges of the HL-LHC. Now, in a report appearing in CERN Courier, engineers from the project have provided a status update. In addition to enabling the necessary proton and ion injector chains to deliver beams of ions and protons required for the HL-LHC, LIU engineers must ensure the reliable operation and lifetime of the injectors throughout the HL-LHC era, expected to last until around 2035. This commitment involves replacing aging equipment (such as power supplies, magnets and SRF cavities) and improving radioprotection measures such as shielding and ventilation.

Particle accelerators are a lot more than simply the engines of particle physics research, according to scientists working on the Accelerator Application Development and Demonstration (A2D2) project at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (CSA CSM). Electron beams generated by linear accelerators have all kinds of practical uses, the researchers say, such as strengthening roads, making the wires used in cars melt-resistant or purifying water.

The United States and United Kingdom have entered into the first-ever umbrella science agreement between the two countries, a move that will see the UK contribute $88 million to the LBNF/DUNE project hosted at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab, CSA CSM). The funding makes the UK the largest country investing in the project outside of the US.

Simulating molecules on quantum computers just got easier according to new results obtained with IBM’s superconducting quantum hardware. In an article published in Nature, IBM researchers discuss the implementation of a new quantum algorithm capable of efficiently computing the lowest energy state of small molecules. By mapping the electronic structure of molecular orbitals onto a subset of the company's purpose-built seven-qubit quantum processor, the team studied molecules previously unexplored with quantum computers, including lithium hydride (LiH) and beryllium hydride (BeH2).

Nestled against the coast of lake Monona in Madison WI, over 700 scientists and engineers from around the world bustled around the meeting rooms of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Monona Terrace from July 9-13, 2017, for the 21st joint Cryogenic Engineering and International Cryogenic Materials Conferences.

An investigation into popular thermal/fluid design codes begun as an exercise in curiosity by engineers at NASA Glenn Research Center and the University of Florida has uncovered an interesting flaw in modern cryogenic two-phase flow modeling.

The LAES system charges using an industrial air liquefier based on the Claude cycle used on the front end of existing air separation units. Electricity from the grid is used to produce liquid air at close to ambient pressure, thus avoiding the excessive cost of containing a high-pressure fluid in significant volume.

In October 1989, while investigating the crash landing of United Flight 232 in Sioux City, the NTSB located the fan disk from the plane’s number two engine in a cornfield near Alta, Iowa. It was in two pieces, ripped apart, the agency later determined, when an undetected metallurgical defect resulted in an explosive fracture that destroyed all three of the plane’s hydraulic systems. The defect had not been discovered during required manufacturing inspections nor during six subsequent fluorescent penetrant inspections performed over the part’s lifetime. In response, the FAA amended its regulations and implored industry to develop new and more efficient techniques to detect flaws in aircraft parts.

Xavier Barcons became the eighth director general of the European Southern Observatory on September 1, succeeding Tim de Zeeuw who had served since 2007. Barcons begins his tenure at an exciting time for ESO, as construction of its Extremely Large Telescope is progressing and it is set to see first light in 2024.