Improving materials from the nanoscale up
The 2018 MIT Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) Materials Day Symposium, highlighting advances in materials science and engineering, took place in Kresge Auditorium on Oct. 10. Among the latest advances shared: Powerful new combinations of X-rays, electrical probes, and analytical computing that are yielding insights into problems as diverse as fatigue in steel and stability in solar cells. “Fatigue in steel is a major issue; you don’t see any changes in the shape of your material, and suddenly it fails," MIT Assistant Professor C. Cem Taşan said at the event. “We are putting a lot of effort in maintenance and safety, yet still we have devastating accidents,” he said, recalling the airline incident in April 2018 when a jet engine turbine blade broke apart and shrapnel from the engine broke a plane window fatally injuring a passenger. “The airline company basically said that component passed all the maintenance requirements. So it was checked, and...