The focus of the research behind the patent is to create a cost-effective, high-efficiency and sustainable method for manufacturing nano-materials to enhance energy and chemical production. Yang says he hopes that this will in turn address the current limitations of traditional, expensive fabrication techniques.

鈥淭he idea stemmed from the challenge of making solar hydrogen production more efficient and affordable,鈥� says Yang, a member of the .聽聽According to Yang, the materials were tested and validated for their application as catalysts. The recent findings were also published in the Royal Society for Chemistry.

A Catalyst for Innovation

The technology uses particles designed to optimize the generation and production of hydrogen and oxygen that serve as catalysts for energy production. 聽聽Traditional catalysts only respond to ultraviolet light, however this new development can harness a broader spectrum of sunlight.

To achieve this, Yang engineered particles within precise nanoscale structures that were grown inside titanium oxide (TiO鈧�) cavities, or light traps. These cavities can capture and control a wider spectrum of light, including sunlight, ultraviolet and near-infrared.

With this method, the particles can efficiently harvest solar energy through a process known as localized surface plasmon resonance. In simple terms, when light interacts with specialized nanomaterials it creates a synchronized ripple of mobile electrons 鈥� thus creating usable energy.

鈥淚n daily life, this could be implemented in solar-powered hydrogen generators for clean fuel in homes, cars or industrial settings, helping reduce reliance on fossil fuels and carbon emissions,鈥� Yang says.

Shaping the Future of Energy

The research and industrial applications of this patent could expand as the technology develops, Yang says. By tailoring the composition of Yang鈥檚 particles, the catalysts can be integrated into technologies like electrolyzers used in seawater splitting, which is a process that aims to produce green hydrogen. Because the catalyst can be produced using renewable materials, it may reduce the environmental footprint of research and industry by limiting the need for freshwater use.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a strong potential to optimize plasmonic tunability, [or how metallic nanostructures interact with light], by engineering the composition of our engineered particles,鈥� says Yang, 鈥淭his platform also inspires new designs for full-spectrum solar utilization and could be adapted for CO鈧� reduction or nitrogen fixation.鈥�

This technology is fully available for licensing. Interested parties can contact the or reach out directly to Yang Yang at Yang.Yang@ucf.edu for more information.聽

Funding for the research was provided by 麻豆原创 through a startup grant No. 20080741. STEM, EELS, and XPS data analysis was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Early Career Research Program under award No. 68278. The technology was developed by faculty and students from the 麻豆原创 College of Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering, and NanoScience Technology Center.

鈥�There鈥檚 a lot of places that say, 鈥楬ey, look at all the things we鈥檝e done.鈥� And then there鈥檚 麻豆原创 that says, 鈥楲ook at all the things we鈥檙e doing,鈥� 鈥� Sleppy says. 鈥淚 wanted to be part of building the future.鈥�

鈥淚 wanted to be part of building the future.鈥� 鈥� Joe Sleppy

In his first year, he landed undergraduate research opportunities thanks to 麻豆原创鈥檚 , which offers students opportunities for career exploration and experiential learning in STEM the first two years of their college career.

In 麻豆原创 Professor of Nanotechnology Jayan Thomas鈥� lab, the two partnered on the idea that would eventually become Capacitech Energy, where Sleppy has served as CEO since its inception in 2016 during his sophomore year.

Future-Proofing the Power Grid

Capacitech is a rapid response energy storage leader building high-power and space-conscious energy storage systems for an increasingly complex grid. Essentially, Sleppy and his team turn supercapacitor components into modular, plug-and-play systems that harden power infrastructure against power demand spikes, outages and equipment damage.

Sleppy explains traditional power infrastructure, such as generators and batteries, are like a marathon runner whereas supercapacitors are more like a sprinter. Modern facilities 鈥� like data centers that power AI 鈥� demand power 24/7 but also demand even more power than normal for just a few seconds. Ideally, both a sprinter and marathon runner are required. So, Capacitech鈥檚 products make it practical to form relay teams between the traditional infrastructure (marathon runners) and supercapacitors (sprinters).

鈥淚f we can use supercapacitors to complement batteries, generators, fuel cells and the broader grid to serve this demand profile that鈥檚 coming from manufacturing facilities and data centers, then we鈥檙e making the world a better place 鈥� economically, but also in terms of power sustainability and security. And I think that that鈥檚 very important,鈥� Sleppy says.

They made their first commercial sale in 2022 to Red Bull and have been running full force ever since.

Built by 麻豆原创

The company was bolstered by many resources at 麻豆原创 on its way to raising the $2.5 million it has so far through investors and federal research and development programs. To this day, 麻豆原创鈥檚 continues to house Capacitech鈥檚 operations with adaptable leasing structures, physical space, mentoring programs and community that have adapted to their needs as they鈥檝e grown. This year, they鈥檒l expand into new warehouse in research park, adjacent to 麻豆原创鈥檚 campus.

鈥淭he world is watching. Let鈥檚 use innovation and entrepreneurship to make it better.鈥� 鈥� Joe Sleppy

鈥溌槎乖� encouraged me to think outside of the box,鈥� he says. 鈥溌槎乖� is an innovative university because they鈥檒l ask, 鈥榃hy not?鈥� I think I share the same philosophy with running Capacitech. Let鈥檚 try it. The world is watching. Let鈥檚 use innovation and entrepreneurship to make it better.鈥�

In 2026 Sleppy expects Capacitech to announce new partnerships and pilot programs in industry. And they鈥檙e already engaged in mentoring the next generation of Knights with internship opportunities for students.

鈥淓ntrepreneurship is how the world gets better 鈥� whether it鈥檚 a nonprofit or a tech startup like ours,鈥� Sleppy says. 鈥淏y reducing strain on the grid and extending the life of critical infrastructure like batteries and microgrids, we鈥檙e making energy systems more resilient and accessible. That means fewer vulnerable communities at risk and more room for innovation to grow. It鈥檚 hard not to get excited when your work genuinely makes the world better.鈥�

Joe Sleppy was recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Energy & Green Tech list in 2026.

They had been tasked in a semester-long class assignment to build a carbon fiber rocket that would successfully carry the professor鈥檚 payload. While their design may have failed epically 鈥� while being broadcast live on the internet 鈥� they noticed one very important element that turned out to be the spark for their future company.

鈥淲hen we walked up to the rocket, we saw that the motor had gone through a 2-inch-thick steel plate, but the carbon fiber that we had made was intact and still super strong and actually protected the professor鈥檚 payload after exploding and crashing,鈥� Saltzman says. 鈥淲e said, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e pretty good at manufacturing this [carbon fiber] stuff.鈥� 鈥�

They took it as a sign to change their majors from aerospace engineering to materials science and engineering, and the earliest roots of Soarce were planted.

Sustainably Strengthening Industries

Soarce is at the forefront of bio-based nanomaterials and seeks to solve society鈥檚 greatest climate challenges by leveraging natural materials to create products that can outperform those made synthetically.

Drawn from seaweed, hemp and elephant grass, their nanocellulose coating can be applied to and fortify carbon fiber structures 鈥� everything from hockey sticks to electric vehicles to rocket ships.

鈥淭hat allows engineers to design parts that are lighter, stronger and more efficient,鈥� Saltzman says. 鈥淔or electric vehicles, they can now go farther. In the world of aerospace, we鈥檙e making those materials stronger so now you have more payload mass that you can put into space.鈥�

Their innovation has so much promise it has already secured $3.2 million in funding.

鈥溌槎乖� is about dreaming big, going as big as you can. And that鈥檚 how we feel.鈥� 鈥� Derek Saltzman

鈥溌槎乖� is about dreaming big, going as big as you can. And that鈥檚 how we feel,鈥� Saltzman says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on pace to what we feel is going to be the largest global nanocellulose producer in the world. And we are not afraid to say that and stand behind it. That鈥檚 a big dream, but that鈥檚 kind of what we鈥檙e here to do 鈥� make big changes.鈥�

麻豆原创-Backed Entrepreneurship

Their entrepreneurial journey has gone through several iterations since Saltzman and Mincey were randomly assigned as roommates in during their freshman year. The pair dabbled in enterprises involved with agriculture and drone racing, cutting their teeth on the business side of running a company through resources 麻豆原创 offers including the 鈥檚 .

To this day, they鈥檙e still partnering with the 麻豆原创 ecosystem, utilizing the 麻豆原创 Business Incubation Program鈥檚 Life Sciences Incubator in Lake Nona, which gives Soarce access to a fully equipped, Biosafety Level II wet lab to foster their work in advanced materials.

鈥溌槎乖� has really strong partnerships and connections to industry that allow you to funnel your idea from a lab-benchtop scale all the way to integrating into a Fortune 500 company to get that product off the ground,鈥� Saltzman says.

Now, along with fellow 麻豆原创 alums and Soarce co-founders Matthew Jaeger 鈥�22, an actuarial science alum, and Patrick Michel, a former management student, they鈥檙e looking forward to expanding their operations into an 8,000-square-foot facility in partnership with Tavistock and heading into pilot trials with Fortune 500 companies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to see how far we鈥檝e come, from an idea in a notebook that we started eight years ago to now within the next three to five years, we鈥檒l have that material not only created, but actually being flown into space and amongst the stars,鈥� Saltzman says.

The Soarce co-founders were recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry list in 2026.

A team of 麻豆原创 researchers is exploring the use of the metal to develop a novel method to rid drinking water of harmful algal blooms, or HABs, which occur when colonies of algae grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, birds and other living creatures.

Their project is supported through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program, which recently awarded $1.2 million to 16 collegiate teams across the United States.

麻豆原创 received $75,000 for their two-year project that aims to develop a gold-decorated nickel metal-organic framework (MOF) that removes microcystins 鈥� toxins produced by harmful algae blooms 鈥� from the water. MOFs are porous clusters of metal polymers that are used in many practical applications.

The 麻豆原创 student team includes environmental engineering doctoral student Samuel Adjei-Nimoh, materials science and engineering doctoral student Nimanyu Joshi, and environmental engineering undergraduate students Jennifer Hughes and Julia Going. The principal investigator of the grant is Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering Woo Hyoung Lee, and the co-principal investigator is Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Yang Yang.

鈥淢OFs have been used as a catalyst for many research areas such as hydrogen storage, carbon capture, electrocatalysis, biological imaging and sensing, semiconductors and drug delivery systems,鈥� Lee says. 鈥淚n this project, we鈥檙e using the gold-decorated nickel MOF as a photocatalyst to remove water pollutants.鈥�

The gold will be coated in an MOF, which will help it react to the sunlight. That reaction, known as photocatalysis, will result in the oxidation of the microcystins, removing them from the water.

Microcystins are the most common cyanotoxins linked to harmful algal blooms in freshwater environments, notably in regions such as Florida with abundant lakes. They鈥檙e known to cause liver damage, kidney failure, gastroenteritis and allergic reactions in humans. With the 麻豆原创 team鈥檚 novel solution, water treatment facilities can produce cleaner, safer drinking water.

“Clean drinking water isn’t just a necessity, it’s a fundamental right, especially for Floridians who rely on our abundant lakes and waterways,鈥� Lee says. 鈥淏y leveraging the innovative nanotechnology for water treatment,聽 we’re not only removing toxins but also safeguarding the health and well-being of our communities, ensuring a brighter, healthier future for all.鈥�

This is Lee鈥檚 second consecutive year receiving the P3 award. In 2023, his team was selected for their work on a biosensor that could detect microcystins early in their formation for faster eradication.

This is the 20th anniversary of the P3 program. Projects funded this year will tackle critical issues such as removing PFAS from water, combating harmful algal blooms, and materials recovery and reuse, says Chris Frey, assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development, in a release.

鈥淚 commend these hardworking and creative students and look forward to seeing the results of their innovative projects that are addressing some of our thorniest sustainability and environmental challenges,鈥澛燜rey says.

About the Researchers

Lee is an associate professor in the 麻豆原创 Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering. He received his bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from Chonnam National University in 1996, his master’s degree in environmental engineering from Korea University in 2001 and his doctoral degree in environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. Before joining 麻豆原创, he was an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education postdoctoral research fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Ohio.

Yang holds joint appointments in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, which is part of the university鈥檚聽College of Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of 麻豆原创鈥檚聽Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformation Cluster. Before joining 麻豆原创 in 2015, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He received his doctoral degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in China.

The findings, by of the university鈥檚 virus and engineering experts and the leader of an Orlando technology firm, were published this week in 聽ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

Christina Drake 鈥�07PhD, founder of Kismet Technologies, was inspired to develop the disinfectant after making a trip to the grocery store in the early days of the pandemic. There she saw a worker spraying disinfectant on a refrigerator handle, then wiping off the spray immediately.

鈥淚nitially my thought was to develop a fast-acting disinfectant,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut we spoke to consumers, such as doctors and dentists, to find out what they really wanted from a disinfectant. What mattered the most to them was something long-lasting that would continue to disinfect high-touch areas like doorhandles and floors long after application.鈥�

Drake partnered with Sudipta Seal, a 麻豆原创 materials engineer and expert, and Griff Parks, a virologist who is also associate dean of and director of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Kismet Tech and the Florida High Tech Corridor, the researchers created a nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant.

Its active ingredient is an engineered nanostructure called cerium oxide, which is known for its regenerative antioxidant properties. The cerium oxide nanoparticles are modified with small amounts of silver to make them more potent against pathogens.

鈥淚t works both chemically and mechanically,鈥� says Seal, who has been studying nanotechnology for more than 20 years. 鈥淭he nanoparticles emit electrons that oxidize the virus, rendering it inactive. Mechanically, they also attach themselves to the virus and rupture the surface, almost like popping a balloon.鈥�

Most disinfecting wipes or sprays will disinfect a surface within three to six minutes of application but have no residual effects. This means surfaces need to be wiped down repeatedly to stay clean from a number of viruses, like COVID-19. The nanoparticle formulation maintains its ability to inactivate microbes and continues to disinfect a surface for up to seven days after a single application.

鈥淭he disinfectant has shown tremendous antiviral activity against seven different viruses,鈥� says Parks, whose lab was responsible for testing the formulation against 鈥渁 dictionary鈥� of viruses. 鈥淣ot only did it show antiviral properties toward coronavirus and rhinovirus, but it also proved effective against a wide range of other viruses with different structures and complexities. We are hopeful that with this amazing range of killing capacity, this disinfectant will also be a highly effective tool against other new emerging viruses. 鈥�

The scientists are confident the solution will have a major impact in health care settings in particular, reducing the rate of hospital acquired infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium difficile 鈥� which affect more than one in 30 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals.

And unlike many commercial disinfectants, the formulation has no harmful chemicals, which indicates it will be safe to use on any surface. Regulatory testing for irritancy on skin and eye cells, as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, showed no harmful effects.

“Many household disinfectants currently available contain chemicals that can be harmful to the body with repeated exposure,鈥� Drake says. 鈥淥ur nanoparticle-based product will have a high safety rating will play a major role in reducing overall chemical exposure for humans.鈥�

More research is needed before the product can go to market, which is why the next phase of the study will look at how the disinfectant performs outside of the lab in real world applications. That work will look at how the disinfectant is affected by external factors such as temperature or sunlight. The team is in talks with a local hospital network to test the product in their facilities.

鈥淲e’re also exploring developing a semi-permanent film to see if we can coat and seal a hospital floor or door handles, areas where you need things to be disinfected and even with aggressive and persistent contact,鈥� Drake says.

Seal joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, which is part of , in 1997. He has an appointment at the聽College of Medicine聽and is a member of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Biionix Cluster, which focuses on advancing medical technology for prosthetics. He is the former director of 麻豆原创鈥檚聽Nanoscience Technology Center聽and聽. He received his doctorate in materials engineering with a minor in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.

Parks came to 麻豆原创 in 2014 after 20 years at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He earned his doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin and was an American Cancer Society Fellow at Northwestern University.

The study was co-authored by post-doctoral researchers Candace Fox from the College of Medicine and Craig Neal from the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Graduate students Tamil Sakthivel, Udit Kumar and Yifei Fu from the College of Engineering and Computer Science were also co-authors.

The technique, which was detailed recently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, uses nanoparticles with nickel-rich cores and platinum-rich shells to increase the sensitivity of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

ELISA is a test that measures samples for biochemicals, such as antibodies and proteins, which can indicate the presence of cancer, HIV, pregnancy and more. When a biochemical is detected, the test generates a color output that can be used to quantify its concentration. The stronger the color is, the stronger the concentration. The tests must be sensitive to prevent false negatives that could delay treatment or interventions.

In the study, the researchers found that when the nanoparticles were used in place of the conventional enzyme used in an ELISA 鈥� peroxidase 鈥� that the test was 300 times more sensitive at detecting carcinoembryonic antigen, a biomarker sometimes used to detect colorectal cancers.

And while a biomarker for colorectal cancer was used in the study, the technique could be used to detect biomarkers for other types of cancers and diseases, says Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 and study co-author.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., not counting some kinds of skin cancer, and early detection helps improve treatment outcomes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The increase in sensitivity comes from nickel-platinum nanoparticle 鈥渕imics鈥� that greatly increase the reaction efficiency of the test, which increases its color output, and thus its detection ability, Xia says.

Peroxidases found in the horseradish root have been widely used to generate color in diagnostic tests for decades. However, they have limited reaction efficiency and thus color output, which has inhibited the development of sensitive diagnostic tests, Xia says.

Nanoparticle 鈥渕imics鈥� of peroxidase have been extensively developed over the past 10 years, but none have achieved the reaction efficiency of the nanoparticles developed by Xia and his team.

鈥淭his work sets the record for the catalytic efficiency of peroxidase mimic,鈥� Xia says. 鈥淚t breaks through the limitation of catalytic efficiency of peroxidase mimics, which is a long-standing challenge in the field.鈥�

鈥淪uch a breakthrough enables highly sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers with the ultimate goal of saving lives through earlier detection of cancers,鈥� he says.

Xia says next steps for the research are to continue to refine the technology and apply it to clinical samples of human patients to study its performance.

鈥淲e hope the technology can be eventually used in clinical diagnostic laboratories in the near future,鈥� Xia says.

Study co-authors were Zheng Xi with 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Chemistry; Kecheng Wei and Shouheng Sun with Brown University; Qingxiao Wang and Moon J. Kim with the University of Texas at Dallas; and Victor Fung with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Xia joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Chemistry, part of 麻豆原创鈥檚聽College of Sciences, in 2018. He has a joint appointment in 麻豆原创鈥檚聽. Prior to his appointment at 麻豆原创, he worked at Michigan Technological University as an assistant professor and at Georgia Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher. He has published more than 60 journal articles and received multiple research grants.

In a study published recently in the journal , 麻豆原创 assistant professor Yang Yang and co-authors demonstrated the ability of the new design to be both durable and high performing.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it鈥檚 important to work toward developing batteries with environmentally friendly and nonflammable components, as Americans throw billions of batteries into the trash every year.

These batteries contain toxic metals and solvents that can leak from buried batteries and contaminate soil and groundwater.

The new seawater battery 麻豆原创 helped develop is a step in the environmentally friendly direction as it replaces the toxic solvent that current lithium-ion batteries contain with benign seawater.

Current lithium-ion battery solvents are also flammable, making the batteries a fire hazard if they are damaged or overheat. They can also cause fires in landfills when improperly disposed there.

Researchers have tried to overcome the problem of a toxic and flammable solvent by using water-based zinc batteries, but this has been limited by problems with internal zinc growth on the anode, which hinders battery lifespan and durability.

The new design fixes this issue by using a zinc-manganese nano-alloy to form the battery鈥檚 anode, which is an internal metal structure that generates electrons that travel to a similar structure, the cathode, inside the battery, thus creating a current and power.

Anodes and cathodes are known as electrodes because of their ability to conduct electricity.

鈥淲e developed a durable and robust 3D electrode that can be used for seawater batteries under extreme conditions,鈥� Yang says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked on aqueous batteries and the use of seawater resources for many years, so we have expertise in the field and know where it should go.鈥�

Yang is an expert in battery improvement and alternative fuel cell technologies.

He says they used seawater as the battery electrolyte, or chemical medium that allows the electrical charge to flow between anode and cathode, because of its abundance and for its potential use in deep-sea energy storage applications.

For example, seawater batteries could be used to power undersea vehicles. And for the alloy they developed, it could be used in both water and non-water-based batteries, Yang says.

In the study, the researchers tested the design and found that the alloy-coated anode remained stable without degrading throughout 1,000 hours of charge and discharge cycling under a high current density of 80 milliampere per square centimeter.

The alloy鈥檚 stability was confirmed with synchrotron X-ray characterizations that tracked atomic and chemical changes of the anode in different stages of operation.

The researchers are also currently investigating the use of other metal alloys in addition to zinc-manganese.

Study co-authors were Huajun Tian, Zhao Li, David Fox, Lei Zhai and Akihiro Kushima with 麻豆原创; Guangxia Feng and Xiaonan Shan with the University of Houston; Zhenzhong Yang and Yingge Du with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Maoyu Wang and Zhenxing Feng with Oregon State University; and Hua Zhou with Argonne National Laboratory.

The research was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation.

Yang holds joint appointments in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center and the , which is part of the university鈥檚聽College of Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of 麻豆原创鈥檚聽Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformation (REACT) Cluster. Before joining 麻豆原创 in 2015, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He received his doctorate in materials science from Tsinghua University in China.

Assistant Professor Yang Yang is doing this by making the batteries more efficient, with some of his latest work focusing on keeping an internal metal structure, the anode, from falling apart over time by applying a thin, film-like coating of copper and tin. The new technique is detailed in a recent study in the journal Advanced Materials.

An anode generates electrons that travel to a similar structure, the cathode, inside the battery, thus creating a current and power.

鈥淥ur work has shown that the rate of degradation of the anode can be reduced by more than 1,000 percent by using a copper-tin film compared to a tin film that is often used,鈥� said Yang, who is with 麻豆原创鈥檚 .

Yang is an expert in battery improvement including making them safer and able to withstand extreme temperatures.

The technique is unique because of its use of the copper-tin alloy and is an important improvement in stabilizing rechargeable battery performance, Yang says. It is also scalable for use in the smallest smartphone battery to larger batteries that power electric cars and trucks.

鈥淲e are motivated by our most recent research progress in alloyed materials for various applications,鈥� he says. 鈥淓ach alloy is unique in composition, structure and property.鈥�

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation through its Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems鈥� Electrochemical Systems program and through 麻豆原创鈥檚 startup funding and preeminent postdoctoral programs.

Study co-authors included Guanzhi Wang, a doctoral student in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center, , and the paper鈥檚 first author; Megan Aubin, a doctoral student in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Abhishek Mehta, a graduate of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Department of Materials Science and Engineering doctoral program; Huajun Tian and Jinfa Chang, postdoctoral scholars in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center; Akihiro Kushima, an assistant professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center; and Yongho Sohn; a professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center.

Yang holds joint appointments in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, which is part of the university鈥檚 . He is a member of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformation (REACT) Cluster. Before joining 麻豆原创 in 2015, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He received his doctorate in materials science from Tsinghua University in China.

The five-year $1.7 million grant is intended to provide stable funding so recipients can pursue ambitious challenges, according to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which oversees the program.

Han, who has a doctorate in chemistry, will use the grant to develop a novel bioengineering tool and imaging system to enable researchers to image multiple proteins in a single cell under a super-resolution microscope. The current technique is extremely slow, taking weeks to months to image fewer than 20 target proteins. Han expects to be able to accomplish this with nanoscale resolution in 24 hours.

If successful, this new tool could be invaluable to researchers trying to understand key biomedical problems from diabetes to cancer because proteins are linked to so many important processes in the body. Specialized proteins play a variety of roles including biochemical reactions, the body鈥檚 immune system, scaffolding structures and regulation of metabolisms.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I study optics,鈥� Han says. 鈥淢y background, how I got into this, is biophysics and biochemistry. I recognize the potential. It makes sense because we need to know how proteins interact with each other and the surrounding systems. We need to be able to observe those to understand all the connections.鈥�

Han鈥檚 work aligns to the goal of the award, which is part of NIH鈥檚 Maximizing Investigator Research Awards program.

鈥淭his is my dream job,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 am excited to get started.鈥�

Han said he knew of college鈥檚 reputation for optics and photonics, which is why in 2016 he accepted a position at 麻豆原创. He has received several grants 鈥� including a National Science Foundation award 鈥� published several journal papers and began training students in this interdisciplinary area of research. Two of his graduate students, Jinhan Ren and Vahid Ebrahimi, will work on the NIH project.

Interdisciplinary ties are critical, he says because of the complexity of the challenge. That鈥檚 why for this NIH project he is collaborating with a neuroscientist at Rutgers University and a cell biologist at the University of Illinois.

Before joining 麻豆原创, Han worked at the Max Planck Institute in Germany where he studied super-resolution fluorescence imaging. His postdoctoral research, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focused on designing new optical tools for biological applications, such as studying DNA-protein interactions, RNA imaging in live-cells, and revealing nuclear structure in mammalian cells. He has one patent, which was commercialized by Leica

The work has implications in creating nighttime camouflage that conceals objects from infrared vision, as well as in methods for anticounterfeiting, tagging and energy management.

鈥淎ny material always leaves behind an infrared signature based on its temperature,鈥� says Debashis Chanda, an associate professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 and principal investigator of the research.

鈥淚f we can change the signature of a material, engineer the surface in such a way that it doesn’t emit certain wavelengths or does emit others, that not only helps us to improve concealment but also anticounterfeiting applications,鈥� Chanda says. 鈥淎nd controlling thermal emissions plays a role in energy management because we could actually change the amount of energy dissipated from the surface so energy can be saved.鈥�

The technology works by using nanoscale structures on chosen combinations of material stacks that can be adjusted to control which wavelengths of light are emitted.

For night vision, this means creating a material that doesn鈥檛 give off an infrared signature, thus concealing it from cameras that look for infrared signatures in the dark when visible light isn鈥檛 available.

For anticounterfeiting, this means placing a material with a certain wavelength signature on an object so that the signature can only be read with a device tuned to detect that signature.

The $2.5 million funding over 5 years will allow Chanda and his team to further research how light interacts with matter and also scale up their work to create materials, such as paint, that can conceal energy signatures over larger areas and explore ways to keep materials cool by controlling their energy emissions.

As part of this research, Chanda鈥檚 group is acquiring a more than $500,000 complex scattering near-field optical microscope that includes nanoscale Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, IR nano-imaging, atomic force microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy and ultrafast pump-probe modules. This will allow them to study electron and photon propagation, dynamics, scattering and interaction with materials.

鈥淭hese delicate measurements can now be done inside a single instrument in a coherent manner to further understand light-matter interactions for efficient infrared emission control,鈥� Chanda says.

Previous work by the Chanda group has demonstrated that its technique can be used to conceal or detect coded information.

Chanda has joint appointments in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NanoScience Technology Center, and . He received his doctorate in photonics from the University of Toronto and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois. Chanda joined 麻豆原创 in Fall 2012.