July, 2018: KIC co-Director David Muller, KIC member Sol Gruner and Physics Professor Veit Elser, have developed a method for achieving ultra-high resolution for their electron microscope, using monolayer molybdenum disulfide to achieve a world record for image resolution. The Cornell-developed electron microscope pixel array detector employed in this method was developed with support from the Kavli Institute at Cornell (KIC). Read more about this achievement in the Cornell Chronicle.
June 2018: In a paper published in Nature, a team led by KIC member Uli Wiesner, the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, reports discovery of 10-nanometer, individual, self-assembled dodecahedral structures – 12-sided silica cages that could have applications in mesoscale material assembly, as well as medical diagnosis and therapeutics. Read the full story in the 
May 2018: KIC members Jie Shan and Kin Fai Mak are experts on atomically thin materials, particularly their optical and electronic properties. They are also married and were recruited to Cornell last year through the provost’s 
May, 2018: KIC congratulates Executive Committee member Hector Abruna on being elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Abruna is one of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to NAS in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. This story originally appeared in the 
April, 2018: KIC members Jie Shan and Kin Fai Mak have become the first to control atomically thin magnets with an electric field, a breakthrough that provides a blueprint for producing exceptionally powerful and efficient data storage in computer chips, among other applications. The research is detailed in the paper, “
March, 2018: In a study published March 8 in Science, KIC co-Director David Muller, in collaboration with University of Chicago scientists, revealed a technique to “sew” two patches of crystals seamlessly together to create atomically thin fabrics. Read more in the 
March 2018: KIC members Grace Xing, Debdeep Jena and David Muller are among a team of Cornell researchers that have successfully devised a semi-conductor-superconductor crystal featuring gallium nitride (GaN) grown directly only a crystal of niobium nitride (NbN), a proven superconductor material used in many applications, including quantum communications and astronomy. Their research was published online March 8 in 
Feb 2018: Recent work from the lab of Lena Kourkoutis, KIC member and Assistant Professor of Applied & Engineering Physics, describes a new approach to characterizing and understanding exotic charge-ordered phases in manganite, shedding light on the material’s structure changes where the “fun” happens- at super cold temperatures. Read the full story in the 
January, 2018: A KIC research team comprised of co-Directors Paul McEuen & David Muller, member Itai Cohen, and Postdoctoral Fellow Marc Miskin have built the ‘muscle’ for an electricity-conducting, environment-sensing, shape-changing machine the size of a human cell. Their work is outlined in “
December, 2017: KIC co-Director David Muller and his research collaborators have discovered a method for basically inserting a 1-D semiconductor channel into the “fabric” of a 2-D materials. The electronic band structures of these channels exhibit the proprieties necessary for future electronics applications. This research was published in Nature Materials. Read more in the 
Nov. 2017: KIC members Darrell Schlom and Kyle Shen address a decades-old mystery of “missing electrons.” Their work is detailed in a paper, “
Nov. 2017: KIC members and postdocs explore the optical properties of single-atom-thick layers of graphene and report clear observations of exitons in bilayer graphene. The research by Paul McEuen, Farhan Rana, Long Ju and Lei Wang (all affiliated with KIC) was published in Science on Nov 17, 2017. Read more in the 
Oct. 2017: Inspired by cephalopods such as the optopus that have the ability to quickly change color and shape, KIC member and Professor of Physics Itai Cohen has teamed up with Rob Shepherd, an assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, to devise a method for precisely transforming stretchable 2D obejcts into 3D shapes. Read more about this research in the 
Oct., 2017: A research group led by KIC members Grace Xing and Debdeep Jena recently achieved a new record in deep ultraviolet photonics at 40% internal quantum efficiency (IQE), which is more than twice the highest-reported value for the conventional heterostructures at comparable short DUV wavelengths. Full story available on the 
Sept. 2017: KIC Director and John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science Paul McEuen has been named a Citation Laureate for his seminal contributions to carbon-based electronics. The Cornell NEXT Nano Initative
What If.......we could track and repair individual cells deep inside the body?
...we could build an environmental lab inside of a raindrop?
...we could nano-engineer batteries to make fossil fuels obsolete?
...we could create nanoscale machines as easily as we build electronic circuits?
NEXT is a mult-year interdisciplinary program at Cornell created to push nanoscale science and microsystems engineering to the next level of design, function and integration.
Our goal of hiring 10 outstanding nano/micro focused faculty members in the next five years is just the first of the NEXT initiatives at Cornell. Join us in building the future!
