Currently available wearable thermoelectric devices have the drawback of requiring a rigid heat sink (e.g., metal pin fin structures, or a fan), or the device performance is usually very low in the absence of such a heat sink.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering have engineered a Cupriavidus necator N-1 NAD-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (Mdh) variant with much improved catalytic efficiency and specificity toward methanol, compared with the existing NAD-dependent Mdhs with or without endogenous activator protein (ACT) activation.

Nanocrystalline iron nitride is an important soft magnetic material; however, conventional methods of production don’t exist. Synthesis of dense nanocrystalline iron nitrides is not possible by simply annealing elemental iron in NH3 at temperatures in excess of 600° C since g’-Fe4N and other iron nitrides are unstable above 600°C and will decompose. Sandia researchers have discovered that by using a two-step reactive milling process and high pressure spark plasma sintering (SPS) they can quickly and efficiently fabricate bulk g’-Fe4N parts.

The Kisailus research group at the University of California, Riverside, has  developed a novel fuel cell catalyst made of porous carbon nanofibers doped with inexpensive metal or metal oxide nanoparticles that provide active sites for energy conversion and storage. The active or catalytic nanoparticles are embedded and integrated with graphitic nanofibers and are accessible to the surrounding environment due to high porosity. The extensive graphitic networks within these nanofibers also exhibits enhanced conductivity. Cobalt oxide- graphite composite nanofibers showed equivalent catalytic activity to fuel cell platinum catalysts like platinum on carbon (Pt/C). When operated under fuel cell conditions, the nanofiber formulation provides enhanced durability.  Fig. 1 Metal oxide-graphite composite and porous nanofibers with highly controllable diameter, particle size and performance. Fig. 2 Linear sweep voltametry curves shows that the graphitic nanofibers doped with metal ions have higher current densities than commercial platinum on carbon (Pt/C).  

UCLA researchers have developed a multi-layer energy management system (EMS) for electric vehicles with intelligent control strategies.

A selective method of charge-transfer doping single-walled nanotubes with conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) to form p-type or n-type conductive composites.

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Inventors at UC Irvine have engineered an orthogonal DNA replication system capable of rapid, accelerated continuous evolution. This system enables the directed evolution of specific biomolecules towards user-defined functions and is applicable to problems of protein, enzyme, and metabolic pathway engineering.

UCLA researchers in the departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering have designed a method for locally heating or cooling the airflow around an individual using a newly designed vent register that simultaneously shows an estimated 30% increase in energy efficiency and a lower installation cost compared to conventional HVAC systems.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) translational microtabs for enhancing and controlling aerodynamic loading of lifting surfaces.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have developed a new method to engineer uniform pore sizes within porous carbon utilizing a covalent triazine frameworks as precursors.

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered a process of creating high performance encapsulants with tunable elastic properties. This entirely new approach improves the mechanical properties of encapsulants for LED devices.

Researchers at UCI have developed a method for enhancing existing hydrogen gas sensors, leading to as much as a 20-fold improvement in sensor response and recovery times.

Power-lines for the distribution and transmission of high-voltage electricity are ubiquitous infrastructure of modern societies. Convenient means exists for measuring the currents in these power-lines. However measuring the voltages between conductors of power-lines is difficult and costly because it typically requires large and expensive equipment due to the high voltages (which can be tens or hundreds of thousands of volts). To address that situation, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a novel, practical and inexpensive way to measure the conduct-to-conductor voltages of power-lines using components in just one conductor of overhead distribution and transmission power-lines. In addition to voltage, this technology can be augmented to measure current, power, and power flow directions. This Berkeley technology can also applied to power-lines in office buildings, factories and power substations.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a method of fabricating a III-nitride vertical transistor with aperture region formed using ion implantation as a path to achieve selective area doping.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Electrical Engineering have developed a system that can receive RF waves in different frequency bands, from different directions, and with different polarizations to maximize energy harvested from ambient radio-frequency signals.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed an innovative synthesis approach to achieve high anisotropy L1 FeNi by combining physical vapor deposition and a high speed rapid thermal annealing (RTA).

Photonic integrated circuit (PIC) comprised of an integrated non-reciprocal device that can be reversed, is monolithic, and can be integrated with lasers and modulators

The invention is a method for instantaneous and efficient extraction of radioactive isotopes with high specific activity, during continuous production at research reactors. The proposed method allows advantageous production of radioisotopes for various applications, including nuclear medicine uses (diagnostics, imaging, cancer treatments). In addition, the invention has the potential for applications related to isotopes used in thermoelectric generators (i.e. 238Pu) that power both medical devices, such as cardiac pacemakers, and deep space missions.

Hybrid growth method for III-nitride tunnel junction devices that uses metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) to grow one or more light-emitting or light-absorbing structures and ammonia-assisted or plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to grow one or more tunnel junctions.

UCLA researchers have developed an accurate low-profile shear sensing unit that is viable for both gas and liquid flows.

UCLA researchers in the Department of Electrical Engineering have developed a novel design for a wireless power transfer system. This new design is optimized to function stably over a greater and variable distance than current systems and to function with a higher efficiency.

A method of depositing ZnO on III-nitride materials using a multistep approach involving the deposition of a thin seed layer followed by the deposition of a thicker bulk layer.

A method of bonding transparent conductive oxides on III-nitride materials using wafer bonding techniques.

A method for improving the performance of semipolar III-nitride light-emitting devices.