Genetically encoded molecular sensors detectable by MRI could reveal precise information about cellular processes noninvasively in live animals. In a recent study, Professor Alan Jasanoff's lab developed a prototype sensor for protein kinase activity (a key step in intracellular signal transduction) based on the genetically encodable protein ferritin. Next steps include expressing the sensor components inside cells, and applying the design to sense additional cellular targets.

By seeding the nuclear reactor coolant with nanoparticles it is possible to enhance the rate at which energy is removed from the nuclear fuel under normal and accident conditions, thus improving the reactor's economic and safety performance. The resulting particle-fluid system is called a 'nanofluid'. At MIT we study the heat transfer and colloidal behavior of nanofluids, including boiling and quenching, resistance to nuclear irradiation, and long-term stability. This is a collaboration between NSE (Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno, Dr. Tom McKrell) and the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (Dr. Lin-wen Hu).

Perovskite-type mixed ionic-electronic conductors are used as solid oxide fuel and electrolytic cell cathodes, and their surface structure plays an important role in the electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction and evolution. An improved understanding of the surface electronic and chemical state at the atomistic level is essential to the design of cathodes with enhanced electrocatalytic activity. Using in situ scanning tunnelingmicroscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) at high temperatures for the first time, Professor Yildiz's group found a correlation between the composition and electronic tunneling conductance on the cathode surface; important for the efficiency of these energy conversion devices. Results of this work are published in Applied Physics Letters.