Most objects react in predictable ways when force is applied to them—unless they have 'negative mass'. And then they react exactly opposite from what you would expect. Now University of Rochester researchers have succeeded in creating particles with negative mass in an atomically thin semiconductor, by causing it to interact with confined light in an optical microcavity.

"Photoredox catalysis" has become an essential way to synthesise novel organic compounds. This type of chemistry may soon be used even more widely—and less expensively— thanks to University of Rochester researchers. In a paper published recently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the labs of Todd Krauss and Daniel Weix demonstrate for the first time how light emitting quantum dots can be used as photoredox...

Tiny micro- and nanoscale structures within a material's surface are invisible to the naked eye, but play a big role in determining a material's physical, chemical, and biomedical properties. Over the past few years, Chunlei Guo and his research team at the University of Rochester have found ways to manipulate those structures by irradiating laser pulses to a material's surface. They've altered materials to make them repel water, attract wat...

Scientists at the University of Rochester have taken a significant step forward in laser fusion research. Experiments using the OMEGA laser at the University's Laboratory of Laser Energetics (LLE) have created the conditions capable of producing a fusion yield that's five times higher than the current record laser-fusion energy yield, as long as the relative conditions produced at LLE are reproduced and scaled up at the National Ignition Fac...

Here's the scene: a suspicious package is found in a public place. The police are called in and clear the area. Forced to work from a distance and unable to peer inside, they fear the worst and decide to detonate the package. New research at the University of Rochester might help authorities in the not-too-distant future be better informed in tackling such situations and do so more safely.

Polymers that visibly change shape when exposed to temperature changes are nothing new. But a research team led by Chemical Engineering Professor Mitch Anthamatten at the University of Rochester created a material that undergoes a shape change that can be triggered by body heat alone, opening the door for new medical and other applications.