Experts in the News

The way muscles work changes when a person goes from slow, even movements to rapid, unsteady movements. Anyone who’s pulled a muscle after a sudden motion knows that. What we don’t know is exactly how muscle function changes when dynamic movement is introduced. A new NSF-funded project co-led by Simon Sponberg, Dunn Family Associate Professor in the School of Physics and School of Biological Sciences, will examine dynamic muscle function of humans and animals with the goal of creating improved physical therapy and rehabilitation programs and mobility assistance devices. That translates to more humans who can move with less pain. 

Students in Brandon Tate's (Ph.D. CHEM '15) chemistry lab are developing new ways to hasten the formation of renewable fuels, like hydrogen, to replace fossil fuels. Tate, a visiting assistant professor of chemistry and environmental studies at Bowdoin College, is working on a long-term goal to help introduce a sustainable source of energy that, like oil or gas, can power the needs of long-distance air and vehicle travel.

Are our bodies solid or liquid? This question begins the exploration of a study led by Zeb Rocklin, an assistant professor in the School of Physics at Georgia Tech, that blurs the lines between solid and liquid states by examining materials that exhibit properties of both. The study, titled 'Rigidity percolation in a random tensegrity via analytic graph theory,' published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), introduces a novel approach to understanding the behavior of deformable solids through the incorporation of cable-like elements, offering insights with significant implications for biology, engineering, and nanotechnology.

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence research have marked a significant step forward in refining the reasoning capabilities of large language models (LLMs). A collaborative effort by the team from Facebook AI Research (FAIR) at Meta, Georgia Institute of Technology, and StabilityAI, has introduced a breakthrough approach aimed at enhancing LLMs' self-improvement processes in complex tasks like mathematics, science, and coding. Alexander Havrilla, a machine learning Ph.D. student based in the School of Mathematics, is lead author of the study published as a pre-print.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working with a team from China’s Tianjin University, claim to have developed the first functional semiconductor from graphene, a single-layer carbon structure renowned for its robust bonds. Led by Walter De Heer, Regents' Professor in the School of Physics, the study published in Nature details a graphene semiconductor compatible with standard microelectronic processing methods, a fundamental requirement for any viable alternative to silicon.

When Intel co-founder Gordon Moore made the observation that came to be known as Moore's Law, he projected that transistor density would continue doubling in density every two years... for another ten years. Working with Tianjin University in China, though, researchers at Georgia Tech have made a breakthrough in this department by growing graphene on doped silicon carbide wafers, introducing impurities into the graphene that give it a usable band gap, enabling the researchers to create graphene transistors the size of a carbon atom. In research led by School of Physics Regents' Professor Walter De Heer, these switches can reach into the teraHertz range and run cooler than silicon transistors, potentially breathing new life into the aging Moore's Law.

Even after decades of study, mathematicians find themselves unable to answer questions about the repeated execution of very simple rules — the most basic “dynamical systems.” But in trying to do so, they have uncovered deep connections between those rules and other seemingly distant areas of math. School of Mathematics Professor Matt Baker offered his thoughts on a seemingly simple set of functions, the Mandelbrot set, that gives rise to limitless novel patterns when examined closely.

In a new report by the led by Mark Hay and Cody Clements, the School of Biological Sciences researchers raised concerns about the overharvesting of sea cucumbers that can harm the coral reefs. According to the study published in Nature Communications, sea cucumbers are crucial to ensuring clean reef sediments and preventing the spread of microbial pathogens — and their apparent decline is bad news for coral reefs.

Coral reefs all over the world are in serious danger. However, a critical way to keep reefs healthy likely comes from an unexpected place: the humble sea cucumber. According to a study published February 26 in the journal Nature Communications led by School of Biological Sciences researchers Mark Hay and Cody Clements, about 25 percent of coral reef’s health is dependent on sea cucumbers that keep the reefs clean. 

A recent publication from the group of Prof. Dan Goldman made it to the Cover of Physical Review Letters vol. 132, issue 8 (https://journals.aps.org/prl/covers/132/8). The research article “Probing Hydrodynamic Fluctuation-Induced Forces with an Oscillating Robot”, by Steven W. Tarr, Joseph S. Brunner, Daniel Soto, and Daniel I. Goldman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 084001 was published on 20 February 2024, and was also selected as an Editor’s Suggestion (https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.084001).

The CDC says right now, there is no routine screening or early diagnostic test for ovarian cancer. But that’s something that researchers like Jeffrey Skolnick and John McDonald at Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences are hoping to change. The researchers are developing a new test they say detects ovarian cancer with a 93% success rate. Skolnick explained that after patients give a blood sample, artificial intelligence scans the metabolic profile to determine the probability that someone does or does not have cancer. (The study was also covered at Diagnostics World and Clinical Research News.)

Ocean waters are constantly on the move, traveling far distances in complex currents that regulate Earth's climate and weather patterns. How might climate change impact this critical system? Oceanographer, College of Sciences Dean, and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair Susan Lozier dives into the data in her TED Talk. Her work suggests that ocean overturning is slowing down as waters gradually warm — and her talk takes us on board the international effort to track these changes and set us on the right course while we still have time.