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As we celebrate our fifth anniversary, we remain committed to excellence in materials science. High-temperature superconductivity is our focus this month.
Numerous prototypes of electric power devices based on high-temperature superconductors have been successfully demonstrated. Materials research over the next decade will improve cost-performance and accelerate commercialization.
Paul Ching-Wu Chu has worked on superconductivity for most of his scientific career. He talked to Nature Materials about his past achievements and dreams for the future.
Research in India has changed dramatically over the past half century, and C. N. R. Rao has been an observer and participant for all this time. With his unique perspective as an advisor to the Indian prime minister, Nature Materials talked to him about directions in Indian chemistry.
Conducting scientific research in Korea has not always been easy. The country has made rapid progress in encouraging research, but how did it come to be able to hold its own on the world stage, and what could the future hold?
As rapidly developing Asian countries become major players in materials research, they have the perfect opportunity to use new technologies to build a greener energy infrastructure.
The increasing complexity of teaching and research poses significant challenges for public universities. The University of California, Berkeley, might provide a successful model for the 21st century.
Modern universities compete not only for the best students worldwide, but also for international research funds. Does commercialization threaten our universities?
July marks the centenary of Imperial College London, one of the top academic institutions world-wide. Nature Materials interviewed Imperial's rector, Richard Sykes, on the challenges facing the college.
Last month's presidential election in France offers the best chance in decades for profound reform of the country's research and innovation systems. Nicolas Sarkozy must not blow the opportunity.
In many cases, national laboratories and research centres do great research. But with no common measure of performance and a lack of public awareness, do we fully recognise their value?
Focusing a laser on the dirt covering a precious work of art may seem like a dangerous thing to do, but this unexpected technique has found a variety of cleaning applications. Analogies from other fields of materials science can provide guidance for its use, and model experiments ensure it doesn't all end in disaster.
