News

August 14, 2019

Researchers propose new topological phase of atomic matter hosting ‘photonic skyrmions’

The field of topology or the study of how surfaces behave in different dimensions has profoundly influenced the current understanding of matter. The prime example is the topological insulator, which conducts electricity only on the surface while being completely insulating inside the bulk.

Now electrical and computer engineering researchers have proposed for the first time that this same electronic conductivity influences the topological properties of light inside atomic matter.  

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August 13, 2019

Purdue leading $10 million effort to address global food safety

Purdue’s Haley Oliver will lead the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety (FSIL) in partnership with Cornell University. The lab, funded by $10 million from USAID, will focus on developing programs to improve food safety in Bangladesh, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal and Cambodia

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August 8, 2019

Data: Indiana farmers markets as affordable as grocery stores

Purdue’s Ariana Torres and her graduate student, Orlando Rodriguez, gathered price data on common produce items found at Indiana farmers markets and grocery stores since 2017. They found that prices at a farmers market are often comparable with those at the grocery store.

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August 5, 2019

Is that avocado brown already? Genetic research could help.

Some researchers are trying to change how quickly avocados brown by taking a closer look at the fruit’s genes. Doing an analysis of an avocado’s transcriptome, which represents the small portion of genetic code that’s transcribed to RNA molecules, could help researchers manipulate the firmness of the fruit and the rate at which they ripen.

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August 5, 2019

DOE Career Award to help scientists use giraffe dung to make biofuels

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Career Award will fund Kevin Solomon’s work using giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and horse dung to improve the production of medicines and fuels from biomass. Solomon is an assistant professor in Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

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