Georgia Tech

Friction could charge mobile phones

Researchers at Georgia Tech have created a device that takes advantage of static electricity to convert movement—like a phone bouncing around in your pocket—into enough power to charge a cell phone battery.

Self charging power cell converts and stores energy in a single unit

Researchers have developed a self-charging power cell that directly converts mechanical energy to chemical energy, storing the power until it is released as electrical current.

Nanohelices for energy harvesting

Researchers at Trinity College in Dublin and led by Professor Vojislav Krstic are investigating advanced materials and their electronic properties.

Plastic power, harnessing friction between transparent surfaces

Researchers have discovered yet another way to harvest small amounts of electricity from motion in the world around us - this time by capturing the electrical charge produced when two different kinds of plastic materials rub against one another.

Flexible nanogenerator technology

A Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) research team has successfully developed the foundation technology that will enable the fabrication of a low cost, large area nanogenerator.

Ancient effect harnessed to produce electricity

A phenomenon first observed by an ancient Greek philosopher 2,300 years ago has become the basis for a new device designed to harvest the enormous amounts of energy wasted as heat each year to produce electricity.

Cambridge NanoTech Joins Center for Organic Photonics & Electronics

Cambridge NanoTech delivers ALD systems capable of depositing ultra-thin films that are used in a wide variety of research and industrial applications.

Stable electrodes for improving printed electronics

Imagine owning a television with the thickness and weight of a sheet of paper.

Technique for fabricating piezoelectric ferroelectric nanostructures

Researchers have developed a "soft template infiltration" technique for fabricating free-standing piezoelectrically active ferroelectric nanotubes and other nanostructures from PZT - a material that is attractive because of its large piezoelectric response.

Zhong Lin Wang receives recognition for innovative technology

Wang, a physicist who joined Georgia Tech in 1995, has almost single handedly launched a new field of research that takes advantage of the unique properties of zinc oxide nanostructures.

Energy Harvesting USA keynote presentations part two

This article is the second part of the overview of Keynote presentations at Energy Harvestng USA 2011 conference held in Boston, MA last week.

Printed wireless sensor could detect explosives

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prototype wireless sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of a key ingredient found in many explosives.

Piezo-phototronic effect improves efficiency of LEDs

The devices are believed to be the first LEDs whose performance has been enhanced by the creation of an electrical charge in a piezoelectric material using the piezo-phototronic effect.

Battery storage could get a boost from seaweed

Researchers may have found a new ingredient that could not only make lithium-ion batteries more efficient, but also cleaner and cheaper to manufacture.

Nanostructures on plastic aid energy harvesting

The technique, which uses a heated atomic force microscope (AFM) tip to produce patterns, could facilitate high-density, low-cost production of complex ferroelectric structures for energy harvesting arrays, sensors and actuators in nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).

New device captures ambient electromagnetic energy

Researchers have discovered a way to capture and harness energy transmitted by such sources as radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems.

School bus to use energy harvesting and biofuel

The Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ford Motor Company Fund are partnering on the nation's first conversion of a school bus to a hydraulic hybrid vehicle that runs on recycled biofuel.

Applying energy harvesters to textiles

Energy harvesters enabling micro-power generation provide new levels of efficiency and automation in the built environment, process control, vehicles and healthcare.

Taking the heat: silver-diamond composite offers unique capabilities

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are developing a solid composite material to help cool small, powerful microelectronics used in defense systems. The material, composed of silver and diamond, promises an exceptional degree of thermal conductivity compared to materials currently used for this application.