Content for Columbia.Edu

The Robot Smiled Back

“Columbia Engineering researchers use AI to teach robots to make appropriate reactive human facial expressions, an ability that could build trust between humans and their robotic co-workers and care-givers While our facial expressions play a huge role in building trust …

Switching Nanolight On and Off

“Columbia researchers discover a new way to program light on an ultra-small scale. A team of researchers led by Columbia University has developed a unique platform to program a layered crystal, producing imaging capabilities beyond common limits on demand. The …

Columbia Engineers First to Observe Avalanches in Nanoparticles

“Researchers develop the first nanomaterial that demonstrates “photon avalanching;” finding could lead to new applications in sensing, imaging, and light detection Researchers at Columbia Engineering report today that they have developed the first nanomaterial that demonstrates “photon avalanching,” a process …

Could We Harness Energy from Black Holes?

“A new Columbia study indicates energy can be extracted from black holes through reconnection of magnetic field lines. A remarkable prediction of Einstein’s theory of general relativity—the theory that connects space, time, and gravity—is that rotating black …

Robot Displays a Glimmer of Empathy to a Partner Robot

“Columbia engineers create a robot that learns to visually predict how its partner robot will behave, displaying a glimmer of empathy. This “Robot Theory of Mind” could help robots get along with other robots—and humans—more intuitively Like a …

Harnessing Quantum Properties to Create Single-Molecule Devices

“Columbia team discovers 6nm-long single-molecule circuit with enormous on/off ratio due to quantum interference; finding could enable faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient devices Researchers, led by Columbia Engineering Professor Latha Venkataraman, report today that they have discovered a new …

New Platform Generates Hybrid Light-Matter Excitations in Highly Charged Graphene

“Columbia researchers are the first to use static charge between 2D atomic layers to provide a new route for generating graphene plasmon polaritons without an external power source or chemical dopants; discovery has broad application in nanotechnology Graphene, an atomically …

Stacking and Twisting Graphene Unlocks a Rare Form of Magnetism

“Twisting a monolayer and a bilayer sheet of graphene into a three-layer structure leads to new quantum mechanical states. Since the discovery of graphene more than 15 years ago, researchers have been in a global race to unlock its unique …

Tiny Bubbles Make a Quantum Leap

“Using sophisticated optical microscopy techniques, Columbia engineers are first to demonstrate that sufficient strain in 2D material can yield single-photon emitters, key to quantum technologies and future photonic circuitry Researchers at Columbia Engineering and Montana State University report today that …

2D Semiconductors Found to Be Close-To-Ideal Fractional Quantum Hall Platform

“Columbia researchers first to discover a quantum fluid—fractional quantum Hall states, one of the most delicate phases of matter—in a monolayer 2D semiconductor; finding could provide a unique test platform for future applications in quantum computing Columbia University …