WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Parker Solar Probe science and engineering team, a collaboration of scientists from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), NASA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and more than 40 other partner organizations, received the 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), on June 12.

An international research group successfully measured, with a nanometer resolution, the depth of PN junctions varied in a Si wafer in a non-destructive and non-contact manner by observing the THz waves generated by irradiating a Si wafer with a femtosecond laser. The technique will open new avenues for developing advanced semiconductor devices, such as 3D LSI, and provide a comprehensive measurement solution that enables non-contact testing in semiconductor manufacturing.

If you’ve seen an owl fly, you probably didn’t hear a thing. That’s because their skin and feathers dampen sound by absorbing high- and low-frequency flight noise. Inspired by this natural soundproofing, researchers publishing in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces developed a two-layer aerogel that mimics the structures inside owl feathers and skin to mitigate sound pollution. This new material could be used in cars and manufacturing facilities to reduce traffic and industrial noise.

Hadrons consist of quarks and gluons, collectively known as partons. The probability of finding a parton carrying a specific fraction of the hadron's momentum is described by parton distribution functions (PDFs), which are important for predicting parton-related phenomena. In a new study, Professor Xiangdong Ji studies two cutting-edge approaches for calculating PDFs from first principles, analyzing how they differ and how they can complement each other.

Atoms slip against one another, eventually sticking in various combinations. Tectonic plates do the same, sliding across each other until they stick in a stationary state. Everything from the tiniest particles to unfathomably large landmasses possesses this fundamental stick and slip characteristic, but only now are scientists beginning to understand the mechanics of the friction underpinning this property.