Gold nanoparticles with surface functionalization are vital to improve their stability, bio-compatibility to engineer them to be suitable candidates in advanced bio-medical technologies, including drug delivery systems, biosensors, bioimaging, photothermal cancer therapy etc.  They are also being exploited in catalysis and energy applications. Their performance in these applications depends strongly on how their surfaces interact with the surrounding medium, particularly the interfacial water, at the nanoscale. Therefore, understanding the thermodynamics and intermolecular structure of the interfacial water is crucial in the design process.

The peer review process in scientific publishing has reached a critical point where there are too many manuscript submissions and not enough peer reviewers. UW News asked Carl Bergstrom, University of Washington professor of biology, and Kevin Gross, North Carolina State University professor of statistics, to describe this self-perpetuating cycle and potential interventions.