Doctoral student Jialun Luo (left) and Greg Fuchs, Ph.D. ’07, professor of applied and engineering physics in Cornell Engineering, searched for a “spin degree of freedom” in the popular semiconductor gallium nitride and found it, surprisingly, in two distinct species of defect. Credits: Charissa King-O’Brien/Cornell Engineering

In diamonds (and other semiconducting materials), defects are a quantum sensor’s best friend.

Semiconductor defects could boost quantum technology

Researchers report the first demonstration of two-dimensional particles, called non-Abelian anyons, that are the key ingredient for realizing topological quantum computing, a promising method of introducing fault resistance to quantum computing.

Cornell, Google first to detect key to quantum computing future

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have developed a technique to help surgeons reconstruct more natural-looking nipples for patients who have undergone breast reconstruction after mastectomy to treat breast cancer.

3D-printed scaffold could improve breast reconstruction results

Kirstin Petersen, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and colleagues, have developed a simple model called a swarmalator, where particles self-organize to synchronize in both time and space. Credit: Noël Heaney/Cornell University

Imagine a world with precision medicine, where a swarm of microrobots delivers a payload of medicine directly to ailing cells. Or one where aerial or marine drones can collectively survey an area while exchanging minimal information about their location.

'Swarmalators' better envision synchronized microbots

An artificial intelligence algorithm can determine non-invasively, with about 70% accuracy, if an in vitro fertilized embryo has a normal or abnormal number of chromosomes, according to a new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Harnessing AI technology for IVF embryo selection

Cornell Nexus, a group of students from several colleges and majors, are designing and building an autonomous robot that will remove microplastics from the sand on beaches. Jason Koski/Cornell University

Beach cleaning operations focus on removing the waste we can see, such as plastic water bottles and trash, often using gas-powered tractors that bury microplastics beneath the top layer of sand. In contrast, the Cornell Nexus robot will use renewable solar energy to collect and remove microplastic waste.

Students design robot to collect microplastics from beaches