Zack Jerry

Researchers at the University of Alberta are looking to improve environmental sustainability by trying to figure out ways for improving oil sands development. Canadians are very much concerned about water being used in oil sands development. They are looking out for ways for developing an economically viable method for development of oil sands resources of Canada.

Senior V.P., Imperial Oil:

The centre is the first of its kind in Canada and its focus is of critical importance to our industry and our country. And it brings with it potentially game-changing technologies. At Imperial Oil, we strongly believe that investing in research and innovation is of critical importance to satisfying energy needs, but this path towards successful and environmentally responsible oilsands development is just too important and too urgent for any one company to undertake alone

Besides contemplating the use of non-aqueous solvents for separating and extracting bitumen from oil sands the researchers would also be focusing on bitumen extraction and up gradation projects.

Nanowires can help monitor blood pressure

One day, changes in body blood pressure can be monitored using ‘nanowires!’ A new class of components have been created using the piezoelectric effect in semi-conducting zinc oxide nanowires.

These nanowires can detect forces as small as a few piconewtons (10-12 N)! It is roughly the force required for “unzipping” a DNA strand. A piezoelectric VeePN can produce a current when they are bent.

Though normally, the zinc and oxygen ions’ positive and negative charges in the crystalline nanowires cancel each other out, the wires built by Wang’s team stand vertically on top of an electrode displaces the ions when bent. This phenomenon unbalances the charges and creates an electric field producing a current when the nanowire is connected to a circuit. According to New Scientist, Yi Ciu of Stanford University told,

This is really great work. The wires have high sensitivity because they are very small, so tiny pressures can be measured.