CSE in the News — June 2025 archive
June 2025
Next-Gen Brain Implants Offer New Hope for Depression
So, which site is best? The answer likely depends on the specific symptoms and underlying brain circuits unique to each individual, says Alik Widge, a psychiatrist and biomedical engineer at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. June 30: MSN; IEEE Spectrum; ( 2 as of JUly 1 at 9:45 a.m.)
Aerospace testing site planned for Rosemount's UMore Park
The complex will be used for aerospace research in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering, primarily to support the U.S. Department of Defense.“Our vision for the Minnesota Aerospace Complex on this 60-acre site is research, development and testing,” said North Wind representative David Meier at a Rosemount Planning Commission meeting in January. June 26: Sun This Week
Murray State Develops Patented Technology To Improve Plastic Recycling
Support for the research was provided by the National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Sustainable Polymers at the University of Minnesota, and was completed in collaboration with Dr. Christopher Ellison, professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Minnesota. June 19: Scrap Monster; WN.com; June 20: The Lane Report; June 21: Byteseu; Europe Says (5 as of June 23 at 8:20 a.m.)
Report: Minnesota’s leading banks increased their lending to fossil fuel companies last year
Tim Smith, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering who focuses on corporate sustainability issues, said that banks likely backed away from their climate pledges in response to the changing political climate. June 18: Star Tribune
Magnetic Surprise Could Spark a Revolution in Quantum Tech
“Our work shows that RuO2 is not just metallic at the atomic scale—it’s the most metallic material we’ve observed in any oxide, rivaling even elemental metals and 2D materials, second only to graphene,” explained Bharat Jalan, lead researcher and holder of the Shell Chair at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. June 18: Highways Today
A first-of-its-kind app is making hospital rounds easier
With his hair salon text message in mind, Pitt set out to make an app that would tell patients and families their place in the rounds queue. He connected with John Sartori, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering. June 17: UMN News
Innovative Material Enhances Technology Speed and Efficiency
Bharat Jalan, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Minnesota and senior author of the study, emphasized the uniqueness of the finding: “At the atomic scale, RuO₂ reveals itself as one of the most metallic materials we have ever observed in an oxide system, maintaining conductivity levels that rival elemental metals and even graphene, which is widely regarded as the ultimate 2D metal.” June 16: Scienmag; Newswire; MSN; Phys.org; Nanowerk; (5 as of June 17 at 9:00 a.m.)
Quantum Annealing Accelerates Neural Network Training and Improves Scaling
A team led by Hao Zhang and Alex Kamenev at the University of Minnesota, and affiliated with the William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, detail in their work, ‘How to Train Your Dragon: Quantum Neural Networks’, a method utilising quantum annealing platforms to efficiently train classical neural networks. June 9: Quantum Zeitgeist; June 10: Memesita; (2 as of June 13 at 8:50 a.m.)
The Longest Home Run in Twins History
Harmon Killebrew hit the longest home run in Twins history on Jun. 3, 1967—a prodigious 522-foot blast off 40-year-old Angels pitcher Lew Burdette. Tom Mee phoned a University of Minnesota physics professor to recalculate the actual distance the home run would have traveled if Metropolitan Stadium hadn’t gotten in the way. June 6: Twins Daily
Curiosity opens the door to a career in information technology
Deanna Liapis is part of an elite group of students—just 13 percent of applicants globally—who have achieved the prestigious title of AWS Cloud Captain. With support from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cloud Captains are student leaders who guide and manage their campus “cloud clubs.” June 6: University of Minnesota
Attorney General Ellison appoints members of Task Force on Future of Minnesota's Water
Attorney General Ellison announced the appointments he has made to the Advisory Task Force on Future of Minnesota's Water that he formed on March 31, 2025. The task force includes Professor Harvey Thorleifson from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. June 6: Red Lake Nation News
ZMHS Physics Class Visits the Nanotechnology Center at the U of M
The ZMHS Physics class visited the Nanotechnology Center (Minnesota Nano Center) at the University of Minnesota in April. On the visit they used a University laboratory to do a photolithography lab, and to tour the Center's clean room where nanoscience research is done. June 5: Mazeppa-Zumbro Falls Messenger
ARPA-E awards $37.3M for disruptive thermal storage innovations, materials
Last week Eileen reported on ARPA-E’s new awards in rare-earth alternative technologies. This week I thought I would take a look at APRA-E’s $37.3 million initiative to find a disruptive thermal storage technology(ies), an effort cleverly called HEATS (high energy advanced thermal storage), all of which seem to have a novel material at their cores. June 5: The American Ceramic Society
Mammoth bones returned to county
The reason it was in the Winnebago newspaper was because the bones were on display in the window of the Andrews and Hendall’s hardware store in Winnebago, before they were taken to the Twin Cities by a geology professor from the University of Minnesota named George Thiel. June 1 Faribault County Register