My first Magazine SFI Little Book - April Re-print edits included | Page 22

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Finally, a battery
with staying power
Fantastic news for mobile phone users across the
globe! Dr. Ryan and his research team in the Materials
and Surface Science Institute (MSSI) at the University
of Limerick (UL) have developed a technology that
more than doubles the capacity of lithium-ion battery
anodes and retains this high capacity even after being
charged and discharged over a thousand times. The
team used germanium, an alternative element to carbon
but with a higher capacity, to restructure nanowires
into a stable porous material using nanotechnology.
The new germanium nanowire-based anode has the
ability to greatly increase the capacity and lifetime of
lithium-ion batteries .
http://www.ulsites.ul.ie/mssi/materials-surface-
science-institute
The Next Generation
Secondary School students, Ciara Judge, Émer Hickey
and Sophie Healy-Thow joined the elite group of BT
Young Scientist Exhibition winners with their project
on diazotroph bacteria as a cereal crop germination and
growth aid. The trio went on the claim first prize at the
European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS)
and international acclaim at Google Science Fair. Our
Scifest winners are also flying the flag for Irish science
having gone on to win awards at the Intel International
Science and Engineering Fair and the International
Environment and Sustainability Project Olympiad.
www.btyoungscientist.com
www.scifest.ie
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