Meanwhile, Paul Morrow, who received his doctorate in physics, is responsible for innovations that could vastly improve magnetic data storage and sense extremely low-level magnetic fields in everything from ink on counterfeit currency to tissue in the human brain and heart. He first developed a new nanomaterial that consists of alternating layers of magnetic cobalt and non-magnetic copper. The three-dimensional arrangement creates a material that exhibits promising magnetic properties for data storage and magnetic field sensing at room temperature. Similar technology is currently in use in hard drives around the world, but they use a two-dimensional film design for the layers.

“A disk with increased data storage density would reduce the size, cost, and power consumption of any electronic device that uses a magnetic hard drive,” Morrow says. This same concept can be applied to other areas where magnetic sensors are used, such as industrial or medical applications.

Morrow also has developed a microscopic technique to measure the minute magnetic properties of his nanocolumns. No such method had existed that was fine-tuned enough to sense the magnetic properties of one or even a small number of freestanding nanostructures. “To date it has been extremely difficult to get an instrument to detect magnetic properties on such a small scale,” Morrow says.

Rensselaer innovators come from all disciplines. Inventions from Lally School graduate Chris Keenan and design, innovation, and society major Sarah DiNovo already are benefiting users.

Keenan devised his idea—a Web site titled CourseNotes.Org that helps students prepare for AP exams—as a 15-year-old high school student struggling to find online resources to aid in studying for his own exams. He created the Web site six years ago with one subject offering in U.S. history and it became an instant hit with his high school classmates and friends at Chicago’s Northside Prep.