Evidence suggests that the interface between humans and technology will only become more central to modern life. For humans to be able to extract meaningful information from the troves of data being collected by the 'smart' machines with which we interact--such as mobile phones-- computers need to be able process language like humans. The branch of artificial intelligence that addresses this need is called natural language processing.

  Scientists at Lehigh University, in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, have demonstrated the fabrication of what they call a new class of crystalline solid by using a laser heating technique that induces atoms to organise into a rotating lattice without affecting the macroscopic shape of the solid.

A Lehigh-led team is collaborating with Michelin Corporation and the National Science Foundation to develop materials with surface architectures that could improve the safety and reliability of tires. The NSF's Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) program is designed to enable firms to "kick the tires," so to speak, on academic research that could have significant impact upon their industry and society at large.

The plasmonic laser, says Sushil Kumar, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, uses metal films or nanoparticles to confine light energy inside the cavity from which laser light is generated. By storing light energy inside the cavity through a combination of electron oscillations in the integrated metal films or nanoparticles, plasmonic lasers utilise surface-plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) to store energy in dimensions that can...