University at Buffalo

About: University at Buffalo is a education organization based out in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 33773 authors who have published 63840 publications receiving 2278954 citations. The organization is also known as: UB & State University of New York at Buffalo.

Highly Sensitive, Flexible, and Wearable Pressure Sensor Based on a Giant Piezocapacitive Effect of Three-Dimensional Microporous Elastomeric Dielectric Layer.

Abstract: We report a flexible and wearable pressure sensor based on the giant piezocapacitive effect of a three-dimensional (3-D) microporous dielectric elastomer, which is capable of highly sensitive and stable pressure sensing over a large tactile pressure range. Due to the presence of micropores within the elastomeric dielectric layer, our piezocapacitive pressure sensor is highly deformable by even very small amounts of pressure, leading to a dramatic increase in its sensitivity. Moreover, the gradual closure of micropores under compression increases the effective dielectric constant, thereby further enhancing the sensitivity of the sensor. The 3-D microporous dielectric layer with serially stacked springs of elastomer bridges can cover a much wider pressure range than those of previously reported micro-/nanostructured sensing materials. We also investigate the applicability of our sensor to wearable pressure-sensing devices as an electronic pressure-sensing skin in robotic fingers as well as a bandage-type pr...

Study of the Mass and Spin-Parity of the Higgs Boson Candidate via Its Decays to Z Boson Pairs

Abstract: A study is presented of the mass and spin-parity of the new boson recently observed at the LHC at a mass near 125 GeV. An integrated luminosity of 17.3 fb^(-1), collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, is used. The measured mass in the ZZ channel, where both Z bosons decay to e or μ pairs, is 126.2±0.6(stat)±0.2(syst) GeV. The angular distributions of the lepton pairs in this channel are sensitive to the spin-parity of the boson. Under the assumption of spin 0, the present data are consistent with the pure scalar hypothesis, while disfavoring the pure pseudoscalar hypothesis.

The ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry Mission

Abstract: Satellite and aircraft observations have revealed that remarkable changes in the Earth's polar ice cover have occurred in the last decade. The impacts of these changes, which include dramatic ice loss from ice sheets and rapid declines in Arctic sea ice, could be quite large in terms of sea level rise and global climate. NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), currently planned for launch in 2015, is specifically intended to quantify the amount of change in ice sheets and sea ice and provide key insights into their behavior. It will achieve these objectives through the use of precise laser measurements of surface elevation, building on the groundbreaking capabilities of its predecessor, the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). In particular, ICESat-2 will measure the temporal and spatial character of ice sheet elevation change to enable assessment of ice sheet mass balance and examination of the underlying mechanisms that control it. The precision of ICESat-2's elevation measurement will also allow for accurate measurements of sea ice freeboard height, from which sea ice thickness and its temporal changes can be estimated. ICESat-2 will provide important information on other components of the Earth System as well, most notably large-scale vegetation biomass estimates through the measurement of vegetation canopy height. When combined with the original ICESat observations, ICESat-2 will provide ice change measurements across more than a 15-year time span. Its significantly improved laser system will also provide observations with much greater spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and accuracy than has ever been possible before.

Partitioning: A unifying framework for adaptive systems, I: Estimation

Abstract: In this paper, partitioning and the associated generalized partitioned estimation algorithms are shown to constitute a unifying and powerful framework for optimal adaptive estimation in linear as well as nonlinear problems. Using the partitioning framework, the adaptive estimation problem is treated from a global viewpoint that readily yields and unifies seemingly unrelated results and, most importantly, yields fundamentally new families of nonlinear and linear estimation algorithms in a decoupled parallel-realization form. The generalized partitioned estimation algorithms are shown to have several important properties from both a theoretical and a realization or computational standpoint.

Electromagnetic interference shielding using continuous carbon-fiber carbon-matrix and polymer-matrix composites

Abstract: A carbon-matrix composite with continuous carbon-fibers was found to be an excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding material with shielding effectiveness 124 dB, low surface impedance and high reflectivity in the frequency range from 0.3 MHz to 1.5 GHz. The shielding effectiveness of polymer-matrix composites with continuous carbon-fibers was less and that of polymer-matrix composites with discontinuous fillers was even less. The addition of 2.9 vol.% discontinuous 0.1 μm diameter carbon-filaments between the layers of conventional 7 μm diameter continuous carbon-fibers in a composite degraded the shielding effectiveness. The dominant mechanism of EMI shielding for both carbon-matrix and polymer-matrix continuous carbon-fiber composites is reflection.