essential₂innovation

Chemistry is one of the largest non-governmental investors in research and development in the United States, earning us one in every nine patents. From microprocessors to life-saving medicines, chemistry is leading innovation in nearly every industry. Chemistry is new products, new materials, and a new hope for the future.

Did You Know

vision

American chemistry creates the substance used to make highway signs visible to motorists at night.

Featured Articles

materials

Body Worlds and the Science of Plastination

More than 30 years ago, Dr. Gunther von Hagens began to develop ‘plastination,’ a technique using liquid polymers to stabilize and preserve anatomical samples from the inside out. Today, this technology has led to the highly popular Body Worlds series of scientific exhibitions, which allow visitors around the world to see in unprecedented clarity how the human body works. » learn more

materials

Saving Energy with LEDs

Light represents progress. The incandescent bulb, for example, was once the pioneer of a global revolution in lighting. Today, it is disappearing from store shelves, superseded by a new generation of more energy-efficient sources of illumination. » learn more

discovery

Building Tires for the Moon and Mars

When American astronauts travel out onto the surface of the moon and, eventually, the planet Mars later this century, they will likely be riding in a vehicle similar in design to the lunar rover that carried Apollo astronauts David Scott and James Irwin in 1971, the first time a vehicle was operated on the moon. » learn more

materials

Fiber Optics for Communications - Around the World in 80 Milliseconds

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics was recently awarded to Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle, and George E. Smith. The Chinese-British physicist Kao, who won half of the prize, was honored “for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication,” while Boyle and Smith were recognized for inventing semiconductor circuit technology for digital imaging. » learn more

nanotechnology

Nanotechnology Matters

Thousands of nanotechnology experts—researchers, engineers and product specialists—are quietly cracking long-unseen codes about how the universe works at the tiniest scale. Nanotechnology may open doors to better medicine, faster PCs and a cleaner environment. » learn more

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