Boston College

The December 2007 issue of the scientific journal Nature reported findings by a team of University researchers on superconductivity—the transmission of electricity with zero energy loss at very low temperatures. Vidya Madhavan, assistant professor of physics, led a team of researchers whose findings shed light on the “glue” that enables electrons to bind during superconductive transmission, thereby eliminating the resistance that causes energy loss. In the photo above (l-r), Madhavan speaks with Ph.D. candidates Francis Niestemski and Shankar Kunwar on January 11 in their Higgins Hall laboratory, which contains a scanning tunneling microscope and related apparatus that measure the flow of electricity with atomic-scale precision. “If you can understand how superconductors work, you might be able to develop technologies that function at room temperature,” according to Madhavan. Such technologies, she explained, could more than double the efficiency of electricity transmission.