In the face of economic duress, a rather infamous topic of discussion for past years has been, and continues to be, the status of extracurricular programs for pre-collegiate students. Artistic education comprises a plurality of such public programs that have been at the forefront of such controversy. It is in times such as these, when an absolutely essential branch of education finds itself on the precipice of extinction, that those who face the reality of these struggles will inevitably look for reasons to continue fighting.

And so, nestled comfortably between the Interstate 80 and the Robert Mondavi facilities on the face of the UC Davis campus, lies the freshly trodden ground of what will become the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art — a beacon of hope and inspiration for artistic communities and architectural enthusiasts nationwide. The design for this 50,000-square-foot building, which will champion existing UC Davis L.E.E.D. sustainability efforts, is an aesthetic intermarriage of scientific and architectural ingenuity and artistic prowess.

L.E.E.D. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally-recognized green building construction standards agency that measures the sustainability of materials used and overall structural design of a building. The UC Davis campus, which is an international leader in sustainable architecture, is home to a growing number of these L.E.E.D. certified structures.

“The design for the new museum at UC Davis turns the traditional model of museum design inside out,” said UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi in a press release. “From its curved glass walls to its soaring canopy, it will draw people in, surprise them, and engage them. All who enter this museum will become students again.”

The designs for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, which have been deliberated upon for several months, have only recently been finalized. The Richard R. Nelson Gallery (located on campus, slightly past the Horticultural Science Center on Old Davis Road), was the temporary home of the three-dimensional models depicting the three potential museum designs. Students, community members and eminent decision-makers, all of whose input was pivotal in determining the final design, decided upon the M.C. Escher-esque structure entitled SO-IL, designed by Ivy-League architects Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg.

“The Central Valley breathes a spirit of optimism,” the designers stated in a press release. “Whether one is influenced by the sweeping views over the flat plains beyond to the horizon, or the sense of empowerment one feels when being able to cultivate and grow freely, the spirit of this place is one of invention and imagination. It is precisely this spirit we capture in our architectural proposal for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.”

The designers see the museum as more than just a well-designed building. It represents a paradigm shift in the way humans interact with the environment.

“We believe it will be the first platinum museum in the country, and we have various ambitious plans for the building,” said Gary Dahl, the UC Davis Department of Design and Construction Management project manager for SO-IL. “… We want the building to be a place for students to gather and spend time. Even though we are aware that the museum will be a little far from the core of campus, we want to ensure that it will become a part of the student experience.”

The SO-IL structure features sustainable design and materials worthy of L.E.E.D. Platinum certification, the highest sustainability label attainable. These materials, which are still under consideration, will contribute to the architectural form of the building that appears to almost defy gravity. The entryway to the museum will feature a swooping lattice canopy that rises over and encases the museum body, and the interior, an optical illusion that will utilize advanced horticultural and interior design techniques in order to create an intermingling of outdoor and indoor environments.

“It was very important to the architects to make it difficult for museum visitors to determine whether or not they are inside or outside — arboretum horticultural specialists have been consulted to make this possible,” mentioned museum director Rachel Teagle. “Determination of construction materials for SO-IL are nowhere near final, but the design is aspiring for the L.E.E.D. Platinum certification — a really important reason why this [SO-IL] design, in particular, rose to the top.”

Ultimately, the design of the structure and the diversity within are meant to be reminiscent of the patch-worked Central Valley landscape — symbolism that both literary fanatics and scientific research wizards will, for once, simultaneously be able to appreciate. Developers hope the space will not only become an excellent, multi-purpose destination for students (past, current and prospective), it will also serve as an exciting venue for campus visitors, architectural enthusiasts and artistic aficionados.

EMILY SEFEROVICH can be reached at science@theaggie.org.

Editor’s note: This article is part two in a series on graphene. Part 1 was published April 18, 2013.

When we last spoke about emergent technologies and their human side effects, we explored how nuances in advancement could affect the individual. Applied electric fields could theoretically manipulate systems of the very small: cells. However, increased understanding of things on the molecular level can have potential side effects for humanity on a much grander scale.

Historically, there have been many human costs to emergent technologies. The widespread use of hydrocarbon combustion during the Industrial Revolution greatly increased the demand for coal. As a result, many found work in mines, and countless individuals suffered varying forms of cancer and lung damage from the inhaled substances. The synthesis of sulfurous dichlorides has led to the immeasurable poem-inspiring agony of soldiers during World War I. On the other side of the coin, we owe almost the entirety of modern medicine to the advances made during the Industrial Revolution and throughout mankind’s wars.

While some technologies like those described above have dramatic and sinister origins, some advances enter the world under more auspicious circumstances and change the planet for the better at conceivably little cost.

Graphene is one such technology. From humble origins as a single layer of carbon molecules examined from a piece of cellophane tape peeled from graphite, the applications of this super-material have positive implications in many aspects of the human existence.

The world is faced with a number of impending crises. The population is growing exponentially and sources of potable water and available energy are dwindling. Furthermore, the contamination of the surrounding environment creates a need for science to be taken out of the lab and into the field. However, the tools taken to the field must be designed to leave a minimal impact on the environment and be durable enough to survive harsh conditions.

Graphene represents a potential solution to many of these problems.

The ultra-thin nature of graphene naturally lends itself to tasks like water filtration. With graphene’s strength, sheets of it could theoretically produce more clean water from the same amount of energy as a conventional, thicker, fibrous filtration system.

Graphene’s applications extend farther into the everyday than water treatment. The material’s properties have many game-changing implications for the consumer industry as well. The fact that graphene is both lightweight and flexible provides new avenues in terms of both power storage and circuitry for another generation. Prototypes of flexible screens and computer chips have been developed by Samsung and IBM. These devices could revolutionize mobile technologies by decreasing weight and increasing durability. Tablets and smartphones could be revolutionized by future iterations of these technologies.

If we’re talking about improving mobile technology, let’s talk about power. Any electronic device is essentially a completed circuit. In order for a circuit to function, there needs to be a difference in electrical potential at each end of the circuit. This has been traditionally accomplished with batteries and alternating current fixtures like wall sockets. Another mechanism capable of powering a circuit is a capacitor, two conductive surfaces separated by an insulator that can be used to maintain a charge gradient. While capacitors can be charged relatively quickly, they typically discharge too quickly to serve as the primary power source for consumer electronics.

Researchers at UCLA have utilized graphene to provide new innovations in powering devices. A graphene supercapacitor, otherwise known as a “supercap” by UCLA chemist Ric Kaner, functions very much like a capacitor in the sense that it can maintain an electrical gradient and charge very quickly. However, due to the behavior of electrons in the material, the charge dissipates more slowly than in traditional capacitors. The result is a capacitor that has a much greater potential to power consumer devices.

The technology is still in the developmental stages. As of now, the supercaps may be best used in conjunction with existing metal batteries. The quick-charging supercap could be used to slowly recharge the slower battery and keep a device like a phone or a car powered on with less time wasted on charging.

“As forms of carbon improve, we’re hoping to encroach on the territory of traditional batteries,” Kaner said when describing how the technology isn’t quite ready to replace batteries altogether.

Conventional batteries are utilized because there had been no prior alternative to compactly storing electric charge with a slow rate of discharge other than through the use of metals such as lithium. Since graphene technology is carbon-centric, the possibilities for metabolism of graphene products in nature are much more readily available.

Despite the numerous advantages of systems dependent on graphene, the progress of the technology has been limited due to issues stemming from production limitations.

The original approach to producing graphene was to treat graphite with acid and then purify the product. The process worked, but left a bit to be desired. The purification wasn’t cheap and kept graphene development costs prohibitively high.

Fortunately, several new strategies have emerged for efficiently producing graphene. Terry Brookshire and his colleagues at Graphene Technologies are working to improve the efficiency of the process by forgoing graphite entirely.

“Our process utilizes the combustion of carbon dioxide and metals like magnesium. The result is an almost exothermic reaction that leave[s] us with magnesium oxide and graphene sheets. Furthermore, different metals and techniques could be used to produce different forms of graphene with varied commercial applications,” Brookshire said.

The Kaner Lab at UCLA is researching the effects of exposing liquid graphite oxide to light photons. The result is a thin sheet of graphene ready for use in industry.

Ultimately, creative applications of graphene have the potential to dramatically change the way people interact with the world around them by making products more efficient, mobile and flexible. Despite all the research going into the medium, there are still many undiscovered possibilities.

In the words of Konstantin Novoselov, applied physicist from the University of Manchester, “We still haven’t explored our imagination completely yet because it really has a combination of unique properties.”

ALAN LIN can be reached at science@theaggie.org.