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Michael De Volder, Engineering Department - IfM
 

Multidimensional‐Encrypted Meta‐Optics Storage Empowered by Diffraction‐Order Decoupling

By proposing a single-cell order-decoupling method and simultaneously manipulating four-dimensional optical parameters (Wavelength, Wavevector Direction, Polarization, and Diffraction Order), a meta-optics storage system accomplishes multidimensional optical encryption. This system achieves up to sixteen-channel multidimensional encrypted holographic images with high quality and exponentially raises the threshold of brute-force decoding, and thus remarkably enhances information security in optical storage.


Abstract

Recent advancements in multidimensional multiplexing have paved the way for meta-optics encryption to be a viable solution to next-generation information storage and encryption security. However, challenges persist in increasing simultaneously modulated dimensions while minimizing structural complexity. Here, a novel single-cell order-decoupling method is proposed for the realization of a multidimensional encrypted meta-optics storage system. By analyzing the mathematic relationships between the phases of different diffraction orders, the detour phase structure is optimized to achieve independent encoding freedom for multiple orders. The proposed multidimensional encrypted meta-optics successfully realize the concurrent modulation of four optical dimensions: i) Wavelength, ii) Wavevector Direction, iii) Polarization, and iv) Diffraction Order. The system achieves up to sixteen-channel meta-holograms with low crosstalk and exponentially raises the threshold of brute-force decoding and thus remarkably enhances the information security in optical storage. It envisioned that the on-chip metasurface-based multidimensional encrypted strategy for augmented reality display functionalities presents promising applications in optical encryption/storage, anti-counterfeiting, and multifunctional photonics integrated circuits.

Ultrafine metal nanoparticles isolated on oxide nano-islands as exceptional sintering-resistant catalysts

http://feeds.nature.com/nmat/rss/current - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 00:00

Nature Materials, Published online: 10 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02134-9

An isolation strategy is presented to improve the stability of metal nanoparticles by grafting oxide nano-islands between the support and the nanoparticles. This enhances sintering resistance, with the mean size of the nanoparticles maintained at 1.4 nm after 400 h of catalytic dry reforming of methane.

Clarifying the origin of molecular O<sub>2</sub> in cathode oxides

http://feeds.nature.com/nmat/rss/current - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 00:00

Nature Materials, Published online: 10 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02144-7

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering measurements suggest that the oxidized oxygen species in high-energy Li-rich oxide cathodes are trapped molecular O2, which is also observed in O-redox-inactive materials. This suggests that resonant X-ray inelastic scattering measurements generate these species, and molecular O2 is not responsible for voltage hysteresis and decay.

Tue 11 Mar 14:00: Sharp threshold for the ballisticity of the random walk on the exclusion process

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Sun, 09/03/2025 - 20:39
Sharp threshold for the ballisticity of the random walk on the exclusion process

In this talk, I will overview works on random walks in dynamical random environments. I will recall a result obtained in collaboration with Hilario and Teixeira and then I will focus on a work with Conchon—Kerjan and Rodriguez. Our main interest is to investigate the long-term behavior of a random walker evolving on top of the simple symmetric exclusion process (SSEP) at equilibrium, with density in [0,1]. At each jump, the random walker is subject to a drift that depends on whether it is sitting on top of a particle or a hole. We prove that the speed of the walk, seen as a function of the density, exists for all density but at most one, and that it is strictly monotonic. We will explain how this can be seen as a sharpness result and provide an outline of the proof, whose general strategy is inspired by techniques developed for studying the sharpness of strongly-correlated percolation models.

  • Speaker: Daniel Kious (Bath)
  • Tuesday 11 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
  • Venue: MR12.
  • Series: Probability; organiser: ww295.

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Thu 13 Mar 14:00: Biological design with machine learning and limited data.

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Sun, 09/03/2025 - 18:08
Biological design with machine learning and limited data.

AI and machine learning have rapidly emerged as promising tools for cellular engineering and optimisation. Yet the complexities of biological measurements often limit the applicability of state-of-the-art algorithms that require large and well-curated data for training. This gap could potentially leave behind many academic and industry laboratories that could hugely benefit from this technology. In this talk, I will describe recent applications of machine learning for in silico discovery and optimisation, with a focus on small and heterogeneous datasets typically encountered in biological design tasks. Examples include predicting protein expression/function from sequence information, low-N drug discovery against complex diseases, and optimisation of gene circuits for metabolite production.

The seminar will be held in LR3A , Department of Engineering, and online (zoom): https://newnham.zoom.us/j/92544958528?pwd=YS9PcGRnbXBOcStBdStNb3E0SHN1UT09

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Tue 11 Mar 15:00: Integrating Random Memory Patterns and Spatial Maps in Food-Caching Birds

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Sun, 09/03/2025 - 14:38
Integrating Random Memory Patterns and Spatial Maps in Food-Caching Birds

A major challenge in neuroscience is understanding how the hippocampus encodes numerous episodic memories without interference while maintaining spatial representations. While theoretical considerations favour random, uncorrelated patterns for episodic memory storage, most experimental studies focus on spatial memory that is highly structured. In this journal club, we will explore recent work in chickadees, a species that relies on precise memory for food caching, to investigate how hippocampal circuits integrate random patterns with structured spatial codes. The first study [1] demonstrates that place cells not only encode an animal’s location but also respond when the bird gazes at distant locations, suggesting a unified hippocampal representation of attended space. The second study [2] identifies sparse, high-dimensional ‘barcode’ patterns that uniquely label individual caching events, coexisting with conventional place cell activity but remaining mostly uncorrelated to spatial proximity. The third study [3] presents a computational model in which chaotic recurrent network dynamics generate barcodes that serve as memory indices while maintaining a structured code for spatial memory. Together, these findings bridge theoretical ideas of hippocampal indexing with empirical data, offering a new perspective on how the brain simultaneously supports spatial navigation and episodic memory storage. [1] Payne, H. L., & Aronov, D. (2024). Remote activation of place codes by gaze in a highly visual animal. bioRxiv, 2024-09. [2] Chettih, S. N., Mackevicius, E. L., Hale, S., & Aronov, D. (2024). Barcoding of episodic memories in the hippocampus of a food-caching bird. Cell, 187(8), 1922-1935. [3] Fang, C., Lindsey, J., Abbott, L. F., Aronov, D., & Chettih, S. (2024). Barcode activity in a recurrent network model of the hippocampus enables efficient memory binding. bioRxiv.

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Nitride solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries

http://feeds.rsc.org/rss/ee - Sun, 09/03/2025 - 04:39
Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE04927F, Review Article Open Access &nbsp This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Weihan Li, Minsi Li, Haoqi Ren, Jung Tae Kim, Ruying Li, Tsun-Kong Sham, Xueliang Sun
Nitride solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) hold significant potential for addressing critical interfacial issues between SSEs and lithium metal in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries. These batteries are at the forefront of energy...
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“Head Surgery” of Polycyclic o-Quinones with Cyanated Aromatic Rings towards High Electron Mobility Acceptors Enable 19.6% Additive-Free Binary Organic Solar Cells

http://feeds.rsc.org/rss/ee - Sat, 08/03/2025 - 16:40
Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00031A, PaperTainan Duan, Jia Wang, Xiaochan Zuo, Yanyi Zhong, Yuhong Long, Peiran Wang, Kaihuai Tu, Cheng Zhong, Jiangbin Zhang, Oleg Alekseevich Rakitin, Zhaoyang Yao, Xiangjian Wan, Yan Zhao, Bin Kan, Yongsheng Chen
The development of high-performance organic electron acceptors is pivotal for advancing organic optoelectronic devices. In this paper, a new synthetic approach was developed to construct fused-ring aromatic backbones and the...
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Thu 13 Mar 17:00: Formal verification of the 5th Busy Beaver value

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Sat, 08/03/2025 - 11:38
Formal verification of the 5th Busy Beaver value

We prove that S(5) = 47,176,870. The Busy Beaver value S(n) gives the maximum number of steps a halting n-state 2-symbol Turing machine can perform from the all-0 tape before halting and S was historically introduced as one of the simplest examples of a noncomputable function.

Using the Coq proof assistant, we enumerate 181,385,789 5-state Turing machines, and for each, decide whether it halts or not. Most of these machines are decided using new algorithms that simplify the halting problem by building Finite State Automata to approximate the machine’s set of reachable configurations. For 13 challenging Sporadic Machines, we provide individual Coq proofs of nonhalting.

Our result marks the first determination of a new Busy Beaver value in over 40 years, leveraging Coq’s computing capabilities and demonstrating the effectiveness of collaborative online research.

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Anode-Free Sodium Metal Batteries: Optimisation of Electrolytes and Interphases

http://feeds.rsc.org/rss/ee - Sat, 08/03/2025 - 00:41
Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00136F, Review Article Open Access &nbsp This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Huihua Li, Fanglin Wu, Jian Wang, Jingxuan Wang, Hongxu Qu, Minghua Chen, Huang Zhang, Stefano Passerini
Anode-free sodium metal batteries (AFSMBs) represent a significant advancement in energy storage technology, offering high energy density and cost-effective solutions. However, their applications are impeded by the critical sodium deposition...
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Wed 02 Apr 16:00: The fly connectome

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Sat, 08/03/2025 - 00:12
The fly connectome

Abstract not available

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Fri 14 Mar 14:00: Title to be confirmed

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Sat, 08/03/2025 - 00:05
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Thu 05 Jun 16:00: Dr Ewan Harrison, Wellcome Sanger Institute

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Fri, 07/03/2025 - 17:57
Dr Ewan Harrison, Wellcome Sanger Institute

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 5 June 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Dr Ewan Harrison, Head of Respiratory Virus and Microbiome Initiative, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Title: TBC

Host: Patrycja Kozik, MRC -LMB, Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

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Thu 22 May 16:00: Prof. Vincenzo Bronte, Universita di Verona, Italy

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Fri, 07/03/2025 - 17:46
Prof. Vincenzo Bronte, Universita di Verona, Italy

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 22 May 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Prof. Vincenzo Bronte, Universita di Verona, Italy

Title: TBC

Host: Virginia Pedicord, CITIID , Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

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Thu 24 Apr 16:00: Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Fri, 07/03/2025 - 17:36
Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 24 April 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: TBC

Title: TBC

Host: TBC

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

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Thu 10 Apr 16:00: Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Fri, 07/03/2025 - 17:34
Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 4 April 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: TBC

Title: TBC

Host:

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

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Thu 15 May 16:00: Inflammation in vaccines and infection: it’s (even) more complex than we think

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/rss/5408 - Fri, 07/03/2025 - 17:31
Inflammation in vaccines and infection: it’s (even) more complex than we think

This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 15 May 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Prof John Tregoning, Professor of Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London

Title: ‘Inflammation in vaccines and infection: it’s (even) more complex than we think’

Prof John Tregoning is currently Professor of Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London, where he has studied the immune responses to vaccination and respiratory infection for more than 25 years. His group is currently focusing on the immune response to RNA vaccination. John has written more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He is also the author of two books Live Forever? A Curious Scientist’s Guide to Wellness, Disease and Ageing and Infectious: Pathogens and how we fight them.

Host: Ravindra Gupta, CITIID , Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.

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Self-powered electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from air and lignin

http://feeds.rsc.org/rss/ee - Fri, 07/03/2025 - 14:42
Energy Environ. Sci., 2025, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE06106C, PaperYongrong Li, Denghao Ouyang, Xi Liu, Yichen Zhang, Zhiqiang Niu, JunYong Zhu, Xuejun Pan, Xuebing Zhao
Lignin, which is typically available as a by-product of pulping process and biomass biorefinery, is a sustainable feedstock for production of carbon fuels and materials. Here, we report a novel...
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