Laura Lewis - Northeastern Global News

Laura Lewis in the Press

How to build strong magnets without rare-earth metals

(An easy way to think of this, says Laura Lewis, an engineer at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, is as a measure of the effort needed to prise a magnet off a steel filing cabinet).

Business Insider

Trump wants Ukraine’s rare earth elements. Experts say he’s overlooking a major issue.

Rare earth elements have been a key focus of the proposed deal, with Trump repeatedly referencing them. Yet “I cannot find credible evidence of rare earth deposits in Ukraine. At all,” Laura Lewis, a professor in chemical, mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering, told Business Insider.

For clean energy and high-tech, building stronger magnets

The periodic table seems to epitomize an older, well-established version of science that is more high school chemistry than high-tech wind turbines or fuel-efficient car engines. But whole swaths of the periodic table that most people have never heard of are crucial for technology and clean energy generation. And in recent years, these materials, with […]

Rare-earth mineral substitutes could defeat Chinese stranglehold

“Nothing happens. Nothing happens. And then everything happens,” says Laura Lewis, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. “Our results are highly preliminary but we have found signatures of layering in the materials we have made.” This is significant, she says, because the layering of iron and nickel suggests that the nanomaterial […]

A truck parked on the edge of an ilmenite open pit mine in a canyon.

‘No credible evidence’ that Ukraine has rare earth minerals, says Northeastern expert

A deal that would give the U.S. a share of Ukraine’s critical raw minerals could set the Eastern European country on a path to peace.

Kanye West at the Oscar Party wearing oversized sunglasses, a black shirt, and a chunky gold necklace.

Ye’s titanium teeth: How would they fare as teeth? Experts weigh in on his oral transformation

The controversial 46-year-old artist revealed the elaborate dental work on Instagram this week.

Two faculty members appointed University Distinguished Professor

Northeastern has appointed Laura Lewis and Daniel Medwed to the rank of University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor the university can bestow upon a faculty member. Lewis is an internationally recognized expert in magnetic materials, while Medwed is a renowned scholar in criminal law and wrongful convictions.

Building a super magnet

Northeastern researchers are developing a super-strong magnetic material that has the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing, transportation and clean-energy industries.

Murthy, Lewis and Plouffe in the lab

A miniature device with a big impact

PhD graduate Brian Plouffe drew from the respective expertise of chemical engineering professors Shashi Murthy and Laura Lewis to design a miniature device that detects late-stage cancer.

Rare earth elements and global energy strategy

Economic and geopolitical trends suggest the supply of rare earth elements (REEs) will not be able to keep up with global demand. A concern is growing as China, which controls about 95 percent of the world’s REE exports, has indicated that it might reduce its international trade in the metals. These elements are critical components […]

NSF grant supports global nanomedicine program

Interdisciplinary graduate research program receives $3.1 million to train scientists from Northeastern and universities in Brazil, England, India and Italy