Experiments in space will deliver benefits on Earth

By Tamara Dietrich

Another experiment led by Yangying Zhu, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, seeks to find a new method to actively control bubbles and droplets by exploiting liquids whose surface tension can be changed with light. This research has the potential for a wide range of terrestrial applications, including improving the efficiency of power plants that produce most of the electricity in the U.S., heating and cooling of buildings, desalination and distillation.