Fink

Dr. Nick Orf and other members of the Fink group have developed a method to build semiconductor devices inside a fiber. This work continues the intriguing fiber research from the Fink group, such as the smart fibers that sense sound and light, the singing fibers, and the perfect mirror fibers.
The research is published in PNAS and reported in IEEE Spectrum.

Image from Technology Review

Prof. Yoel Fink and his group have developed fibers that can detect and produce sound; Technology Review reports on their work in the Nov./Dec. 2010 issue.

Listen to Prof. Fink discussing fibers that perceive and transmit sound.

Transcript

In October 2009, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) announced its fourth round of seed grants supporting innovative, early-stage research projects across the Institute. Total funding of $1.7 million was awarded to 12 projects, each lasting between one and two years.
Recipients from DMSE included Yoel Fink, Silvija Gradecak, Jeffrey Grossman, Yang Shao-Horn, Ned Thomas, Carl Thompson, and Harry Tuller.
An overview of the projects is available at the MITEI site.

By implanting light-sensitive, semiconducting materials into a single synthetic fiber, and then weaving that fiber into nearly one square foot of fabric, MIT scientists have created a flexible camera that has taken a picture of a smiley face. See Discovery News for the full story.