MSU grant, tax revenue & vets

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University researchers are zeroing in on next-generation LED technology with a $708,506 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study tailoring the brightness of lead halide perovskites - solid-state inorganic materials that which show promise in LEDs, solar cells and photodetectors. 

Mahesh K. Gangishetty, an MSU assistant professor with appointments the departments of chemistry and Physics and Astronomy, leads the 3-year grant.

“Lead halide perovskites are emerging hybrid materials for solid-state (LED) lighting applications,” said Gangishetty. 

“The presence of small impurity metal ions makes them brighter."

The work will allow the team to "seek insight into where these impurities are located and how they are connected inside the lattice to unfold the mystery of the origin of enhanced brightness,” he continued.

Rai said the global market for micro-LED display technology - –found in cellphones and TV screens - is currently valued at several hundred million dollars and projected to grow to over $30B by 2030.

“There is a need for abundant, low-cost, and easily processable materials for future display and lighting applications,” Rai said. “Perovskites show great potential for high-resolution displays by emitting pure and desirable colors. (MSU 10/20/23) MSU researchers secure significant DOE grant to ‘unfold the mystery of enhanced brightness’ in LEDs | Mississippi State University (msstate.edu) 

Columbus, Starkville tax revenue growth

Columbus and Starkville kicked off their Fiscal Year 2024’s sales tax revenues with 4.2% growth from October 2022, and West Point showed growth for the fourth month in a row. Columbus received $976,083 in September sales tax diversions from the Mississippi Department of Revenue. That is up $40,728 from the same period last year. Sales tax diversions run on a three-month window, where they are collected one month, sent to the MDR the next, and then distributed to cities. (Columbus Dispatch 10/20/23) Columbus, Starkville begin FY 2024 sales tax revenues with 4.2% growth - The Dispatch (cdispatch.com) 

GC vets approved to use NH Pensacola for same-day outpatient care

Veterans on the Gulf Coast will now have access to same-day outpatient surgical care at a new Department of Veterans Affairs clinic located inside Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla., according to the VA. 

The VA and Defense Department came together to launch the clinic, which will serve an estimated 37,000 people. 

The collaboration comes as the VA says it continues to search for ways to accommodate an increasing number of veterans, while also trying to tackle its own aging health care facilities and cost-cutting efforts. (10/19/23) Gulf Coast Veterans Given Access to Navy's Pensacola Hospital, as VA Seeks Ways to Treat More Patients | Military.com.