R. Colin Johnson at EE Times writes: ''Piezoelectric effects translate mechanical motion into electricity and vice versa, energizing a variety of electronic transducer applications as well as promising to cut power consumption in MEMS devices. Now McGill University researchers are harnessing the piezoelectric effect in quantum dots, aiming for nanoscale sensors and power supplies that translate vibration into a usable signal. The research program, led by professor Patanjali Kambhampati, has already discovered a method for producing a large electrical field in cadmium selenide quantum dots by assembling an electronic charge around their exterior.''