[HandyDandy]

Graphene is a zero-gap semiconductor, because its conduction and valence bands meet at the Dirac points. The Dirac points are six locations in momentum space, on the edge of the Brillouin zone, divided into two non-equivalent sets of three points. The two sets are labeled K and K'. The sets give graphene a valley degeneracy of gv = 2. By contrast, for traditional semiconductors the primary point of interest is generally Γ, where momentum is zero. Four electronic properties separate it from other condensed matter systems.

[TChad]

I think a science-oriented college freshman could do a lot worse than to major in materials science with an emphasis on graphene.

[Ozark Tom]

Hex Boron Nitride mono-layer is similar in proton (hydrogen ion) conduction, an electrical insulator rather than a conductor, and graphene can be grown on a layer of h-BN. This hybrid structure offers a possibility of fast transistors.