Kansas State University engineers have developed a lithium-based neutron detector that is being recognized as one of the year's Top 100 newly developed technologies.
As hemp makes a comeback in the U.S. after a decades-long ban on its cultivation, scientists are reporting that fibers from the plant can pack as much energy and power as graphene, long-touted as the model material for supercapacitors. They’re presenting their work, which a start-up company is working on scaling up, at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
Researchers report the first complex 3D model made of brain-like cortical tissue that exhibits biochemical and electrophysiological response and functions in vitro for months. The engineered tissue model uses a porous silk-scaffold, collagen gel matrix and rat-derived neurons. It offers new ways to study brain function, trauma and treatment.
Bioengineers have created three-dimensional brain-like tissue that functions like and has structural features similar to tissue in the rat brain and that can be kept alive in the lab for more than two months. The tissue could provide a superior model for studying normal brain function as well as injury and disease, and could assist in the development of new treatments for brain dysfunction.
"Hyve-3D is a new interface for 3D content creation via embodied and collaborative 3D sketching,” explained lead researcher Professor Tomás Dorta, of the University of Montreal's School of Design
Many of today’s technological innovations from the iPhone to electric motors for hybrid cars require the use of materials — elements — that are scarce or difficult to obtain. As demand for these devices grows, the problem of dwindling critical element supplies must be addressed. That’s the conclusion of a white paper written by eminent scientists. The product of the 5th Chemical Sciences and Society Summit (CS3), the white paper recommends focusing research on finding alternative materials and new approaches to technology development in order to prevent these elements from disappearing.
A plastic sponge that sops up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) might ease our tranisition away from polluting fossil fuels to new energy sources like hydrogen. At the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, a researcher will describe a relative of food container plastics that could play a role in President Obama’s plan to cut CO2 emissions. The material might also someday be integrated into power plant smokestacks.
Nearly 40 percent of women who earn engineering degrees quit the profession or never enter the field, and for those who leave, poor workplace climates and mistreatment by managers and co-workers are common reasons, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 122nd Annual Convention.
Scientists want to design new materials that have desired physical properties rather than relying on these to emerge naturally. Now origami-based folding methods may “tune” the physical properties of thin sheets, leading to micro machines that can snap into place to perform mechanical tasks.
An outline of Marilyn Monroe's iconic face appeared on the clear, plastic film when a researcher fogs it with her breath.
Carmakers like Toyota have long touted the eco-friendly virtues of zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, but commercialization was hindered by the high cost of critical materials and infrastructure. Now, Toyota has cut costs by 90 percent and German industrial gases and engineering company Linde AG will start small-series production of hydrogen fueling stations. Some of the stations are slated to open in California as Toyota debuts its Highlander hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in 2015.
About 10 years ago when Will Prindle was VP of design and development at Forms+Surfaces, his idea for an explosion-resistant public trash receptacle was scrapped. Now an assistant professor of industrial design at Iowa State, Prindle has retrieved his discarded idea from the corporate junkyard. And he intends to see it through to the marketplace.
The Kavli Foundation Lecture series features two prominent scientists: one in the booming area of ionic liquids, the other in medical materials. The former has made a novel compound with the potential to lower the energy it takes to capture carbon dioxide. The latter has engineered tissues and medical materials such as a stretchy glue that could transform surgery. They are presenting at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Cyborg technology is bringing us real-life electronic skin, prosthetics and ultra-flexible circuits. Now taking this human-machine concept to an unprecedented level, pioneering scientists are working on the seamless marriage between electronics and brain signaling with the potential to transform our understanding of how the brain works — and how to treat its most devastating diseases. Their presentation is taking place at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
As the oil and gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing proliferates, a new study on the contents of the fluids used raises concerns over several ingredients. The scientists presenting the work today at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society say out of nearly 200 commonly used compounds in “fracking,” there’s very little known about the potential health risks of about one-third, and eight are toxic to mammals.
In the future, working up a sweat by exercising may not only be good for your health, but it could also power your small electronic devices. Researchers will report today at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society that they have designed a sensor in the form of a temporary tattoo that can both monitor a person’s progress during exercise and produce power from their perspiration.
A new technique transforming stinky, air-polluting landfill gas could produce the sweet smell of success as it leads to development of a fuel cell generating clean electricity for homes, offices and hospitals, researchers say. The advance would convert methane gas into hydrogen, an efficient, clean form of energy. Their report was part of the 248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
Physicists have identified the "quantum glue" that underlies a promising type of superconductivity -- a crucial step towards the creation of energy superhighways that conduct electricity without current loss.
In a new paper in the Journal of Applied Physics, researchers apply the Construcal Law to airplanes, showing "that we can witness evolution in our lifetime by documenting the evolution of a flow system that is a little more than a century old: the flying 'human-and-machine species'.
Georgia Tech researchers have created a functional MRI-compatible hemiparesis rehab device that creates a long latency stretch reflex at the exact time as a brain signal. It is designed to assist stroke victims.
Drying the maximum amount of corn with the least amount of energy—that’s what engineering manager Brent Bloemendaal of Brock Grain Systems in Frankfort, Indiana, needed to give his company a competitive edge in the marketplace. To do that, he partnered with thermodynamics experts at South Dakota State University. Using an experimental setup, assistant professor Stephen Gent of the mechanical engineering department has developed and validated a numerical model that the company calls “unique and cutting edge.”
The one-cylinder test engine in the basement of a University of Wisconsin-Madison lab is connected to a life-support system of pipes, tubes, ducts and cables. You might think that the engine resembles a patient in intensive care, but in this case, the patient is not sick. Instead, the elaborate monitoring system shows that the engine can convert 59.5 percent of the chemical energy in its fuel into motion — significantly better than the 52 percent maximum in modern diesel truck engines.
University of Adelaide researchers are using new magnetic materials to develop revolutionary electrical motors and generators which promise significant energy savings.
An Iowa State team topped 98 universities from 28 countries to capture first place in the 15th annual Data Mining Cup. It is the first time a U.S. team has won. A leading European data mining company sponsors the intelligent-data analysis competition "to identify the best up-and-coming data miners."
The Georgia Tech Research Institute’s software-defined, electronically-reconfigurable Agile Aperture Antenna (A3) has now been tested on the land, sea and air.
Student-invented battlefield medical device has potential to save soldiers with deep wounds, especially at the neck, shoulder or groin.
A sponge-like silicon material could help lithium-ion batteries run longer on a single charge by giving the batteries' electrodes the space they need to expand without breaking.
A new Georgia Institute of Technology study investigated how quickly 32 animals urinate. It turns out that it’s all about the same. Even though an elephant’s bladder is 3,600 times larger than a cat’s (18 liters vs. 5 milliliters), both animals relieve themselves in about 20 seconds.
The largest city in the Dakotas now saves an estimated 1 million gallons of water a day, thanks to a wastewater filtration project done in collaboration with the South Dakota State University Water and Environmental Engineering Research Center, the City of Sioux Falls and the city’s consulting firm, H.R. Green Engineering of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For more than a decade, the City of Sioux Falls has set aside $20,000 each year from its capital improvement program to fund graduate research that will increase the efficiency of its wastewater treatment plant. The City of Sioux Falls and its taxpayers have reaped the rewards of investing in research and serve as an example for what other communities might be able to accomplish through a partnership with the Water Research Center.
University of Washington computer scientists have shown that crowdsourcing can be a quick and effective way to teach a robot how to complete tasks.
Iowa State University engineers are using LEGO bricks to build controlled environments to study how variations in climate and soil affect plant growth. They say LEGO bricks "are highly convenient and versatile building blocks" for the studies.
When the frame of a pair of glasses is bent out of shape, it's not that easy to return it to its original form. If, however, your spectacles are made of a shape memory alloy then you don't have a problem. Just place the frame in hot water and bingo! – they're as good as new again. Empa researchers have now shown that these materials can also find applications in the building industry. For example in the reinforcement of bridges.
Using microscopic polymer light resonators that expand in the presence of specific gases, researchers at MIT's Quantum Photonics Laboratory have developed new optical sensors with predicted detection levels in the parts-per-billion range. Optical sensors are ideal for detecting trace gas concentrations due to their high signal-to-noise ratio, compact, lightweight nature and immunity to electromagnetic interference.
Beginning with the development of smaller products, such as solar lanterns to replace kerosene lighting, the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University is expanding its efforts to produce energy alternatives with a new program to test larger scale renewable energy-powered consumer products.
University of Washington engineers have designed a low-power sensor that could be placed permanently in a person's eye to track hard-to-measure changes in eye pressure. The sensor would be embedded with an artificial lens during cataract surgery and would detect pressure changes instantaneously, then transmit the data wirelessly using radio frequency waves.
Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have designed integrated circuits that can survive at temperatures greater than 350 degrees Celsius – or roughly 660 degrees Fahrenheit
The rapid development of lighting technologies, particularly solid-state systems using light emitting diodes (LEDs), has opened a universe of new possibilities as well as new questions about roadway lighting in the U.S. There is a critical need for objective technical information about new types of roadway lighting. The Transportation Research Board (TRB), part of the National Academies, initiated a project to evaluate new lighting technologies and identify new metrics for comparison. The full report is now available free to the public online.
Report TOMORROW on Thursday June 5, 2014 11 a.m. CDT News Conference in Houston, TX Media will be briefed on investigation findings and safety recommendations. These findings will then be formally presented to the public and two-member presidentially-appointed Board investigating the April 20, 2010, blowout of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.
With precarious particles called polaritons that straddle the worlds of light and matter, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated a new, practical and potentially more efficient way to make a coherent laser-like beam.
Biomedical engineering students design a lightweight, easy-to-conceal shirt-like garment to deliver life-saving shocks to patients experiencing serious heart problems. The students say their design improves upon a wearable defibrillator system that is already in use.
Projects to provide low-cost eyeglasses for people in the developing world and to develop a cell-death detector will share $25,000 in cash to further develop their projects as winners of the 2014 Discovery Competition. Washington University in St. Louis’ School of Engineering & Applied Science created the competition in 2012.
With better brains, underwater drones would spend less time searching and more time finding their target, including airliners lost at the bottom of the ocean. If one scientist has her way, the next generation of autonomous underwater vehicles will have a much better chance of getting it right.
Less than a year after patenting a process that could improve stripping greenhouse gasses from industrial emissions, a University of Alabama professor was recently granted another patent with a different solvent to accomplish the same goal.
A new technology under development at the Georgia Institute of Technology could one day provide more efficient delivery of the bone regenerating growth factors with greater accuracy and at a lower cost.
A team of researchers from the University of South Carolina received two patents for a new method to rid carpets, mattresses and other furniture of harmful allergens and pests that cause asthma.
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering has developed a cost-effective solution for the control of indoor air pollution, especially from the haze. The new system is easy to use and ideal for use in a range of indoor environments.
An interdisciplinary Kansas State University research group is taking used coffee grounds from a campus coffee shop and using them as compost to cultivate gourmet mushrooms at the student farm.
The drive to replace the gasoline economy with better batteries might be accelerated thanks to unique battery testing capabilities at Cornell, and a new testing and prototyping center that the university helped to establish.
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