Feature Channels: Engineering

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In colder weather, people have long been warming up around campfires and woodstoves. Lately, this idea of burning wood or other biomass for heat has surged in popularity as an alternative to using fossil fuels. Now, in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, scientists report a step toward a "greener" way to generate heat with biomass. Rather than burning it, which releases pollutants, they let fungi break it down to release heat.

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Encouraging children to enjoy a wide variety of toys allows them to develop fully, says lecturer Elizabeth Sweet.

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A group of Clarkson University mathematicians and a civil engineer developed a passive and noninvasive approach to “listen” to a collection of relevant signals from bridges and other mechanical structures to diagnose changes or damage.

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The Fast Neutron Spectrometer (FNS) is now aboard the International Space Station. Neutrons contribute to crew radiation exposure and must be measured to assess exposure levels. The FNS uses a new instrument design that can significantly improve reliability.

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With the holiday travel season under way, airline travelers want to feel safe. Sandia National Laboratories has developed a new course now being offered to the aircraft manufacturing and airline industries to help them better inspect the new solid-laminate composite materials now being used more in aircraft like the Boeing 787 and the Airbus 350.

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Research out of Rowan University in New Jersey will help towns, others better prepare for the worst of weather, mitigating damages.

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UW-Madison Professor James Steele’s new company, Lactic Solutions, is using genetic engineering to, instead of killing lactic acid bacteria with antibiotics, splicing in genes for ethanol production so these organisms produce ethanol, not lactic acid.

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Corn is the leading grain crop in the U.S. but a lack of understanding about the mechanics involved in wind-induced corn stalk failure has hindered further improvements in corn production. Now, by applying mechanical engineering tools and techniques, a group of engineers and plant scientists are making headway addressing this problem. The work will be presented at the 172nd ASA meeting.

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A team of researchers from the iDAPT labs at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network are dedicated to keeping Canadians safer this winter by offering evidence-based ratings on footwear that may reduce the risk of slips and falls on ice. The team has developed the first test of its kind in the world – the Maximum Achievable Angle (MAA) Testing Method – to validate slip resistant footwear on icy surfaces using real people in a simulated winter environment.

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A Northwestern University research team has developed a first-of-its-kind soft, flexible microfluidic device that easily adheres to the skin and measures the wearer’s sweat to show how his or her body is responding to exercise. A little larger than a quarter and about the same thickness, the simple, low-cost device analyzes key biomarkers to help a person decide quickly if any adjustments, such as drinking more water or replenishing electrolytes, need to be made or if something is medically awry.

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A team of biomedical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have identified a cause of fluid swelling of the brain, or cellular edema, that occurs during a concussion.

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Seven researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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If you could watch a molecule of medicine attaching to a cell receptor in extreme slow motion, they would look something like a space ship docking with a space station -- some twists, turns, sputters then locking together tight. With a new improvement to atomic force microscopy by Georgia Tech engineers, seeing this kind of detail is more likely to become possible.

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A newly formed research group, Design Innovation From Nature, has launched a website in response to UC Berkeley's growing interest in biologically inspired structures and systems.

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Scientists report in Nature Medicine using human pluripotent stem cells to grow human intestinal tissues that have functioning nerves in a laboratory, and then using these to recreate and study a severe intestinal nerve disorder called Hirschsprung’s disease.

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• Researchers have developed a key component needed to create a bioartificial kidney. • The advance will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2016 November 15–20 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

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A team of mechanical engineers at the University of California San Diego has successfully used acoustic waves to move fluids through small channels at the nanoscale. The breakthrough is a first step toward the manufacturing of small, portable devices that could be used for drug discovery and microrobotics applications. The devices could be integrated in a lab on a chip to sort cells, move liquids, manipulate particles and sense other biological components. For example, it could be used to filter a wide range of particles, such as bacteria, to conduct rapid diagnosis.

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A team from the Max-Planck-Institute (MPI) for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany has reverse engineered a biosynthetic pathway for more effective carbon fixation that is based on a new CO2-fixing enzyme that is nearly 20 times faster than the most prevalent enzyme in nature responsible for capturing CO2 in plants by using sunlight as energy.

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Bob Hill, technical director of advanced nuclear energy R&D at Argonne, was honored last week as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society.

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The research team around Anton Zeilinger has succeeded in breaking two novel records while experimenting with so-called twisted particles of light. In one experiment, the scientists could show that the twist of light itself, i.e. the screw-like structure, is maintained over a free-space propagation of 143 kilometers, which could revolutionize future data transmission.

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The Maryland Academy of Sciences has selected Dr. Laurent Pueyo of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, as the recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Young Scientist award. He will receive the award in a ceremony today (Nov. 16) at the Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

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Many species of owl are able to hunt in effective silence by suppressing their noise at sound frequencies above 1.6 kilohertz (kHz) - over the range that can be heard by humans.

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Smart windows get darker to filter out the sun's rays on bright days, and turn clear on cloudy days to let more light in. This feature can help control indoor temperatures and offers some privacy without resorting to aids such as mini-blinds. Now scientists report a new development in this growing niche: solar smart windows that can turn opaque on demand and even power other devices. The study appears in ACS Photonics.

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Penn State researchers are conducting a study to identify the key factors that are contributing to premature bridge deck cracking on many of Pennsylvania's 22,000 bridges.

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An engineer at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a model in which the mechanics of the cells’ environment can predict their movement, a finding that ultimately could mean confining cell transition in tumors and potentially making cancer “a substantially less deadly disease,”  said the lead researcher.

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A University at Buffalo research team has published a paper that implies that the rush to ban and demonize autonomous weapons or “killer robots” may be a temporary solution, but the actual problem is that society is entering into a situation where systems like these have and will become possible.

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As a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983, Dr. Guion S.Bluford became the first African-American to travel into space. He was also the first African-American to return to space for a second, third, and fourth time. Bluford will deliver a lecture titled “Freefall: Flying in Space,” on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus on Wednesday, Nov.16. The event, hosted by the School of Science and the Student Success office, will be held in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) Concert Hall, beginning at 7 p.m. The event is open to members of the Rensselaer campus and local community.

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Missouri S&T student teams won first and second at the GlobalHack VI in St. Louis. Teams were charged with designing systems to help the homeless.

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Using its electron linear accelerator, Argonne enabled two companies to demonstrate new methods for the production of molybdenum-99, the parent isotope of technetium-99m – a medical isotope that could face short supply. The laboratory is also expanding its radioisotope program with the goal of performing groundbreaking research and carrying out the development and demonstration needed for supplying a range of key radioisotopes through the DOE Isotope Program.

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Scientists at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have developed a tissue-engineered model of lung and trachea which contains the diverse cell types present in the human respiratory tract. The study was published this week in the online version of the journal Tissue Engineering.

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Researchers from Russia and Ukraine propose a nanosized motor controlled by a laser with potential applications across the natural sciences and medicine.

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Senior manager Sean Hearne, who leads the Center of Integrated Nanotechnology (CINT) for Sandia National Laboratories, has been elected president of the Materials Research Society. MRS is an international organization that promotes interdisciplinary materials research with 15,000 members from academia, industry and national labs.

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Early detection of autism can dramatically improve the benefits of treatment, but often the disability is not suspected until a child enters school. A new smartphone app being developed by a University at Buffalo undergraduate and her advisor could change that by giving parents a reliable, easy-to-use tool for at home use to determine if there is a need for clinical examination.

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A team of Italian scientists have built on previous work in this field using pectin with a high degree of methylation as the medium to create a new architecture of hybrid device with a double-layered polyelectrolyte that alone drives memristive behavior. They discuss their work in this week’s AIP Advances.

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An international team of scientists has used a wireless "brain-spinal interface" to bypass spinal cord injuries in a pair of rhesus macaques, restoring intentional walking movement to a temporarily paralyzed leg. The researchers, who describe their work in the journal Nature, say this is the first time a neural prosthetic has been used to restore walking movement directly to the legs of nonhuman primates.

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Two researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elected fellows of the American Nuclear Society. Alan S. Icenhour and Jess C. Gehin were recognized for their outstanding scientific and technical leadership in nuclear energy research and development.

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Marie Capitan, a diversity workforce specialist at Sandia National Laboratories, is one of five professionals honored this weekend at the 2016 AISES National Conference in Minneapolis. She will accept the Blazing Flame Award, which honors an outstanding professional who has blazed a path for Native Americans in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers.

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During the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016 ,in Nashville, Tennessee, Taraneh Bozorgzad Moghim and a team of researchers from the University of Surrey in the U.K. studied how the high-performance organic coatings used on aircraft surfaces physically and chemically degrade after exposure to ultraviolet light and ozone at high altitudes.

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A University of Utah electrical and computer engineering associate professor Rajesh Menon and his team have developed a cloaking device for microscopic photonics integrated devices in an effort to make future processing chips smaller, faster and consume less power.

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Innovative technologies developed by researchers at Argonne and their partners earned three R&D 100 Awards on Thursday, November 3.

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For a second straight summer, Rachel Seibert spent her days at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researching advanced nuclear reactors. The Ph.D. candidate may not have had such an opportunity more than a decade ago, but thanks to a unique internship program, Seibert analyzed tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuels and continued to pave the path toward her post-graduation career.

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Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received seven R&D 100 Awards in recognition of their significant advancements in science and technology.

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Two proven technologies have been combined to create a promising new technology that could meet future navigational challenges in deep space. It also may help demonstrate -- for the first time -- X-ray communications in space, a capability that would allow the transmission of gigabits per second throughout the solar system.

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Gary Wiederrecht, a senior nanoscientist at Argonne National Laboratory, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society.

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University of Wisconsin–Madison chemical engineers have developed a new way to create inexpensive chemical sensors for detecting explosives, industrial pollutants or even the chemical markers of disease in a patient’s breath.

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During the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016 , in Nashville, Tennessee, David Gracias of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore will explain the decade-long effort of his laboratory to develop a “microgripper hand” that can can travel through the circulatory system.

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How do you handle nuclear waste that will be radioactive for millions of years, keeping it from harming people and the environment? It isn’t easy, but Rutgers researcher Ashutosh Goel has discovered ways to immobilize such waste – the offshoot of decades of nuclear weapons production – in glass and ceramics.

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The latest research and features on cybersecurity in the Cybersecurity News Source

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Mechanical engineering students at the University of Rhode Island are collaborating with a local doctor and a Rhode Island company to create a brace that, well, fits like a glove—and is just as comfortable.

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Even when women were more like men 20 to 40 years ago, it didn’t help them get a job in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, says Sassler, professor of policy analysis and management.