⚖ Engineering Press Releases

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the properties of the perovskite family of materials can be used to create so-called quantum bits. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, pave the way for more affordable materials in future quantum computers. According to the researchers from Linköping University, Sweden, behind the study, few within the field believed it would be possible. The reason is that the atoms in perovskite materials should, in theory, interact ...

New research from the University of Mississippi suggests that telling stories – from ancient campfire tales to modern-day digital communication – may be tied to how human memory evolved. It also could be a key to improving everyday retention. Matthew Reysen, associate professor of psychology, and Ole Miss doctoral student Zoe Fischer recently put storytelling to the test. Their study, published in Evolutionary Psychology, found that storytelling performs just as well, and sometimes better, than the current gold standard ...

NEW YORK, March 11, 2026 — Most solid materials we rely on, from steel, to plastics and ceramics, are designed to have specific properties. Whether a material is soft and flexible, or stiff and tough depends on how molecules within the material are organized. That stability is useful, but it comes at a cost: once made, these materials' properties are fixed, and they rarely adapt to their environment. A new study published in the journal Matter (Cell Press) and led by researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the CUNY Graduate Center challenges that assumption, demonstrating solid materials that can reversibly reorganize their internal structure and dramatically ...

Fukuoka, Japan—Kyushu University researchers have directly observed, for the first time, how individual polymers—chain-like molecules—behave when in contact with solid surfaces. Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on March 11, 2026, and selected to be featured as an ACS Editors' Choice, the study reveals a previously unseen behavior in which molecules repeatedly stick to and release from the surface. The findings may contribute to enhancing the performance of adhesives for joining different materials. About 30% of global energy consumption is linked to transportation. One promising strategy to reduce this is by making vehicles lighter, ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Biomaterials are specifically engineered to support tissue, nerve and muscle regeneration across the body, yet physicians and researchers have limited control over the size and connectivity of the internal pores that transfer oxygen and vital nutrients to where they are most needed. To solve this problem and better support tissue regeneration, a team at Penn State has designed a new class of tunable biomaterials. Led by corresponding author Amir Sheikhi, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering and associate professor of chemical engineering, the team developed a highly ...

The constant vibration/rotation and hydrogen-bond (HB) rearrangement of water molecules create various complex yet dynamic HB networks, which makes the characterization of the structure of liquid water become difficult. Inasmuch as the nature of intermolecular forces between water molecules in water clusters bears resemblance to that in the bulk, spectroscopic studies of water clusters reveal the basic building blocks of the HB network, and provides central benchmarks for developing accurate potential functions and universal models of water. In a study published in Nature ...

After decades of intense research, surprises in the realm of semiconductors – materials used in microchips to control electrical currents – are few and far between. But with a pair of published papers, materials engineers at Stanford University debut a promising approach to using a well-studied semiconductor to improve infrared light-emitting diodes and sensors. They say the approach could lead to smaller, sleeker, and less expensive infrared technologies for environmental, medical, and industrial uses. “We taught an old dog new tricks,” ...

PITTSBURGH, March 5, 2026 – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have developed an early-stage, experimental “living eye drop” that uses naturally occurring eye bacteria to support corneal wound healing. The proof-of‑concept study, published today in Cell Reports, demonstrates that the harmless eye-dwelling microbe Corynebacterium mastitidis can be genetically modified to secrete an anti-inflammatory therapeutic that promotes healing following corneal injury in a mouse model. “This is the first demonstration that a microbe that lives on the ocular surface could ...

The shape of an organism is the first way we experience most species and the subject of one of the oldest pursuits in biology. However, the application of big data and computational methods for studying organismal shape has been held back by key technical bottlenecks, making it difficult to capture and share accurate 3D morphological data on large scales. Now, researchers have broken this bottleneck with a project on ants, small but critical organisms in many ecosystems around the world. Using modern technology, researchers have ...

As the UK government considers adding health warnings to new wood burning stoves, as part of a public consultation on solid fuel burning, councils in England are being threatened with legal action for running public health campaigns warning against their use, reveals an investigation published by The BMJ today. Freedom of Information requests show that just under a third of the 50 councils in England with the highest concentration of wood burning stoves had been threatened with legal action or lobbied by the Stove Industry Association (SIA). Other local authorities have received leaflets from the main stove ...

Tsukuba, Japan—Debris supplied by rockfall and related slope processes is a key factor controlling the frequency and magnitude of debris flows. However, estimating the amount of debris supplied over several decades has been technically challenging. In this study, the research team focused on abandoned mountain roads and successfully estimated decadal-scale debris supply by measuring deposits accumulated on these road surfaces using UAV-LiDAR technology. The team conducted a high-resolution topographic survey along a closed section ...

When Fang Peng was in fourth grade, the remote mountain village in China where he grew up received electricity for the first time. Today, Peng is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and internationally recognized in the field of electric power research. But long before his storied career began, the light bulb would be his inspiration. His family had one bulb attached to an extension cord, and as the eldest son, Peng got to carry it around the house. He was fascinated that electricity could travel so far to produce the ...

Solid electrolytes are promising candidates for safe, high-energy battery systems. Composite solid electrolytes, in particular, hold the potential to combine high ionic conductivity with stable electrode interfaces. However, a fundamental trade-off often exists between ion conduction and mechanical properties. In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology, a team led by Prof. CHENG Huiming and PENG Jing from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Prof. HU Renzong from South China University of ...

Scientists are developing a new generation of polymer-based materials that could dramatically improve the removal of persistent “forever chemicals” from drinking water, according to a new review synthesizing recent advances in environmental remediation research. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are a large class of human-made chemicals used in products ranging from firefighting foams to nonstick cookware and textiles. Their extreme stability allows them to persist in the environment and accumulate in water supplies, raising growing concerns about long-term ...

Irvine, Calif., Feb. 25, 2026 — University of California, Irvine computer scientists have discovered a critical security vulnerability in autonomous target-tracking drones that could have far-reaching implications for public safety, border security and personal privacy. The UC Irvine team demonstrated how attackers could use an ordinary umbrella to manipulate drones, drawing the aircraft close enough to capture them or cause them to crash. The researchers developed a novel physical-world attack framework that they call FlyTrap. It exploits deficiencies in camera-based, ...

A reserach team led by Professor Huang Zhang at Harbin University of Science and Technology recently made significant progress in the research of zinc-iodine aqueous batteries. They proposed an electrolyte additive strategy based on tetramethylammonium iodide (TMAI), which, through the synergistic effect of anions (I-) and cations (TMA+), simultaneously solved three core challenges in zinc-iodine batteries: sluggish iodine reaction kinetics, polyiodide shuttle effect, and zinc dendrite growth. This research not only achieved ...

By Leah Shaffer Natural muscle fibers are made up of spring-like proteins that can contract and stretch without losing their original form, dissipate mechanical energy as heat and maintain incredible tensile strength for all sorts of physical functions. Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have replicated these proteins using synthetic biology approaches to create a new category of biomaterials for use in medicine, textiles and agriculture. “Many muscle proteins share similar immunoglobulin-like structures while bearing diverse amino acid sequences. These natural materials provide great ...

How do evolutionarily conserved pathogen effectors maintain structural stability while engaging diverse host targets? In a new study published in Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions® (MPMI), researchers at the University of Pretoria’s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) define a conserved subset of Phytophthora RxLR effectors in which short linear motifs (SLiMs) are embedded within folded WY domain cores. Phytophthora species rank among the world’s most destructive plant pathogens, causing ...

ORANGE, Calif. — Feb. 24, 2026 — A new peer-reviewed study led Dr. Hesham El-Askary, Ph.D., professor of computational and data science at Chapman University, concludes that the saddle dam of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam shows significant vulnerabilities that if breached could threaten downstream communities, property, and infrastructure if urgent monitoring and mitigation steps are not taken.  The study integrates satellite data, hydrological modeling, and advanced geospatial analysis to identify several warning ...

It's a small number of research labs inside tech giants that are driving the rapid rise of AI today. But this is not the first time such labs have taken center stage, a new study shows: The United States' rise as a technological superpower was fueled not just by inventions, but by the emergence of industrial research labs in the 1920s – which reshaped who invented, where innovation happened, and how breakthroughs were made.   AT A GLANCE: The making of a tech superpower: The U.S. transition to a leading economy was not gradual; it happened abruptly in the early 1920s Research labs as key drivers: The industrial research lab – ...

Superhydrophobic surfaces — those famously “never-wet” materials that make water bead up and roll away — have a stubborn weakness: hot water. Once temperatures climb above roughly 40 degrees Celsius, many superhydrophobic coatings abruptly lose their magic. Instead of skittering off, hot droplets start sticking, soaking into the surface texture and leaving behind wet patches and residue. A new study from mechanical engineers at Rice University describes a surprisingly straightforward ...

SAN ANTONIO — February 23, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) continues to expand its unique drug synthesis capabilities and expertise to advance the scalable manufacturing of safer antidotes to combat exposure to organophosphorus nerve agents (OPNAs) and pesticides. Unlike existing manufacturing processes, SwRI’s novel approach avoids cancer-causing compounds during synthesis of oxime antidotes HI-6, Obidoxime and HLö 7. This makes for safer antidotes and supports the kilogram-scale manufacturing needed to sustain a domestic supply of OPNA antidotes for the United States military. End-to-end antidote production in the U.S. ...

The Consortium for Enhancing Resilience and Catastrophe Modeling (CERCat)—a landmark partnership between Lehigh University and Rice University—convened at Rice University between Feb. 5-6, 2026, for its semi-annual meeting.  Established in April 2025, CERCat is a dynamic research hub uniting academia and industry to advance the science of catastrophic risk modeling and resilience assessment. By bridging the gap between academic innovation and the practical needs of the private and public sectors, CERCat ensures the next generation ...

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania and Rice University have refined a technology for editing individual genetic “base pairs” to a new level of precision, opening the door to safer, more reliable therapies for a wide range of genetic diseases, and to potential treatments for some cystic fibrosis patients that may yield better outcomes than existing therapies. Unlike infectious diseases, many of which respond to the same treatments — like antibiotics that neutralize multiple types of bacteria — ...

NORMAN, Okla. – Researchers at the University of Oklahoma have developed new hybrid materials that challenge conventional thinking about how light-emitting compounds work and could advance the field of fast radiation detection. The research, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, presents a novel approach to designing layered perovskite materials that combine the best of both organic and inorganic components. Perovskites are crystalline materials with a specific atomic arrangement that has made them increasingly important ...