Engineering
press releases.

Engineering25 Jun 2024

Frauke Gräter appointed new director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

How can artificial intelligence and machine learning be used for innovative research in the field of soft matter? Frauke Gräter, the current Head of the Molecular Biomechanics group at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) and Professor of Molecular Biomechanics at Heidelberg University, will research these and other topics as the new Director at the MPI for Polymer Research starting July 1, 2024. Frauke Gräter has made an international name for herself through her outstanding scientific contributions, particularly in the field of molecular biomechanics. Her academic ...

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Engineering25 Jun 2024

All-in-one method measures CO2 in concrete

A new device can measure carbon dioxide captured in concrete more simply and in a third of the time of current methods. Researchers at the University of Tokyo worked with engineers in industry to create the boxlike device called the concrete thermal gravimetry and gas analyzer. The device heats concrete samples to almost 1,000 degrees Celsius, causing the CO2 within to be released so it can be measured. Compared to the current technique, which involves a time-consuming and complicated process of crushing concrete samples into powder for sampling, this new method is simpler, more accurate and user-friendly. The researchers hope it ...

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Engineering20 Jun 2024

Exploring the relationship between civilians and military organizations through an experiment in Japan

In democracies where civilian control is followed, the power to make crucial decisions, like those of national security, is mainly exercised by elected officials, allowing the citizens who elect them to influence such decisions indirectly. This role can give people a sense of participation in matters of national importance, potentially associated with their political trust. The military, in such cases, advises and helps these elected leaders in serving the nation, rather than assuming leadership itself. A balance between civilians and military organizations is, therefore, crucial for any democracy to thrive, and it is pointed out that civilian control is a requisite of democracy. Existing ...

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Engineering19 Jun 2024

Researchers create new class of materials called ‘glassy gels’

Researchers have created a new class of materials called “glassy gels” that are very hard and difficult to break despite containing more than 50% liquid. Coupled with the fact that glassy gels are simple to produce, the material holds promise for a variety of applications. Gels and glassy polymers are classes of materials that have historically been viewed as distinct from one another. Glassy polymers are hard, stiff and often brittle. They’re used to make things like water bottles or airplane windows. Gels – such as contact lenses – contain liquid and are soft and stretchy. “We’ve created a class of materials ...

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Engineering19 Jun 2024

A novel signal-amplification system utilizing sumanene-based supramolecular polymers

Chemical sensors whose signals can be amplified by various triggers hold huge potential in multidisciplinary sciences. However, developing such systems was considered a highly challenging task, until a team of researchers from Tokyo Tech recently came up with a novel signal-amplification system that can be flexibly manipulated by a dynamic allosteric effector or a trigger. This new chemosensor system exhibited exception signal amplification by altering the sumanene monomer concentrations. Synthetic supramolecular hosts and artificial receptors have found an exciting application in the form of chemical sensors or chemosensors, ...

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Engineering17 Jun 2024

Unlocking the mystery behind the performance decline in a promising cathode material

The first generation of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles has been a remarkable success story. Yet, the question arises: What changes to battery materials will spur further advances to extend driving range and lower costs? A better positive electrode, or cathode, for lithium-ion batteries has been the focus of intense past research. The cathode is one of the main components in batteries. Several candidates for cathode materials offer the prospect of batteries with much higher energy storage, leading to longer driving range. However, the capacity, or amount of current flowing out within a given time, tends to decline rapidly with charge-discharge cycling for reasons ...

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Engineering14 Jun 2024

NRL researchers receive Navy’s Top Scientists and Engineers Award

WASHINGTON – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists and engineers received the prestigious Department of Navy Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award, June 12, during an awards ceremony hosted at the Pentagon. “The Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year award program recognizes and acknowledges the excellence of our highest performing scientists and engineers in support of the Department of the Navy," said Frederick J. Stefany, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, ...

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Engineering14 Jun 2024

Does BMO induced by mechanical stress progress to structural lesions?

BMO in the sacroiliac joint on MRI is present in up to 84% of people with non-radiographic axSpA – but it is also often seen in a non-inflammatory setting, such as in women after childbirth.1,2 As back pain is common after childbirth, differential diagnosis with axSpA is an important issue in clinical practice.1 In axSpA, active inflammatory lesions are likely to progress to structural lesions over time – particularly fat lesions and erosions. But it is not known whether the same is true for BMO induced by mechanical stress. In June 2024, EULAR – The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology – held its annual congress ...

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Engineering14 Jun 2024

Synthetic data holds the key to determining best statewide transit investments, new NYU Tandon School of Engineering study finds

Synthetically generated population data can reveal the equity impacts of distributing transportation resources and funding across diverse regions, according to new research from NYU's Tandon School of Engineering that uses New York State as a case study. Relying on an artificial dataset representing 19.5 million New York residents and over 120,000 modeled origin-destination trips, researchers from NYU Tandon's C2SMARTER, a Tier 1 U.S U.S. Department of Transportation-funded University Transportation Center, determined how best to invest in transportation services when equitable benefits are an objective. They ...

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Engineering13 Jun 2024

Privacy-enhancing browser extensions fail to meet user needs, new NYU Tandon School of Engineering study finds

Popular web browser extensions designed to protect user privacy and block online ads are falling short, according to NYU Tandon School of Engineering researchers, who are proposing new measurement methodologies to better uncover and quantify these shortcomings. Led by Rachel Greenstadt, professor in the NYU Tandon Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Department, the team will present its study at the 19th ACM ASIA Conference on Computer and Communications Security, taking place July 1–5, 2024 in Singapore. Through ...

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Engineering12 Jun 2024

Unleashing the power of metamaterials to improve MRI imaging

In recent years, the field of metamaterials has experienced substantial growth, revealing exciting potential, especially in advancing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. Three new studies led by Dr. Xin Zhang, a BU College of Engineering Distinguished Professor and a professor at the BU Photonics Center, highlight the promising opportunities within this field. These studies, in collaboration with Dr. Stephan Anderson, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine professor of radiology, published in Advanced Science, Advanced Materials, and Science Advances, showcase innovative approaches to enhance the MRI experience for all patients. ...

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Engineering12 Jun 2024

A review of high-performance cementitious composites in bridge deck durability

Many modern bridges use orthotropic steel bridge decks (OSBD), the decks being the surface sections of the bridge. OSBDs were designed to be lightweight and economical. However, this design has shown increasing issues with pavement cracking and fatigue damage at the welds that connect the bridge deck to the bridge superstructure. Fatigue damage is damage that accrues over time with use. To ameliorate these problems, a new bridge deck was designed. The composite bridge deck system (CBD) added a layer of concrete to decrease the probability of damage due to fatigue. More recently the use of high-performance materials, such as ultra-high-performance ...

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Engineering12 Jun 2024

Scientists engineer human antibodies that could neutralize black widow toxin

There are various types of widow spiders, including black, red, and brown varieties in North and South America, the Australian redback spider, and several button spider species that inhabit South Africa. In Europe, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus – the European black widow – inhabits the Mediterranean region, but recently and due to the changing climate, the widows have been expanding their habitat. Widow spiders’ bites can cause latrodectism, a disease where the spider’s venom, a neurotoxin known as alpha-latrotoxin, attacks the nervous system and causes symptoms like severe ...

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Engineering12 Jun 2024

Nationwide zonation and durability assessment of China’s plateau infrastructure under freeze–thaw cycles

In a bid to tackle the enduring problem of infrastructure durability in the face of relentless freeze–thaw (F–T) cycles, a team of researchers has published a new study in Engineering. The study focuses on the Chinese Plateau region, where the harsh effects of F–T cycles on concrete structures have led to concerns regarding their aging and subsequent performance deterioration. The authors of the study emphasize that the existing national standards for designing frost-resistant concrete structures are insufficient, as they rely primarily on the coldest monthly average temperature without accounting for the intricate spatiotemporal variations, amplitude, and ...

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Engineering11 Jun 2024

Scientists engineer yellow-seeded camelina with high oil output

UPTON, N.Y. — Efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from transportation fuels are increasing demand for oil produced by nonfood crops. These plants use sunlight to power the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into oil, which accumulates in seeds. Crop breeders interested in selecting plants that produce a lot of oil look for yellow seeds. In oilseed crops like canola, yellow-seeded varieties generally produce more oil than their brown-seeded counterparts. The reason: The protein responsible for brown seed color — which yellow-seeded plants lack — also plays a key role in oil production. Now, plant biochemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven ...

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Engineering10 Jun 2024

Making remanufacturing profitable

Returning end-of-life products to as-new condition is called remanufacturing and can be an essential element in a circular economy. But for more industrial companies to take an interest in it, remanufacturing needs to be economically viable. In a doctoral thesis from Linköping University, Johan Vogt Duberg has investigated how this can be accomplished. “It’s possible to take advantage of increased environmental awareness to gain economic benefits. With remanufacturing, the costs of raw materials can be reduced, new customer groups found and ...

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Engineering5 Jun 2024

Uptake of tire wear additives by vegetables grown for human consumption

Car tires contain hundreds of chemical additives that can leach out of them. This is how they end up in crops and subsequently in the food chain. Researchers at the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now detected these chemical residues in leafy vegetables for the first time. Although the concentrations were low, the evidence was clear, a finding that is also known for drug residues in plant-based foods. The study was published in the internationally renowned journal Frontiers in Environmental Science. The presence of drug residues in commercially sold fruit ...

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Engineering4 Jun 2024

UMass Amherst to join $90M US National Science Foundation large-scale research infrastructure for education

June 4, 2024 UMass Amherst to Join $90M US National Science Foundation large-scale research infrastructure for education Platform brings together institutions, digital learning and a world-class team to enable research studies to inform efficacy, improvement and innovation in teaching and learning AMHERST, Mass. – The Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has joined the newly announced U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) SafeInsights, a five-year, $90 million research and development infrastructure for inclusive education ...

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Engineering4 Jun 2024

A new way of designing auxetic materials

Imagine pulling on the long ends of a rectangular piece of rubber. It should become narrower and thinner. But what if, instead, it got wider and fatter? Now, push in on those same ends. What if the rubber became narrower and thinner? Such common-sense-defying materials do exist. They’re called auxetics, and they have a raft of unique properties that make them well-suited for sneaker insoles, bomb-resilient buildings, car bumpers and clothing. Despite this great potential, auxetic products have been slow to market. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Chicago hope to change this. In a new study published ...

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Engineering4 Jun 2024

Shining a light on molecules: L-shaped metamaterials can control light direction

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Polarized light waves spin clockwise or counterclockwise as they travel, with one direction behaving differently than the other as it interacts with molecules. This directionality, called chirality or handedness, could provide a way to identify and sort specific molecules for use in biomedicine applications, but researchers have had limited control over the direction of the waves — until now. Using metamaterials, a team of electrical engineering researchers from Penn State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln ...

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Engineering3 Jun 2024

Exploration of enzyme-polymer interactions is a crucial first step toward the development of next-gen degradable wound coverings

Imagine you’re deep in the backcountry on a hiking trip, and you fall and rip a deep gash in your lower leg. You’re a two-day walk away from proper treatment. After you stop the bleeding, your concern becomes keeping the wound clean. Now, imagine you had just the thing in your first aid kit—a spray-on bandage embedded with a mild painkiller and a disinfectant. A bandage meant to deliver relief, and degrade within 48 hours, giving you time to make it to the hospital. That’s one reality that Whitney Blocher McTigue, an assistant professor ...

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Engineering31 May 2024

Rice’s Jamie Padgett wins Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award

HOUSTON – (May 31, 2024) – Jamie Padgett, the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Engineering and chair of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, has received the 2024 Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Padgett was recognized for her “contributions to fragility, risk and resilience modeling of multimodal transportation systems and their infrastructure components when subjected to earthquakes and other hazards.” Her ...

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Engineering30 May 2024

Both high performance and stability were achieved with multifunctional materials!

Through joint research with Professor Chul-jin Ahn’s team at Changwon National University, the research team of Dr. Jae-Ho Kim and Dr. Myung-kwan Song from the Department of Energy & Electronic Materials in the Surface & Nano Materials Division has developed a 4-Amino-TEMPO derivative with photocatalytic properties and successfully used it to produce high-performance and stable fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) and fiber-shaped organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs). The developed 4-Amino-TEMPO derivative has the characteristic of simultaneously improving the performance of both fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) and fiber-shaped ...

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Engineering30 May 2024

Structural inequities amplify homelessness challenges for pregnant people in Washington DC

WASHINGTON -- New research conducted with Washington, DC, residents who experienced homelessness during pregnancy sheds light on the intersection of homelessness, pregnancy, and racial inequities. The findings underscore the urgent need for policy and practice changes to support vulnerable populations. The study, published May 30, 2024 in the journal Health Equity (DOI: 10.1089/heq.2023.0235), is grounded in a reproductive justice framework and delves into the lived experiences of 20 DC residents who faced homelessness while pregnant. Homelessness ...

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Engineering29 May 2024

YouTube’s comments section: Political echo chamber or constructive cross-partisan forum?

The YouTube comments sections of politically neutral news outlets might be more conducive to cooperative, cross-partisan conversation than their liberal and conservative counterparts, according to a study published May 29, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Seung Woo Chae and Sung Hyun Lee from Indiana University. The study, which focused on the media response to the 2019 release of the Mueller report, found that more cross-partisan discussions took place on liberal channels than conservative ones and mainstream news outlets hosted more cross-partisan ...

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