Lightweight, Strong Plastic Beats Steel and Bulletproof Glass

A plastic known as 2DPA-1 is super-strong and super-light.

Flying Robots, the Size of Insects, Have Flapping Wings

This new advance could pave the way for smaller, lighter, and more effective micro flying robots for environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and deployment in hazardous...

Artificial Intelligence Guides Drones to Navigate Oceans

Engineers at Caltech, ETH Zurich, and Harvard are developing artificial intelligence (AI) that will allow autonomous drones to use ocean currents to aid their navigation, rather than...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is Based on da Vinci Aerial Screw Design

In the fifteenth century, artist and engineer Leonardo da Vinci envisioned a craft that flew using a single helix-shaped propeller — the aerial screw — viewed by many as...

Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles

Canadian battery recycling company Li-Cycle is leveraging its sustainable process to provide an end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries.

Internal Combustion vs. Electric Vehicles: Do the Same Design Rules Apply?

A reader asks: Is the design approach for electric vehicles similar to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine?

Nanoscale Sensors Measure Elusive Water Levels in Leaves

A new technology uses nanoscale sensors and fiber optics to measure water status just inside a leaf’s surface, where water in plants is most actively managed.

Using Magnets to Toggle Nanolasers Leads to Better Photonics

A new control mechanism may prove useful in devices that make use of optical signals.

Advancing Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems for Sustainable Flight

Hybrid-electric propulsion systems hold clear potential to reduce aircraft carbon dioxide emissions and support the goal of greater sustainability in aviation.

How to Make a Phase Change Material: Magnets and Rubber

The two components offer predictable responses that support new robots and new energy-absorbing materials.

SAE WCX Preview: Staying Ahead of the Curve

SAE WCX 2022 will convene the engineering community to connect, learn, and collaborate on the biggest issues facing the mobility industry.

New Thermal Wave Diagnostic Technique Advances Battery Performance Testing

A new technique for measuring the performance of lithium batteries uses thermal waves to measure local lithium concentration as a function of depth inside battery electrodes.

Machinery Health Monitoring: Which Equipment is Critical?

Which machinery requires constant monitoring? According to one industry expert, the answer boils down to “Criticality.”

Going for the Gold with Aerodynamic Luge Sleds

A new approach to designing luge sleds could help shave off those extra 1/1000 of a second that can be the difference between silver and gold at the Olympics.

How Has Data Center Power Efficiency Improved?

Data centers have found a more efficient way of handling power. So, what led to the better power path?

Artificial Intelligence Magnifies the Utility of Electron Microscopes

An AI framework enables scientists to improve an imaging technique, enhancing the performance of electron microscopes.

LED Lighting Beyond Space

NASA’s lighting research gives people on Earth better rest and helps plants grow.

5 Ws of the Ocean Battery

Learn the Who, What, Where, Why, and When for an ocean battery that holds onto excess energy from offshore wind farms.

How to Measure High Voltage with No Physical Contact

Dr. Israel Owens and his team at Sandia National Laboratories have used a crystal smaller than a dime and a laser smaller than a shoebox to safely measure 20 million volts without making physical contact to the electrode.

Can We Expect Hydrogen Fuel Availability?

Are we really ready for hydrogen fuel cell trucks? An industry expert from Toyota talks about how hydrogen power is already being used in Los Angeles.

Low-Cost Radio System Could Help Trace Disease Spread

In efforts to limit the spread of disease while preserving privacy, an interdisciplinary research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has designed and...

Fabricating Stable, High-Mobility Transistors for Next-generation Display Technologies

The trade-off between carrier mobility and stability in amorphous oxide semiconductor-based thin film transistors (TFTs) has been finally overcome by...

New Photonic Effect Could Speed Drug Development

Twisted nanoscale semiconductors manipulate light in a new way. This effect could be harnessed to accelerate the discovery and development of life-saving medicines as well as photonic...

Biosensors Using Field-Effect Transistors Show Great Promise

Demand for sensitive and selective electronic biosensors — analytical devices that monitor a target of interest in real time — is growing for a wide range of applications....