Color-Changing Dyes Visualize Stress in Plastics

Directly visualizing external stresses of plastics is useful in development of materials with improved mechanical properties.

Stable Polymeric Ink with High Conductivity

This paves the way for innovative and more energy-efficient printed electronics.

Keeping Warmer in the Great Outdoors

A long-time apparel insulator develops its own takes on popular NASA spinoff material.

Concrete-Like Material from Space Dust and Astronaut Blood

The material could be used to create housing in outer space.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest Grand Prize Winner: Self Destructing Plastics via Embedded Enzymes

Once triggered, the enzyme-embedded plastics self-destruct, completely degrading and eliminating microplastics in days.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Electronics/Sensors/IoT Category Winner — Freetouch

Freetouch turns a smartphone into a touchscreen remote control.

New “Metalens” Shifts Focus Without Tilting or Moving

The design may enable miniature zoom lenses for drones, cellphones, or night-vision goggles.

Q&A: Plastics Could See Second Life as Biodegradable Surfactants

A chemical process produces valuable biodegradable chemicals from discarded plastics.

Facility Focus: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Today, Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering performs research in robotics, cyberphysical systems, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, energy, and other topics.

Sensing Hazardous Gases Can Save Lives

Pellistor/Catalytic Bead (CB) sensors can respond to flammable gases such as hydrogen, oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, methane, butane, propane, and carbon monoxide.

Products of Tomorrow

Metamaterial printing, high-efficiency solar cells, and a noise-reduction material.

Manufacturing Technique Yields Flexible Electronics

With this advance, so-called “flextronics” move closer to reality.

Optical Coating Exhibits the Same Color in Reflection and Transmission

Fano Resonance Optical Coatings (FROCs) can both transmit and reflect the same color simultaneously.

Metallic Glass Gears Up for Cobots, Coatings, and More

A bulk metallic glass could slash prices of collaborative robots and lead to advanced 3D-printed metals.

Material Increases Efficiency of LED Devices

The approach achieves near 100% light emission efficiency at all brightness levels.

Insulation Material Enables More Efficient Electricity Distribution

High-voltage direct current cables can more efficiently transport electricity over long distances.

Coating Protects Fragile Quantum Electronics

The protective coating works like body armor for the atomically thin materials.

Macroflash Cup Cryostat

The compact instrument measures thermal conductivity of materials at below ambient temperatures.

Spectroscopy Using an Optical Microscope

With an optical microscope, spectra can be acquired from a sample area smaller than a micron.

The Hidden Effects of Optical Coating Stress

For applications requiring high-energy material deposition coatings, you'll need to understand how stress can impact surface figure and system performance.

Monitoring Additive Manufacturing with an Optical Microphone

Learn about a membrane-free, broadband microphone for the highest ultrasound frequencies.

New Materials Move Li-Ion Batteries Toward the Solid-State Endgame

A new generation of lithium-ion batteries is poised to improve electric vehicle range and affordability.

Graphite-Based Sensor for Wearable Medical Devices

Researchers have developed graphene-based sensing technology using G-Putty material — a highly malleable graphene blended putty. The printed sensors are 50 times more sensitive than the...

Abnormal Grain Growth Suppression in Aluminum Alloys

Applications include manufacturing structural components for aerospace vehicles, cars, trucks, trains, ships, and submarines.

5 Ws of Puncture-Proof Soft Electronics

The durable soft electronics could be used in wearable electronics and soft robotics and could someday be part of a stretchable smartphone.

Chemistry Approach for More Robust Soft Electronics

The approach could lead to more flexible health monitors, wearable devices, sensors, optical communication systems, and soft robotics.

Programmable Fiber Provides Power and Transmits Data

Designed for soldier uniforms, the fiber can sense, store, analyze, and infer activity when sewn into a piece of clothing.

Fiber-Metal Laminate Manufacturing Technique

Synthesis of fiber-metal laminates is performed using RF plasma spray deposition.

Engineering the Flow of Light

A novel nanostructure produces uniquely shaped light.