Materials & Manufacturing

Critical Minerals Recovery from Electronic Waste

A PNNL research team used a simple mixed-salt water-based solution and their knowledge of metal properties to separate valuable minerals in continuously flowing reaction chambers. Read on to learn more.

Reducing Electronic Waste with Biodegradable and Recyclable Luminescent Polymers

Researchers have developed a strategy to design luminescent polymers with high light-emitting efficiencies from the start that are both biodegradable and recyclable. Read on to learn more.

Nanostitches for Lighter, Tougher Composite Materials

MIT engineers have shown they can prevent cracks from spreading between composite’s layers, using an approach they developed called “nanostitching,” in which they deposit chemically grown microscopic forests of carbon nanotubes between composite layers. Read on to learn more about it.

A New Way to Stretch Diamond for Better Quantum Bits

A future quantum network may become less of a stretch thanks to researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago, and Cambridge University. By “stretching” thin films of diamond, they created quantum bits that can operate with significantly reduced equipment and expense. Read on to learn more.

Creating Materials with Stiffness, Thermal Insulation

Researchers have demonstrated the ability to engineer materials that are both stiff and capable of insulating against heat. This combination of properties is extremely unusual and holds promise for a range of applications, such as the development of new thermal insulation coatings for electronic devices. Read on to learn more.

New Glass is More Damage Resistant, Greener

Worldwide, glass manufacturing produces at least 86 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. A new type of glass aims to cut this carbon footprint in half. Read on to learn more about the invention: LionGlass, engineered at Penn State.

Building Quantum Computers of the Future

This advance could enable quantum computers that use programmable optical qubits or “spin-photon qubits” to connect quantum nodes across a remote network. It could also advance a quantum internet that is not only more secure but could also transmit more data than current optical-fiber information technologies. Read on to learn more.

New AR Glasses Use AI-Enhanced Holographic Imaging

Researchers in the emerging field of spatial computing have developed a prototype augmented reality headset that uses holographic imaging to overlay full-color, 3D moving images on the lenses of what would appear to be an ordinary pair of glasses. Read on to learn more about it.

Detecting Additive Manufacturing Defects in Real Time

A research team led by Associate Professor Tao Sun has made new discoveries that can expand additive manufacturing in aerospace and other industries that rely on strong metal parts. Read on to learn more.

Providing Robots a Soft Touch Using 3D Printing

A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers. Read on to learn more.

Cryogenic Flux Capacitor

NASA’s Cryogenic Flux Capacitor capitalizes on the energy storage capacity of liquefied gases. By exploiting a unique attribute of nano-porous materials, aerogel in this case, fluid commodities such as oxygen, hydrogen, methane, etc. can be stored in a molecular surface-adsorbed state. Read on to learn more.

Cryogenic Oxygen Storage Modules (COSM)

NASA Kennedy Space Center engineers developed a Cryogenic Oxygen Storage Module to store oxygen in solid-state form and deliver it as a gas to an end-use environmental control and/or life support system. Read on to learn more about it.

AI Discovers Stiff and Tough Microstructures

A team at MIT has moved beyond traditional trial-and-error methods to create materials with extraordinary performance through computational design. Their new system integrates physical experiments, physics-based simulations, and neural networks to navigate the discrepancies often found between theoretical models and practical results. Read on to learn more.

Integrating and Testing the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

In this video, we provide an overview of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s mission, capabilities and timeline to launch.

Integrating Fragile 2D Materials into Devices

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a new technique to integrate 2D materials into devices in a single step while keeping the surfaces of the materials and the resulting interfaces pristine and free from defects. Read on to learn more.

Fabricating High-Temperature Superconducting Wires for Future Energy Generation

Researchers have fabricated the world’s highest-performing HTS wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favorable. Read on to learn more.

Snail-Inspired Robot Could Scoop Ocean Microplastics

Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot prototype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas, and lakes.

Critical Minerals Recovery from Electronic Waste

A PNNL research team used a simple mixed-salt water-based solution and their knowledge of metal properties to separate valuable minerals in continuously flowing reaction chambers. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Unveil Scalable Graphene Technology to Revolutionize Battery Safety and Performance

Researchers have developed a pioneering technique for producing large-scale graphene current collectors. This breakthrough promises to significantly enhance the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), addressing a critical challenge in energy storage technology. Read on to learn more.

Dormant Capacity Reserve in Lithium-Ion Batteries Detected

Using transmission electron microscopes, Researchers at Graz University of Technology were able to systematically track lithium ions as they traveled through battery material, map their arrangement in the crystal lattice of an iron phosphate cathode with unprecedented resolution, and precisely quantify their distribution in the crystal. Read on to learn more.

Bio-Ink for 3D Printing

Biomedical engineers have developed a “bio-ink” for 3D-printed materials that could serve as scaffolds for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body. Read on to learn more.

Ball Valve Assembly Yields Linear Flowrate Control

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed an adjustable thermal control ball valve assembly which utilizes a unique geometric ball valve design to facilitate precise thermal control within a spacesuit. The technology meters the coolant flow going to the cooling and ventilation garment, worn by an astronaut in the next generation space suit. Read on to learn more.

4D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers

Researchers have successfully demonstrated the 4D printing of shape memory polymers in submicron dimensions that are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. Read on to learn more.

Transistors Repurposed as Microchip Clock Address Security Flaws

A new approach uses commercial chip fab materials and techniques to fabricate specialized transistors to serve as the building block of the timing device. Read on to learn more.

3D-Printed Reactor Core Makes Solar Fuel Production More Efficient

In recent years, engineers at ETH Zurich have developed the technology to produce liquid fuels from sunlight and air. In 2019, they demonstrated the entire thermochemical process chain under real conditions for the first time, in the middle of Zurich, on the roof of ETH Machine Laboratory. Two ETH spin-offs, Climeworks and Synhelion, are further developing and commercializing the technologies. Read on to learn more.

Silicone Membrane for Wearable Devices is Comfortable and Breathable

A silicone membrane for wearable devices is more comfortable and breathable thanks to better-sized pores made with the help of citric acid crystals. The new preparation technique fabricates thin, silicone-based patches that rapidly wick water away from the skin. The technique could reduce the redness and itching caused by wearable biosensors that trap sweat beneath them. Read on to learn more.

Future Washable Smart Clothes Powered by Wi-Fi will Monitor Health

Purdue University engineers have developed a method to transform existing cloth items into battery-free wearables resistant to laundering. These smart clothes are powered wirelessly through a flexible, silk-based coil sewn on the textile. Read on to learn more.