Materials

Neutrons Help Improve 3D-Printed Superalloys

Researchers successfully used laser-based 3D printing to make alloys from two different metals, Inconel 718 and René 41, without cracking. Read on to learn more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of the month, including a new method that automatically keeps a fleet of robots moving smoothly; inspiration for a new class of materials built on interlocking particles; and a new chip design that could improve how GPUs convert and manage power.

Building Magnetically Responsive Robots and Materials

A lollipop gripper is one demonstration of a new type of soft magnetic hydrogel developed by engineers at MIT and their collaborators at EPFL in Switzerland and the University of Cincinnati. The MIT team reports on a new method to print and fabricate the gel, which can be made into complex, magnetically activated three-dimensional structures. Read on to learn more.

A New Electrolyte Points to Stronger, Safer Batteries

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a new gel electrolyte that both improves the lifetime and safety of anode-free lithium batteries, an emerging battery architecture that could dramatically boost energy density while simplifying manufacturing. Read on to learn more.

Argonne Researchers Unlock Potential of Spintronics for Future Electronic Devices

The rapid expansion of data generation is challenging the capabilities of traditional charge-based electronics, such as smartphones and laptops. In response, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory are investigating alternative technologies that utilize electron spin. Read on to learn more.

Brain-Inspired Memristors Could Slash AI Energy Use by 70 Percent

Researchers developed a form of hafnium oxide that acts as a highly stable, low‑energy ‘memristor’ — a component designed to mimic the efficient way neurons are connected in the brain.

Groundbreaking Study in Light Control Opens Door to New Technological Frontiers

Scientists at Heriot‑Watt University have demonstrated in a world-first, that light can be used to control every aspect of how electromagnetic waves...

Test Your Knowledge About Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Here is a five-question quiz to see how much you know about fuel cells. Take now!

Aerospace Materials & Manufacturing Digital Summit 2026

While aluminum and aluminum alloys, steel, titanium alloys, and fiber-reinforced composites continue to dominate the aerospace materials and manufacturing industry, advanced materials such...

How Electroadhesion Can Hold Materials Together

Is there a way to stick hard and soft materials together without any tape, glue, or epoxy? A new study published in ACS Central Science shows that applying a small voltage to certain objects forms chemical bonds that securely link the objects together. Read on to learn more.

Optimizing 3D-Printed Helixes as Terahertz Optical Materials

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have optimized and 3D-printed helix structures as optical materials for Terahertz frequencies, a potential way to address a technology gap for next-generation telecommunications, non-destructive evaluation, chemical/biological sensing and more. Read on to learn more.

Giving Magnets the Graphene Treatment

In an article published in Physical Review X, a team in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign showed how to engineer two-dimensional magnetic systems to obey the same equations as mobile electrons in the two-dimensional material graphene. Read on to learn more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new material that can use sunlight and water to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide; a novel design for solar-powered data centers that will orbit the Earth and could realistically scale to meet the growing demand for AI computing while reducing the environmental impact of data centers; and more.

A Fully Autonomous Robotic System Measures Key Properties of New Materials

Scientists are striving to discover new semiconductor materials that could boost the efficiency of solar cells and other electronics. But the pace of innovation is bottlenecked by the speed at which researchers can manually measure important material properties. A fully autonomous robotic system developed by MIT researchers could speed things up. Read on to learn more.

Finding Hidden Damage in Cold-Formed Steel with Radar and AI

A University of Houston engineer has developed a method to detect possible damage in concealed cold-formed steel construction framing materials hidden behind walls, without having to tear the walls open. Read on to learn more.

Humidity-Resistant Hydrogen Sensor Can Improve Safety for Large-Scale Clean Energy

It's a challenge that today’s sensors do not work optimally in humid environments. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, are presenting a new sensor that is well suited to humid environments — and actually performs better the more humid it gets. Read on to learn more about it.

Resilient Nylon Device Creates Electricity Under Tons of Pressure

Researchers have developed a flexible nylon-film device that generates electricity from compression and keeps working even after being run over by a car multiple times, opening the door to self-powered sensors on our roads and for other electronic devices. Read on to learn more.

Celebrate 50 Years of Tech Briefs: Share Your Story

Thank you to everyone who shared their Tech Briefs story. We are no longer accepting submissions. Watch for featured stories in our September issue.  

Soft Robots That Can Walk on Water

Imagine a tiny robot, no bigger than a leaf, gliding across a pond’s surface like a water strider. One day, devices like this could track pollutants, collect water samples, or scout flooded areas too risky for people. Baoxing Xu, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, is pioneering a way to build them. Read on to learn more.

Harvesting Water from Air

Even in arid parts of the world, there is usually moisture in the air. This moisture could provide much-needed water for drinking and irrigation, but extracting water out of air is difficult. A new technology developed by KAUST researchers can consistently extract liters of water out of thin air each day without needing regular manual maintenance. Read on to learn more.