Materials & Coatings

Squishy, Metal-Free Magnets Power Robots and Guide Medical Implants

“Soft robots,” medical devices and implants, and next-generation drug delivery methods could soon be guided with magnetism — thanks to a metal-free magnetic gel...

3D Ice Printing Artificial Blood Vessels

New research shows the possibility of using 3D ice printing to help create structures that resemble blood vessels in the body. 3D ice printing generally involves adding a stream of water to a very cold surface.

Rapidly Printing with Liquid Metal

MIT researchers say their technique, liquid metal printing (LMP), is at least 10 times faster than a comparable metal additive manufacturing process. It involves depositing molten aluminum along a predefined path into a bed of tiny glass beads.

Additive Manufacturing Model-Based Process Metrics

Inventors at the NASA Langley Research Center have developed a novel method to model and ingest point-wise process data to evaluate an additive manufacturing build and its file for issues by highlighting potential anomalies or other areas where the build may have issues with fusion of the material.

Miniscule Robots of Metal and Plastic

A technique enables manufacturing of minuscule robots by interlocking multiple materials in a complex way.

Wireless Electronic ‘Stickers’ Gauge Forces Between Touching Objects

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed electronic “stickers” that measure the force exerted by one object upon another. The force stickers are wireless, run without batteries and fit in tight spaces. That makes them versatile for a wide range of applications.

Making Conductive, Biodegradable Wires from Designed Proteins

The miniscule wires — the size of transistors on silicon chips or one thousandth of the breadth of the finest human hair — are made completely of natural amino acids and heme molecules, found in proteins such as hemoglobin, which transports oxygen in red blood cells.

First Transformable Nanoscale Electronic Devices

The nanoscale electronic parts in devices like smartphones are solid, static objects that once designed and built cannot transform into anything else. But a team from University of California Irvine has reported the discovery of nanoscale devices that can transform into many different shapes and sizes even though they exist in solid states.

Quantum Leap in Material Science

Significant progress in industry, especially in manufacturing and material science, is expected to be driven by quantum computing. Using sophisticated simulations and optimization techniques, the technology promises to accelerate the discovery of new substances and improve production procedures.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including: a new wireless smart textile technology that can boost hand mobility of stroke patients, a metal-free magnetic gel, and a new fuel cell that harvests energy from microbes living in dirt.

An Electrifying Improvement in Copper Conductivity

A common carbon compound is enabling remarkable performance enhancements when mixed in just the right proportion with copper to make electrical wires. It’s a phenomenon that defies...

A New Carbon Material Sets Energy-Storage Record, Likely to Advance Supercapacitors

Guided by machine learning, chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a record-setting carbonaceous supercapacitor...

Are Shapeshifting “Soft Machines” In Our Future?

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have furthered a new type of soft material that can change shape in response to light, a discovery that could advance “soft...

Scientists Design a Two-Legged Robot Powered by Muscle Tissue

Compared to robots, human bodies are more flexible, capable of fine movements, and can efficiently convert energy into movement. Drawing inspiration from human gait, researchers...

DNA Origami Folded into Tiny Motor

Scientists have created the world’s first working nanoscale electromotor, according to research published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The science team designed a turbine engineered from DNA...

Hot Rocks Store Energy

Sandia engineers convert excess renewable electricity into heat that gets stored in piles of gravel.

Behold: The First Battery Prototype Using Hemoglobin

Researchers have developed a battery that uses hemoglobin as an electrochemical reaction facilitator, functioning for around 20-30 days.

RISING STAR AWARDS 2025 SPONSORS

Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   We are deeply grateful to our sponsors for their invaluable support of this year’s Rising Star Awards...

RISING STAR AWARDS: PAST WINNERS

Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   Meet the trailblazing women engineers who made history as winners of last year’s Rising Star Awards, chosen...

RISING STAR AWARDS 2025 JUDGES

Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   Thank you to our esteemed panel of judges, comprising leaders from engineering and technology fields, who bring...

RISING STAR AWARD RULES

Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   The Women in Engineering: Rising Star Awards program celebrates and recognizes women engineers who are enhancing the...

RISING STAR AWARDS NOMINATION

Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   Nominations for the 2025 Rising Star Awards have closed. All entries are being evaluated by a panel of judges...

RISING STAR AWARDS 2025 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   Platinum Sponsors See all sponsors The wait is over. We’re thrilled to announce the...

New Material Could Lead to Better Hydrogen-Based Batteries, Fuel Cells

Researchers led by Genki Kobayashi at the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research in Japan have developed a solid electrolyte for transporting hydride ions at room temperature.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including the University of Maryland's "cooling glass"; the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab's sensor that can perceive combinations of bending, stretching, compression, and temperature changes using color; Tufts' tiny biological robots; and more.