New Metamaterial Morphs Into New Shapes With New Properties Thu, September 12, 2019 FOE alum Julia Greer at CalTech has engineered an architected metamaterial that has the ability to change shape in a tunable fashion, with potential applications in next-generation energy storage and bioimplantable microdevices. Read More
Antineutrino Detection Could Help Remotely Monitor Nuclear Reactors Mon, September 09, 2019 Georgia Tech’s Anna Erickson (USFOE 2015) has engineered a method to measure the flow of subatomic particles known as antineutrinos from nuclear reactors. This continuous remote monitoring is designed to detect fueling changes that might indicate the diversion of nuclear materials. Read More
Adapting Polymer Printing for Better Electrical Conductivity Thu, September 05, 2019 Ying Diao (USFOE 2017) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has engineered the polymer printing process to stretch and flatten twisted molecules so that they conduct electricity better for use in new, faster biomedical devices and flexible electronics. Read More
New Horizons for Unmanned Air Traffic Control Thu, August 29, 2019 FOE alum Rahul Mangharam at the University of Pennsylvania has engineered an unmanned system that works like a three-dimensional GPS for the sky to coordinate air traffic for small aerial vehicles such as drones and air taxis. Read More
Low Cost Printed Sensors Detect Compounds in Sweat Mon, August 26, 2019 Ali Javey (USFOE 2008) at the University of California, Berkeley is engineering adhesive sensors that help monitor health during exercise and could replace some blood tests. Read More
Harnessing Blue Energy from Mixing of Freshwater and Seawater Thu, August 22, 2019 Stanford's Yi Cui (CAFOE 2017) has engineered a new battery made from affordable and durable materials that generates energy from places where salt and fresh waters mingle. The technology could make coastal wastewater treatment plants energy-independent and carbon neutral. Read More
Infrared Imaging Shines Light on Cancer Biomarkers Mon, August 19, 2019 Purdue University's Ali Shakouri (USFOE 2000) has engineered new infrared chemical imaging that gives doctors a quick and accurate way of detecting biomarkers within cells for different forms of cancer, which can reduce unnecessary surgeries. Read More
A Portable Device That Tracks Chemotherapy Thu, August 15, 2019 FOE alum Mehdi Javanmard at Rutgers University has engineered a portable device that determines with up to 95% accuracy whether targeted chemotherapy is working on individual cancer patients, which will enable more personalized interventions and better disease management and detection. Read More
Cucumber Tendrils Inspire Artificial Muscle Mon, August 12, 2019 MIT's Polina Anikeeva (USFOE 2013) is engineering a system of lightweight and fast-activating fibers that could be used in biomedical devices and robotics. Read More
Why Are These Mice Hallucinating? Thu, August 08, 2019 NAE member and FOE alum Karl Deisseroth at Stanford has engineered a device that creates hallucinations by striking dozens of individual brain neurons at once with tiny beams of red light. Understanding how hallucinations are created could help us learn how to stop them. Read More
Robot Arm "Tastes" with Engineered Bacteria Mon, August 05, 2019 FOE alum Carmel Majidi at Carnegie Mellon University is engineering biohybrid robots that draw inspiration from nature to sense chemicals, with the ultimate goal to adapt their abilities to sense, feel, and move in response to changes in environmental conditions. Read More
Autofocus Lenses for Presbyopia Thu, July 25, 2019 Stanford's Gordon Wetzstein (USFOE 2016) has engineered lenses that overcome limitations of progressive lenses used for presbyopia, currently affecting more than a billion people. Read More
3D Printing Flexible Medical Devices Mon, July 22, 2019 John Hart's (USFOE 2010) lab at MIT is engineering personalized flexible medical devices, such as joint braces or implantable supportive meshes using additive manufacturing. Read More
Top Tech IPOs In 2019 Were Started By Immigrants Fri, July 19, 2019 As reported in Forbes, Airbnb's Vanja Josifovski (USFOE 2008) oversaw Pinterest's overall technical vision and strategy, including the building of its machine learning and search platforms, as well as managing some of the company’s core engineering teams. Read More
Could Electric Flying Vehicles Solve Gridlock? Mon, July 15, 2019 Georgia Tech's Brian German (USFOE 2015) is investigating short-haul flights in unpiloted electric flying vehicles to address gridlock in major metropolitan areas. Read More
Call for Proposals: National Academies' US-Egypt S&T Joint Fund Thu, July 11, 2019 Proposals for Cycle 20 of the US-Egypt S&T Joint Fund to strengthen scientific and technological capabilities between the US and Egypt will be accepted until September 5 for grants ranging from $30K to $400K. Read More
Innovative Young Engineers Selected to Participate in NAE’s 2019 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium Fri, June 28, 2019 Eighty-seven of the nation’s brightest young engineers have been selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 25th annual US Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) symposium. Read More
Seeking Self-Sufficiency for Long-Term Space Journeys Mon, June 17, 2019 FOE alum Adam Arkin at the University of California, Berkeley is genetically engineering processes to convert the carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water found in Mars’ atmosphere to food, drugs, and even resins that could be fashioned into tools and other usable objects. Read More
Additive Manufacturing Glass Optics Thu, June 13, 2019 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Rebecca Dylla-Spears (USFOE 2014) has engineered a direct ink writing (DIW) process for 3D printing glass that ultimately could lead to improving the size, weight, and power of optical systems. Read More
Rise of the Plastic Eaters Thu, June 06, 2019 Gregg Beckham (USFOE 2018) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has engineered a new enzyme capable of breaking down plastic bottles, which could put a much-needed dent in plastic pollution. Read More