Animal Agriculture Costs More In Health Damage Than It Contributes To The Economy Thu, January 23, 2020 Stanford's Inês M.L. Azevedo (USFOE 2016) reports that the damages from air pollution from farms are larger than the marginal value that the farms provide in economic terms. Across 20 economic sectors, farms performed worst, driven down by animal agriculture. Read More
Water Filtration Inspired by Water Transport in Our Bodies Thu, January 16, 2020 Manish Kumar (USFOE 2016) at the University of Texas at Austin is engineering a new water filtration method with implications for a variety of technologies, such as desalination plants, breathable and protective fabrics, and carbon capture in gas separations. Read More
This Helmet Will Save Football. Actually, Probably Not. Mon, January 13, 2020 Stanford's David Camarillo (USFOE 2018) is engineering football helmet advances to help prevent brain disease from repeated hits to the head. Virginia Tech's Stefan Duma (USFOE 2002) evaluates sports helmets and is skeptical about how much can be achieved. Read More
Hacking Alexa, Google Home, or Siri With a Laser to Open Garage Door Thu, January 09, 2020 FOE alum Kevin Fu at the University of Michigan has discovered a way to easily hack Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa, or Apple’s Siri devices from hundreds of feet away by shining laser pointers or even flashlights at the devices’ microphones. Read More
Digital Production's Next Wave Fri, January 03, 2020 Ohio State University's Glenn Daehn (USFOE 1996) is developing metamorphic manufacturing, also known as robotic blacksmithing, which could take over computer numerical control (CNC) machining and even additive manufacturing, with time-saving and less expensive processes. Read More
Converting Lignin Waste to Valuable Materials Thu, January 02, 2020 FOE alum Thomas H. Epps, III at the University of Delaware is engineering sustainable materials from renewable biomass such as lignin, a component of trees and plants that paper manufacturers throw away. Unlocking lignin's value could have a sizeable economic and environmental impact. Read More
Innovative ‘Biplane’ Design Could Lead to Next Generation of Wind Turbines Mon, December 30, 2019 UCLA's Richard Wirz (USFOE 2011) is engineering wind turbine blades that are about 45% lighter than conventional monoplane blades to make sustainable wind energy an even more attractive and ubiquitous alternative to fossil fuels. Read More
Converting 2D Images Into 3D Using Deep Learning Thu, December 19, 2019 FOE alum Aydogan Ozcan at UCLA has engineered a technique to precisely label living cells and tissue with dyes that glow under special lighting using artificial intelligence to turn two-dimensional images into stacks of virtual three-dimensional slices. Read More
Using Plastic "Hair" and Silica to Enhance Durability Mon, December 16, 2019 Georgia Tech's Zhiqun Lin (USFOE 2010) is engineering perovskite nanocrystals encased inside a double-layer protection system made of plastic and silica, which holds promise for improving a wide variety of optoelectronic devices from lasers to light emitting diodes (LEDs). Read More
Bolstering Energy Production from Biogas Thu, December 12, 2019 Margaret Wooldridge at the University of Michigan (USFOE 2000) is researching how to get more energy out of landfill gas from “siloxanes,” synthetic compounds that are increasingly used in everyday products like shampoo and motor oil and finding their way into landfills. Read More
Human Bone May Hold Key to Stronger 3D-printed Lightweight Structures Mon, December 09, 2019 Purdue University's Pablo Zavattieri (USFOE 2014) is engineering a material that mimics the structure inside human bone, built to handle a lifetime's worth of wear and tear. These 3D-printed lightweight materials could last up to 100 times longer for use in buildings, aircraft, and other structures. Read More
Chemical Weapon Afterlife Thu, December 05, 2019 The University of Central Florida's Subith Vasu (2019 EU-US FOE) has discovered how long it takes for toxic chemical compounds to deteriorate in the intense fire of an explosion, as well as the chemical product residues that remain after their destruction. Read More
Applying AI and CRISPR to Stem Cells to Improve Regenerative Medicine Mon, November 25, 2019 Todd McDevitt (CAFOE 2011) at Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease is engineering stem cells into specific arrangements which may lead to creating functional organs for research or therapeutic purposes. Read More
Illuminating Biology at the Speed of Life Thu, November 21, 2019 FOE alum Elizabeth Hillman at Columbia University has engineered microscopy that reveals unseen details of living creatures with far superior resolution and at speeds up to 30 times faster than previously possible. Read More
Building STEM Equity Mon, November 18, 2019 FOE alum Naomi Chesler at the University of Wisconsin has launched a new entity to increase STEM productivity and creativity by educating people, departments, and institutions about best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Read More
A Printable Semiconductor from a Failed Cancer Drug Thu, November 14, 2019 Many potential pharmaceuticals end up failing during clinical trials, but Ying Diao (USFOE 2017) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is engineering organic semiconductors for use in chemical sensors and transistors from biological molecules once considered for cancer treatment. Read More
This Gel Could Prevent Wildfires Mon, November 11, 2019 Stanford's Eric Appel (JAFOE 2018) has engineered a nontoxic, biodegradable gel that can be sprayed on wildfire-prone vegetation as a long-term fire retardant. Read More
A Heat Shield Just 10 Atoms Thick To Protect Electronics Thu, November 07, 2019 Stanford's Eric Pop (JAFOE 2014) has engineered atomically thin materials that can provide the same insulation for smartphones, laptops, and other electronics as a sheet of glass 100 times thicker. Read More
Fifteen FOE Alumni Inducted Into NAE at Annual Meeting Mon, October 21, 2019 Check out the list of FOE alumni newly-inducted as NAE members. Read More
Three FOE Alumni Elected to National Academy of Medicine Mon, October 21, 2019 The National Academy of Medicine has announced its new members, including three FOE alumni. Read More