Engineering
Tests may lead to doubling of fuel cell life
May 23, 2013 8:49 am | News | Comments
To improve fuel cell module durability and predict longevity, researchers are studying the degradation mechanisms of the fuel cells that occur under real-world transit bus conditions. While quantifying the effects of electrode degradation stressors in the operating cycle of the bus on the membrane lifetime, the team has discovered links between electrode degradation and membrane durability.
NASA head views progress on asteroid lasso mission
May 23, 2013 10:59 pm | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | Comments
Surrounded by engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NASA chief...
Tests may lead to doubling of fuel cell life
May 23, 2013 8:49 am | News | Comments
To improve fuel cell module durability and predict longevity, researchers are studying...
Doctors rescue Ohio boy by "printing" an airway tube
May 23, 2013 8:26 am | by Marilynn Marchione, AP Chief Medical Writer | News | Comments
In a medical first, doctors used plastic particles and a 3D laser printer to create an...
Scientists build record-setting metamaterial flat lens
May 24, 2013 10:20 am | News | CommentsFor the first time, scientists working NIST have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses ultraviolet light in a way that it can create ghostly, 3D images of objects that float in free space. The easy-to-build lens could lead to improved photolithography, nanoscale manipulation and manufacturing, and even high-resolution 3D imaging, as well as a number of as-yet-unimagined applications in a diverse range of fields.
Balance is key to making quantum-dot solar cells work
May 24, 2013 7:53 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsThere has been great interest in using quantum dots to produce low-cost, easily manufactured, stable photovoltaic cells. But, so far, the creation of such cells has been limited by the fact that in practice, quantum dots are not as good at conducting an electric charge as they are in theory. Something in the physical structure of these cells seems to trap their electric-charge carriers. Now researchers may have found the key.
Cell phone technology helps horses recover from surgery
May 23, 2013 12:30 pm | News | CommentsTechnology that’s used in smartphones and other electronic devices also is being used by veterinarians at the University of Illinois to help horses recover safely from anesthesia. The technology, known as accelerometers, are portable data recorders that capture information on motion, vibration, and impact
Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors
May 23, 2013 8:07 am | News | CommentsResearchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics, and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing. The electrode is made of silver nanowires covered with a material called graphene, an extremely thin layer of carbon.
Test lead to doubling of fuel cell life
May 22, 2013 11:07 am | News | CommentsResearchers working to improve durability in fuel cell-powered buses, including a team from Simon Fraser University in Canada, have discovered links between electrode degradation processes and bus membrane durability. The team is quantifying the effects of electrode degradation stressors in the operating cycle of the bus on the membrane lifetime.
New technique may open new era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices
May 22, 2013 8:08 am | News | CommentsResearchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale—meaning the films are only one atom thick. The technique can be used to create these thin films on a large scale, sufficient to coat wafers that are two inches wide, or larger.
Atomic-scale investigations solve key puzzle of LED efficiency
May 22, 2013 7:58 am | News | CommentsFrom the high-resolution glow of flat screen televisions to light bulbs that last for years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) continue to transform technology. Their full potential, however, remains untapped. A contentious controversy surrounds the high intensity of indium gallium nitride, with experts split on whether or not indium-rich clusters within the material provide the LED's remarkable efficiency.
Method unveiled for tailoring optical processors
May 22, 2013 7:36 am | News | CommentsRice University scientists have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color. The team used the method to create an optical device in which incoming light could be directly controlled with light via a process known as “four-wave mixing.”
New method for producing clean hydrogen
May 21, 2013 2:43 pm | News | CommentsDuke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications. The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water.
Army Ground Combat Systems adopts Sandia tool
May 21, 2013 11:35 am | News | CommentsSandia National Laboratories has developed key components of a software tool to help the Army's PEO GCS analyze countless what-if scenarios that can be manipulated as technology advances and the global environment, the federal budget, or other factors change. Sandia calls this advanced combination of modeling, simulation, and optimization decision support software the Capability Portfolio Analysis Tool (CPAT).
Iron-platinum alloys show promise for next-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 9:56 am | News | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries
May 21, 2013 7:30 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsOver the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents. While generally effective, each of these treatments has drawbacks, including the risk of side effects. A new study analyzes the potential usefulness of a new treatment that combines the benefits of angioplasty balloons and drug-releasing stents, but may pose fewer risks.
Nanoantennas help improve infrared sensing
May 20, 2013 7:52 am | News | CommentsA team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical analysis techniques.
New technique advances carbon-fiber composites
May 20, 2013 7:31 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsThese days, aerospace engineering is all about the light stuff. Advanced carbon-fiber composites have been used in recent years to lighten planes’ loads. For the next generation of commercial jets, researchers are looking to even stronger and lighter materials, such as composites made with carbon fibers coated with carbon nanotubes. However, a significant hurdle to achieving such composites has existed, until now.
Local CROs Unite for International Clinical Trials
May 20, 2013 3:41 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGlobal CROs are no longer the obvious choice for companies looking to run international clinical trials. The motion is towards locally based CROs that are connected internationally to drive down R&D costs and leverage local know-how and quality.
Research improves dry lubricant used in machinery, biomedical devices
May 17, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsNearly everyone is familiar with the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), otherwise known as Teflon. Famous for being “non-sticky” and water repellent, PTFE is a dry lubricant used on machine components everywhere. Recently, engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas found a way to make the polymer even less adhesive.
Private spaceship tests underway
May 16, 2013 3:17 pm | by BROCK VERGAKIS - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsA Colorado company developing a spaceship to take astronauts to the International Space Station is having elements of its spacecraft undergo landing-related tests at NASA facilities in Virginia and California. NASA wants private firms to ferry astronauts into low-Earth orbit so it can focus on deep-space exploration and send crews to a nearby asteroid and eventually Mars.
Flowers self-assemble in a beaker
May 16, 2013 2:46 pm | News | CommentsWith the hand of nature trained on a beaker of chemical fluid, the most delicate flower structures have been formed in a Harvard University laboratory—and not at the scale of inches, but microns. These minuscule sculptures, curved and delicate, don't resemble the cubic or jagged forms normally associated with crystals, though that's what they are. Rather, fields of flowers seem to bloom from the surface of a submerged glass slide.
Add boron for better batteries
May 16, 2013 2:20 pm | News | CommentsFrustration led to revelation when Rice University scientists determined how graphene might be made useful for high-capacity batteries. Calculations by the Rice laboratory of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson found a graphene-boron anode should be able to hold a lot of lithium and perform at a proper voltage for use in lithium-ion batteries.
Insights into how materials transfer heat could lead to improved electronics
May 16, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Toronto engineering researchers, working with colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University, have published new insights into how materials transfer heat, which could lead eventually to smaller, more powerful electronic devices.
A new laser paradigm: An electrically injected polariton laser
May 16, 2013 9:45 am | News | CommentsEngineering researchers at the University of Michigan have demonstrated a paradigm-shifting "polariton" laser that's fueled not by light, but by electricity. Polaritons are particles that are part light, and part matter. The new device requires at least 1,000 times less energy to operate, compared with a conventional laser.
A nano solution in the fight against diabetes
May 16, 2013 9:38 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsInjectable nanoparticles developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology may someday eliminate the need for patients with Type 1 diabetes to constantly monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin. The nanoparticles were designed to sense glucose levels in the body and respond by secreting the appropriate amount of insulin.
Moth-inspired nanostructures take the color out of thin films
May 16, 2013 7:48 am | News | CommentsInspired by the structure of moth eyes, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nanostructures that limit reflection at the interfaces where two thin films meet, suppressing the “thin-film interference” phenomenon commonly observed in nature. This can potentially improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.
Computer research project shows shift in English language
May 16, 2013 7:38 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Illinois English professor Ted Underwood recently wrapped up a research project involving more than 4,200 books. Since that work revealed dramatic shifts in the English language between the 18th and 19th centuries, he’s now expanding his research to include more than 470,000 books—almost every English language book written during that era and preserved in a university library.
Ultraresponsive magnetic nanoscavengers could usher next-generation water purification
May 15, 2013 3:43 pm | by Andrew Myers, Stanford University | News | CommentsAmong its many talents, silver is an antibiotic. Titanium dioxide is known to glom on to certain heavy metals and pollutants. Other materials do the same for salt. In recent years, environmental engineers have sought to disinfect, depollute, and desalinate contaminated water using nanoscale particles of these active materials. Engineers call them nanoscavengers.
