Engineering and Technology
Tomography: An Innovative Technique for Assessing Forest Carbon Storage
Researchers from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Massachusetts have pioneered the use of tomography for assessing carbon storage in trees. While assessing this technique’s capabilities, they found that tree damage caused by...
An Education in Sustainability Achieving a Climate-Neutral University – Dr Oliver Opel, West-Coast University of Applied Sciences
Dr Oliver Opel of the West-Coast University of Applied Sciences in Germany reports on how Leuphana University was transformed into a climate-neutral and environmentally sustainable campus. In the face of accelerating climate change, this exemplary case study provides...
Combatting Corrosion in Heating and Cooling Systems – Dr Oliver Opel, West-Coast University of Applied Sciences
Water heating and cooling systems have become incredibly efficient in recent years, but unfortunately, their pipes and components provide ideal environments for corrosion. Dr Oliver Opel at the West Coast University of Applied Sciences in Germany explores the reasons...
Traditional Equilibrium Models Lead to Inaccurate Predictions – Dr Yousef Haseli, Central Michigan University
Equilibrium is the cornerstone of industrial chemical processes, especially when optimising chemical production. But what if the equilibrium models that engineers use to predict product yields under different conditions were fundamentally inaccurate? Dr Yousef Haseli...
It’s Full STEM Ahead in After-School Programs – Dr Jerrod A. Henderson and Mr Ricky P. Greer, University of Houston
Underrepresented is not often the thought that comes to mind when describing males in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, there are striking gender and ethnic disparities across STEM fields as white males disproportionately occupy the...
The Health-e Babies App for Socially Disadvantaged Women: Embracing Technology to Improve Health Literacy
Over the past few years, there has been an explosion in the number of applications – more commonly known as apps – that can be used on mobile phones. Vicki Clifton, Julia Dalton, Dianne Rodger, Michael Wilmore, Andrew Skuse, Sal Humphreys, and Margarita Flabouris,...
A New Model for Developing Students’ Deep-Learning Skills – Dr Yianna Vovides, Georgetown University
Online education has recently experienced a surge in popularity, and this trend is set to continue. Through online learning, individuals who are unable to take courses on campus, due to family, work or financial pressures, now have the opportunity to pursue university...
Emerging Technologies to Enable Affordable Ocean Observing – Dr Brian Glazer, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Coastal environments have immense ecological, practical, recreational and cultural value, and are under threat from multiple natural and anthropogenic stressors. Dr Brian Glazer and his team at the University of Hawai’i use specialised equipment to conduct remote...
Inspiring Students at The Duke Energy Academy at Purdue – Pankaj Sharma, PhD, MBA
A secure and sustainable energy supply for the future depends upon communities and industries working together. To facilitate this, a skilled STEM workforce is needed. To that end, Dr Pankaj Sharma a courtesy professor at Purdue University and his colleagues have...
Teachers Inspired by The Duke Energy Academy at Purdue – Pankaj Sharma, PhD, MBA
Much of the responsibility of improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education has fallen upon teachers. However, it is often just assumed that they have the tools and skills needed to fulfil that responsibility. Dr Pankaj Sharma a courtesy...
Improving Electrode Microstructural Dynamics & Battery Performance – Dr Partha P. Mukherjee, Purdue University
Whether it be enabling renewable technologies, mobilising electric vehicles, or powering the electronic devices we carry, batteries are essential to modern life. As technology continues to advance, high-quality, long-lasting batteries are needed more than ever. Dr...
Wolfspeed & International Femtoscience – Creating a New Generation of Capacitors
Capacitors are a vital component in virtually every electronic device we use, and yet, innovations that make them more efficient have been a long time coming. Mr John Fraley and his colleagues at Wolfspeed, A Cree Company, and International Femtoscience are now...
Learning-Based Performance Optimisation of Uncertain Systems – Dr Ali Mesbah, University of California
Many systems in nature change in random, unpredictable ways over time. From the motions of microscopic particles in fluids to the daily price of stocks, random processes play a large role in systems we interact with every day. Also, because of our incomplete...
At the Forefront of Imaging & Remote Sensing – Innovative Imaging and Research (I2R)
Scientists and engineers often need tailored remote sensing instruments to understand complex phenomena. ‘Innovative Imaging and Research’, or ‘I2R’, located at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, is developing such instruments for particularly...
Collaborating to Study Interfaces in Miniaturised Materials – SFB 1083
Creating technologies from multiple materials with different physical properties can be hugely beneficial, but the process doesn’t come without its challenges. As we fabricate new devices, an understanding of the physics occurring at the interfaces where different...
Improving Aircraft Performance with Plasma Actuators – Drs Huu Duc Vo & Njuki W Mureithi, École Polytechnique de Montréal
Aeroplanes are required to change their trajectory many times during a flight. A system of adjustable surfaces that manage lift is typically used to meet this requirement. However, Dr Huu Duc Vo and Dr Njuki Mureithi from École Polytechnique de Montréal, Canada, have...
Shaking Up the Physics of Vibration – Dr Wei-Chau Xie, University of Waterloo
Nuclear power plants may be some of the most secure structures in our society, but when subjected to earthquakes, they have the potential to cause major disasters. Dr Wei-Chau Xie of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, is now developing algorithms for...
Fostering Empathy in Engineering Education – Dr Nicola Sochacka, Dr Joachim Walther and Dr Shari Miller
Past research has found that engineering students graduate with less concern for the welfare of the public, and for the social implications of engineering design, than when they begin their studies. To address this issue, researchers from the University of Georgia...
Modelling Shock Waves and Particle Interactions in High-Speed Flows – Professor Gustaaf Jacobs, San Diego State University
Understanding how shock waves, flow dynamics and turbulence all interact and affect the distribution of particles has applications ranging from high-speed vehicles to explosions and even ocean sediment dynamics. Professor Gustaaf Jacobs at San Diego State University...
Statistical Methods for Small Data – Dr Rens van de Schoot, Utrecht University
Researchers are heavily reliant on statistical techniques that are based on large sample sizes. Therefore, attempts to gain useful information from small samples can often lead to biased, or incorrect conclusions. Dr Rens van de Schoot at Utrecht University has shown...
Harnessing Mobile Technology to Improve Student Retention – Dr Lori H. Silverman, Colytix Inc
Dr Lori Silverman, an expert in education and student retention, is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Colytix. The company, founded in 2016, is developing innovative tools for higher education students to improve success and retention rates in class, while...
Improving High Performance Data Analytics Platforms & Smart Systems: Resource Management and Middleware
Our rapidly increasing production of data is straining computer infrastructures to unprecedented levels. As researchers develop much-needed coping mechanisms, Dr Shikharesh Majumdar at Carleton University focuses on two important solutions to the issue: creating...
A Holistic Approach to the Energy Crisis – Dr Saniya LeBlanc, The George Washington University
Energy surrounds us in everything that we do – it’s in the sunlight that lights our world, it’s in the Earth beneath our feet, and it radiates from our own bodies. Yet we are currently facing an energy crisis like no other. New technologies are needed to push past...
Towards Low-Cost, Low-Impact Marine Renewable Energy – Drs Grace Chang and Craig Jones, Integral Consulting Inc.
As we move towards a sustainable future, there is a growing interest in marine renewable energy technologies such as marine hydrokinetic devices and offshore wind turbines. However, the viability of these technologies and the potential environmental effects associated...
Understanding the Effects of Severe Windstorms on Buildings – Dr John Ginger, James Cook University
As natural disasters are affecting an increasing number of people worldwide, risk mitigation by design is of primary concern to engineers. One of those engineers is Dr John Ginger, Professor of Civil Engineering and Research Director of the Cyclone Testing Station at...
Saving the World through Fertiliser and Fuel – Professors Colin A. Wolden and J. Douglas Way, Colorado School of Mines
At the turn of the century, two unassuming chemists collaborated on the seemingly mundane task of converting nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia. At the end of their collaboration, they had changed the course of our civilisation forever. At the Colorado School of...
A Three-Dimensional Model of Lung Cancer – Dr Samantha Meenach, University of Rhode Island
New and successful drug development for the treatment of lung cancer requires imaginative and creative thinking by scientists and doctors alike. Dr Samantha Meenach and her colleagues at the University of Rhode Island have developed an innovative approach for testing...
Big Student Experiences in Nanotechnology – Drs Andrea Holmes and Christina Wilson, Doane University
Nanotechnology is poised to be one of the most critical technologies of the near future, yet exposure to nanotechnology techniques is limited for many college students. Dr. Andrea Holmes and Dr. Christina Wilson of Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, are partnering...
Software for Realistic Simulations of Quantum Systems – Professor Hans De Raedt, University of Groningen
The potential capabilities of universal quantum computers have many of us excited, but there’s one problem – we aren’t close to building complex, functional quantum computers just yet. In the meantime, scientists need to test the capabilities of quantum computing...
Working in Space The Challenge for Mars and Beyond – Karen Feigh, Matthew J. Miller and Cameron Pittman
Professor Karen Feigh and Dr Matthew Miller from the Georgia Institute of Technology examine what support will be required when astronauts need to work outside in deep space, where communication with Earth takes tens of minutes. Software engineer, Cameron Pittman,...