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Archive for the ‘engineering’ category: Page 124

Sep 24, 2019

A new way to turn heat into energy

Posted by in categories: energy, engineering, nanotechnology, space

An international team of scientists has figured out how to capture heat and turn it into electricity.

The discovery, published last week in the journal Science Advances, could create more efficient generation from heat in things like car exhaust, interplanetary space probes and .

“Because of this discovery, we should be able to make more out of heat than we do today,” said study co-author Joseph Heremans, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology at The Ohio State University. “It’s something that, until now, nobody thought was possible.”

Sep 24, 2019

Why A Venus 2.0 Could Still Be Habitable Today

Posted by in categories: engineering, environmental, space

If we terraformed Venus, would it remain habitable in its present orbit?

Sep 19, 2019

EV battery cooling technology to cut range anxiety

Posted by in categories: engineering, government, transportation

The i-CoBat project, operating under the UK government’s Faraday Battery Challenge, aims to create an electric vehicle (EV) battery pack which is cooled through immersion using MIVOLT, a biodegradable cooling fluid developed by specialist manufacturer M&I Materials, the project’s leader. Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the manufacturing research arm of the University of Warwick, along with engineering consultancy Ricardo plc, are partnering with M&I to optimise the EV battery cooling technology for a longer lasting, safer battery product.


A UK consortium is developing new EV battery cooling technology, with the aim of minimising range anxiety for electric vehicle users.

Sep 16, 2019

Design Devices to Help Astronauts Eat: Lunch in Outer Space!

Posted by in categories: engineering, food, space

Summary In this open-ended design/build project, students learn about the unique challenges astronauts face while eating in outer space. They explore different food choices and food packaging, learning about the seven different forms of food that are available to astronauts. Students learn about the steps of the engineering design process, and then, as if they are NASA engineering teams, they design and build original model devices to help astronauts eat in a microgravity environment—their own creative devices for food storage and meal preparation. A guiding design worksheet is provided in English and Spanish.

Sep 16, 2019

Nanoparticles used to transport anti-cancer agent to cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, nanotechnology

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed a platform that uses nanoparticles known as metal-organic frameworks to deliver a promising anti-cancer agent to cells.

Research led by Dr. David Fairen-Jimenez, from the Cambridge Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, indicates (MOFs) could present a viable platform for delivering a potent anti-cancer agent, known as siRNA, to .

Small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA), has the potential to inhibit overexpressed cancer-causing genes, and has become an increasing focus for scientists on the hunt for new cancer treatments.

Sep 16, 2019

Mentors, Encouragement, Hands-on Learning Boost Girls’ Interest in STEM Substantially

Posted by in categories: computing, education, employment, engineering, mathematics

Generally girls lose interest in STEM careers as they get older. But, according to a new study, small changes at school and at home can have a profound impact on how girls perceive STEM careers, how confident they feel in class and how likely they are to pursue STEM academically and into their careers.

The study, “Closing the STEM Gap,” published today by Microsoft, surveyed more than 6,000 girls and young women on their interests and perceptions of science, technology, engineering and math. It found that girls tended to lose interest in STEM as they headed toward adulthood. And, by the time they’d finished high school, their interest had dropped substantially. For example, the report found that interest in computer science among females dropped 27 percentage points between middle school and college. According to the report: “In middle school … 31 percent of girls believe that jobs requiring coding and programming are ‘not for them.’ In high school, that percentage jumps up to 40. By the time they’re in college, 58 percent of girls count themselves out of these jobs.”

But, the study found, countermeasures both large and small can have a profound effect, including:

Sep 15, 2019

This Ingenious System Brings Water to the Chinese Desert

Posted by in category: engineering

The Karez is a modern-day engineering marvel and a prime example of a native people working with, not against, the forces of nature to deliver their needs — in this case, water.

From the Series: China From Above: The Living Past http://bit.ly/2AEya5O

Sep 15, 2019

Artificial Intelligence and India

Posted by in categories: economics, education, engineering, food, government, health, internet, robotics/AI

The competition between the United States and China on artificial intelligence is heating up recently. In the coming AI Race, can India with an abundance of engineering talent really catch up with the US and China?

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, and The Internet of Things (IoT) are one of the rapidly advancing technological developments. The rate of progress in the field of these is amazingly rapid. From SIRI to self-driving cars, artificial intelligence is changing our daily life in many ways.

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Sep 12, 2019

Is the Universe Actually a Giant Quantum Computer?

Posted by in categories: computing, engineering, humor, quantum physics, space

According to MIT professor Seth Lloyd, the answer is yes. We could be living in the kind of digital world depicted in The Matrix, and not even know it.

A researcher in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, Lloyd is one of the leaders in the field of quantum information. He’s been with the field from its very conception to its sky-rocketing rise to popularity. Decades ago, the feasibility of developing quantum computing devices was challenged. Now, as quantum computation is producing actual technologies, we are only left to wonder—what kind of applications will it provide us with next?

But, first things first. In a round-table discussion with undergraduates, Lloyd speaks of his early days in the field with a touch of humor, irony, and most surprisingly—pride. When he just started to research quantum information in graduate school, most scientists told him to look into other areas. In fact, out of the postdoctoral programs he considered, not many were too invested in researching of information in quantum mechanics. Most universities and institutes were reluctant to take up quantum computing, but Murray Gell-Mann accepted Lloyd for a position at the California Institute of Technology. This is where many ideas behind quantum computation were born, and Lloyd is “excited by the popularity of the field today.”

Sep 11, 2019

A smart artificial hand for amputees merges user and robotic control

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, engineering, robotics/AI

EPFL scientists are developing new approaches for improved control of robotic hands—in particular for amputees—that combines individual finger control and automation for improved grasping and manipulation. This interdisciplinary proof of concept between neuroengineering and robotics was successfully tested on three amputees and seven healthy subjects. The results are published in today’s issue of Nature Machine Intelligence.

The technology merges two concepts from two different fields. Implementing them both together had never been done before for robotic hand control, and contributes to the emerging field of shared control in neuroprosthetics.

Continue reading “A smart artificial hand for amputees merges user and robotic control” »