Engineering

Here's a way to save lives, curb traffic jams and make commutes faster and easier: Ban left turns at intersections

More than 60% of traffic collisions at intersections involve left turns. Some U.S. cities—including San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Birmingham, Alabama—are restricting left turns.

30/06/2025 19:52

The physics of popping: Building better jumping robots

Inspired by a simple children's toy, a jumping popper toy, researchers have unlocked a key to designing more agile and predictable soft robots. Soft robots, made from flexible materials, hold immense promise for delicate tasks, but their complex movements have been difficult to predict and control, especially dynamic actions like jumping.

30/06/2025 19:03

Dual-light 3D printing technique enables seamless blending of flexible and rigid materials

Inspired by how nature blends toughness and flexibility, such as the rigid structure of bone surrounded by pliable cartilage, all with elegant and precise geometric properties, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a fast, precise new 3D printing method that seamlessly merges soft and hard properties into a single object using different colors of light.

30/06/2025 12:00

From waste to walls: How your morning coffee can supercharge sustainable construction

Bricks made from used coffee grounds could soon reshape Australia's construction industry, and its carbon footprint, thanks to researchers at Swinburne University of Technology.

27/06/2025 18:25

Artificial photosynthesis system surpasses key efficiency benchmark for direct solar-to-hydrogen conversion

A research team affiliated with UNIST has introduced a cutting-edge modular artificial leaf that simultaneously meets high efficiency, long-term stability, and scalability requirements—marking a major step forward in green hydrogen production technology essential for achieving carbon neutrality.

27/06/2025 16:42

Researchers outline innovative ways to track heat in advanced semiconductors

When electronic devices overheat, they can slow down, malfunction, or stop working altogether. This heat is mainly caused by energy lost as electrons move through a material—similar to friction in a moving machine.

26/06/2025 16:23

Researchers achieve record-setting perovskite tandem solar cell with novel NIR-harvesting molecule

Scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have demonstrated a perovskite–organic tandem solar cell with a certified world-record power conversion efficiency of 26.4% over a 1 cm2 active area—making it the highest-performing device of its kind to date. This milestone is driven by a newly designed narrow-bandgap organic absorber that significantly enhances near-infrared (NIR) photon harvesting, a long-standing bottleneck in thin-film tandem solar cells.

26/06/2025 16:17

Turning tap water into hydrogen: New strategy lets PEM electrolyzers use impure water

In recent years, energy engineers have been working on a wide range of technologies that could help to generate and store electrical power more sustainably. These include electrolyzers, devices that could use electricity sourced via photovoltaics, wind turbines or other energy technologies to split water (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2), via a process known as electrolysis.

26/06/2025 14:10

New passivation strategy improves scalability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells

Solar cells, devices that can convert sunlight into electrical energy, are becoming increasingly widespread, with many households and industries worldwide now relying on them as a source of electricity. While crystalline silicon-based photovoltaics and other widely available solar cells perform relatively well, manufacturing them can be expensive, and they do not perform well in low-light or other unfavorable conditions.

26/06/2025 13:30

Gold from e-waste opens a rich vein for miners and the environment

An interdisciplinary team of experts in green chemistry, engineering and physics at Flinders University in Australia has developed a safer and more sustainable approach to extract and recover gold from ore and electronic waste.

26/06/2025 12:00

Curved geometry offers architects both striking designs and material savings

Researchers from Skoltech and the University of Granada have found a way to speed up the architectural design of vaults and domes with wavy patterns, while also conserving construction materials. By extending the applicability of a technique known as the force density method to this new class of curvy objects, called corrugated surfaces, the team offers architects a way to unleash creativity and—by the same token—keep the budget in check. The study came out in the journal Engineering Structures.

26/06/2025 12:00

Working to reduce the amount of briny waste left over from water desalination

Industries that need ultra-pure water—including semiconductor, battery, pharmaceutical, food and beverage companies—are expanding in Arizona. One of the most overlooked challenges for these businesses is what gets left behind in the pursuit of clean water: brine, the salty byproduct of processes like reverse osmosis.

25/06/2025 18:37

Noninvasive ultrasound technique can spot bad batteries before they malfunction

A recent uptick in battery-related fires has drawn attention to the challenge of identifying defects that can cause these catastrophic malfunctions, but are rarely obvious to the naked eye. In hopes of preventing the dangerous glitches that can cause batteries to overheat and catch fire, researchers from Drexel University have developed a standard testing process to give manufacturers a better look at the internal workings of batteries.

25/06/2025 17:50

Sustainable cooling film could slash building energy use by 20% amid rising global temperatures

An international team of scientists has developed a biodegradable material that could slash global energy consumption without using any electricity, according to a new study published today.

24/06/2025 18:40

Stealthy ship hull cuts through waves like butter

Borrowing from drug-smuggling subs, Michigan engineers are helping the Navy design autonomous ships that blend in with the ocean surface.

23/06/2025 22:28

Owls' silent flight inspires new noise reduction technology

If you've seen an owl fly, you probably didn't hear a thing. That's because their skin and feathers dampen sound by absorbing high- and low-frequency flight noise.

23/06/2025 22:28

How the end of carbon capture could spark a new industrial revolution

The U.S. Department of Energy's decision to claw back US$3.7 billion in grants from industrial demonstration projects may create an unexpected opening for American manufacturing.

23/06/2025 21:17

To spur the construction of affordable, resilient homes, the future is concrete

Wood is, by far, the most common material used in the U.S. for single-family home construction.

23/06/2025 21:15

'Thermoelectric permanent magnet' achieves record power density for energy harvesting

In joint research with The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and Nagoya University, the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) developed a new material "thermoelectric permanent magnet" exhibiting extremely high transverse thermoelectric conversion performance, and achieved transverse thermoelectric generation with a power density of 56.7 mW/cm2 around room temperature in a thermoelectric-permanent-magnet-based module.

23/06/2025 19:33

Scientists develop stable all-perovskite tandem solar cells

A research group led by Prof. Ge Ziyi from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed an innovative strategy to alleviate NiOx corrosion, enabling more efficient and stable all-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs).

23/06/2025 18:35

'Soft-touch' approach advances nondestructive testing for micro-LED wafers

Tianjin University scientists have developed a pioneering nondestructive testing technology for micro-LED wafers, offering a much-needed solution to a long-standing industry challenge through a novel "soft-touch" approach.

23/06/2025 18:04

Three-layered material separates charges to boost green hydrogen production

The chemical reaction to produce hydrogen from water is several times more effective when using a combination of new materials in three layers, according to researchers at Linköping University in Sweden. Hydrogen produced from water is a promising renewable energy source—especially if the hydrogen is produced using sunlight.

23/06/2025 17:55

Scientists create soft robots from rice paper that biodegrades safely within 32 days

Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered that the common kitchen ingredient, used in Vietnamese spring rolls, is biodegradable, non-toxic and suitable for soft robotic prototyping, outreach and single-use applications.

23/06/2025 16:40

Laser trackers shown to help improve accuracy of industrial robots, study shows

Laser trackers help improve precision and reduce operational costs of industrial robots, new research from the University of Nottingham says.

21/06/2025 19:50

Machine learning model predicts heat-resistant steel durability while preserving data confidentiality

NIMS and its collaborators have developed a model designed to predict the long-term durability of a range of heat-resistant steel materials by performing machine learning while preserving the confidentiality of each organization's data. This research is published in Tetsu-to-Hagané.

20/06/2025 20:42

From responding to thinking ahead: Bringing energy and spatial planning together

For an effective energy transition, we need to think not only about how we generate sustainable energy, but also about the spatial consequences of those choices. After all, wind turbines, solar parks and the associated infrastructure also have to be built somewhere. This is proving to be quite a challenge for governments and network operators.

19/06/2025 21:31

Proposed framework could ensure equitable access during global transition to clean energy

New research led by The University of Manchester has outlined a more equitable way to plan the transition to low-carbon energy systems that reduces regional disparities in access to energy and water services.

19/06/2025 19:22

Wheat straw, a farming byproduct, could soon insulate your home

Traditional forms of thermal insulation used to regulate temperatures in homes and commercial buildings are often energy-intensive to manufacture, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions.

19/06/2025 18:15

New report on importance of measurement of engineering

A new report launched today by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) emphasizes the critical role of measurement in engineering. As engineers drive innovation and commercialize new technologies, their expertise in measurement technologies is essential for ensuring precision and reliability across various industries.

19/06/2025 18:05

Robot eyes are power hungry. What if we gave them tools inspired by the human brain?

Robots are increasingly becoming a part of our lives—from warehouse automation to robotic vacuum cleaners. And just like humans, robots need to know where they are to reliably navigate from A to B.

19/06/2025 17:07