Engineering News & Analysis - Latest News Articles

Stretching the Limits with an Electrically Conductive Hydrogel

A metal carbide-hydrogel composite senses, stretches and heals like human skin for use in medicine and robotics.

Solar-Thermal Water Desal Projects Win DOE Money

The projects will focus on reducing the cost of solar-thermal desalination and helping the technology reach areas that are not connected to the electric grid.

A New Material for Splitting Water and Storing Solar Energy

Halide double perovskites are deemed promising photocatalytic materials since they absorb visible light better than titanium dioxide.

Volvo Opens U.S. Auto Production Facility

The plant can produce 150,000 cars a year at full capacity for the U.S. market as well as for export.

U.S. Could Lead World Oil Production by Early 2019

A new report says that U.S. natural gas production could grow by 60 percent over the next 20 years, and the country could take over as the world's largest oil producer by early 2019.

Facebook Experimenting with 'Eye-opening" Technology

Using a machine learning system, the Facebook researchers can “fix” the image by replacing the closed eyes in the image with open eyes.

Researchers Develop AI Capable of Predicting Debate Winners

Looking at the data, the algorithm determined that debates where “we” and “they” were used more often were more successful than when “you” and “I” appeared in an argument.

Researchers Explore the Possibility of Using Drones to Locate "Butterfly" Landmines

Researchers from Binghamton University, State University at New York, believe that drones can serve a life-saving function by detecting deadly “butterfly” landmines in post-conflict regions of the world.

Birds vs. Drones: Engineering and Nature Collide

For most of human history, the sky has belonged to the birds. It is only in the past few centuries that we have been able to significantly fill the skies with planes, helicopters and other technology. These aerial vehicles tend to operate far above birds' habitats or are so big that birds avoid them. Aside from the occasional accident, birds have not really felt threatened, or been a threat to our airborne technology. With drones, all of that is changing.

Blubber-inspired Wetsuit Coating Allow Divers to Last in Frigid Water for Two to Three Hours

MIT researchers have developed a new wetsuit for rescue teams and Navy SEALs.

Nuclear Energy Plants Likely to Remain Challenged, Penn State Researcher Says

Low power prices are expected to continue for years to come because energy use has leveled off and efficient, natural gas-fired power plants have recently come online.

Environmentally-friendly Explosive Being Developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and U.S. Army

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Maryland, have found a less toxic explosive material as a potential replacement for TNT (trinitrotoluene) in various munitions.

New York 'Ices Out' its Rats

New Yorkers have been waging a war on rats since the middle of the 18th century using as its weapon rodenticide. However, officials have added a new, more effective weapon to their arsenal: dry ice.

Poor Safety Culture Led to Ferry Fire That Hurt 45

The fire began in the main engine room when fuel spraying from a leaking flange contacted the hot surface of the port main engine. The ship burned for three days near Puerto Rico.

Vestas Books Wind Turbine Orders

The wind turbine maker will provide a total of 630 MW of generating capacity for projects in Colorado and Australia.

Alexa Will Offer Concierge Services at Select Hotels This Summer

Alexa will soon be joining folks on vacation as Amazon unveils a version of the voice assistant designed for hotel rooms.

IBM Unveils Computer Capable of Debating Humans

After roughly five years of work, IBM has unveiled AI technology capable of debating humans.

Reducing Diesel Engine Emissions with the Aid of Bombardier Beetles

Thanks to Swedish researchers and the bombardier beetle, a cleaner way to use diesel fuel is under development.

Chemists Find Greener, Cheaper Method for Producing Medication

Chemists from Princeton University and Merck & Co. Inc. have found a revolutionary way to produce an epilepsy drug with materials that are cheaper, work faster and are more environmentally friendly than the precious metals currently being used.