Engineering & Technology
Fixing the interface for enhanced perovskite solar cell performance
With millions of people in the world still having no access to electricity, it is easy to predict that the world’s already challenging energy demands will only increase. Solar power has long presented itself as a promising renewable energy source, but the solar cells used in photovoltaics still suffer from relatively low efficiency, even when novel materials such as perovskites […]
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Superellipses to Superformula: The impact of Gielis Transformations
Devised to describe botanical shapes by Dr Johan Gielis, visiting Professor at the University of Antwerp, the Superformula has found applications across many areas of mathematics, science and technology. Dr Gielis’ single equation, which provides a unified description of abstract, natural and man-made shapes, from triangles to spirals, has now been tested on more than 50,000 specimens, and his original […]
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Advanced chemiresistive materials for wireless sensor networks
When exposed to gases and vapours of certain chemicals in their surrounding environments, chemiresistive materials can change their electrical resistance, which makes them incredibly useful as sensors for air pollution. Through her work, Dr Esther Hontañón, a researcher at the Spanish Council of Research (CSIC) in Madrid, explores how the latest advances in materials science and 3D printing technology can […]
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Pioneering materials informatics: Clean technologies from molecular design
Tackling global challenges in sustainable energy production calls for the rational design of new generations of clean materials, coupling efficiency with low environmental impact. Materials discovery offers a powerful means to predict structure-property relationships in novel materials, but often lacks the ability to account for the complex interplay of length- and timescales that ultimately determine the potential of a material […]
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SUSSOL – Using AI for the selection and substitution of greener solvent
Solvents can be toxic, volatile, highly flammable, non-biodegradable and non-renewable. Searching for a suitable green alternative for a nonbenign solvent can be an onerous task. Hannes Sels, Herwig De Smet and Dr Jeroen Geuens from Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts, in close collaboration with their industrial partners, have developed a user-friendly software tool based on an […]
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Nanoparticle coating in heat pipe design for miniaturised cooling
Size reduction and increasing processing power are driving forces in the development of modern electronic devices, from portable computers to smartphones and wearable devices. In all these applications, efficient cooling of the electronic components of a device is paramount. By exploiting novel design approaches based on the use of nanoparticle layers, Prof Tomio Okawa and Ms Menglei Wang (The University […]
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A new computational approach to Digital Holographic Microscopy
Digital Holographic Microscopy offers a unique way for researchers to precisely examine the 3D topography of microscopic objects. However, until now the capabilities of this technique have been limited by complications involving the complex computational method used. The Optical Imaging Research Laboratory at the University of Memphis, led by Dr Ana Doblas, and collaborators have constructed algorithms which can automatically […]
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What media arts can teach us about technology and its use
What if? That’s the question behind the Synthesis Center, a unique institutional experiment at Arizona State University in the United States. Created by Professor Sha Xin Wei, the transdisciplinary ‘atelier’ or workshop brings like minds together to explore the interface between media arts, the environment, engineering and technology. With the potential for global social impact, the results generate significant insights […]
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Bringing space closer with 3D printing
To fulfil the promise of the “NewSpace” revolution and open the door to commercial space exploration that is accessible to everyone, low-cost space technologies are necessary. In order to lower the cost of spacecraft propulsion, Dulce Melo-Máximo from the Tecnológico de Monterrey in México and Luis Fernando Velásquez-García from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report on the first additively manufactured […]
ILLMO: A new platform for interactive statistics
Jean-Bernard Martens, a Full Professor on Visual Interaction with the Department of Industrial Design of the Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, has developed ILLMO (Interactive Log Likelihood MOdeling), a statistical modelling tool that provides an interactive environment offering an intuitive and interactive approach to statistics. Scientists and researchers, including those who are not specialists in statistics, can access modern statistical […]
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