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Researchers Solve Long-Standing Challenge for Piezoelectric Materials

Exploration

Early-stage research happening at NC State

NC State metal gateway sculpture silhouetted against the sky

Dec 12, 2024

Researchers Demonstrate New Technique for Stealing AI Models

Researchers have demonstrated the ability to steal an AI model without hacking into the device where the model was running. 
left image is titled support and shows a black polymer sheet lifting four stacked petri dishes that are loaded with spheres. right image is title manipulates and shows a black polymer sheet undulating in a way that rotates the multicolored spheres in a petri dish in a counterclockwise direction

Dec 6, 2024

Magnetically Controlled Kirigami Surfaces Move Objects: No Grasping Needed

The new technology is useful for lifting and moving items that cannot be easily grasped, such as fragile objects, gels or liquids. 
time-lapse image from a video shows a manta-shaped soft robot swimming over and under obstacles in a glass tank filled with water

Dec 4, 2024

Manta Rays Inspire the Fastest Swimming Soft Robot Yet

A team of researchers has drawn inspiration from manta rays and beaten its own record for the fastest swimming soft robot. 
micrograph image shows detailed microscale structure that looks like branches. some are colored red or blue to provide contrast.

Dec 2, 2024

Researchers Demonstrate Self-Assembling Electronics

The proof-of-concept work was used to create diodes and transistors, and paves the way for self-assembling more complex electronic devices. 

Nov 22, 2024

A Whale of a (Hearing) Test

How do you test a whale's hearing? Craig Harms walks us through it. 
An AI-generated image depicting the intricacies of nanotechnology with clear and spherical molecules.

Nov 13, 2024

Creating a Brand-new Class of Materials

NC State researchers have created a new class of materials called “glassy gels” that possess properties that could make them an alternative to certain plastics commonly used in today’s products. 
nc state university belltower silhouetted against a sunset

Oct 30, 2024

Linking Energy Loss to Interfaces in Organic Solar Cells Could Make Them Much More Efficient

A new study provides a deeper understanding of what is happening in organic solar cells when light is converted into electricity. 
an array of green lights that look like LEDs

Oct 11, 2024

Engineering Perovskite Materials at the Atomic Level Paves Way for New Lasers, LEDs

New technique dictates precisely how layered hybrid perovskite materials convert electrical charge into light. 
An image of a structure made of plastic cubes connected by hinges and tiny motors.

Oct 9, 2024

Researchers Create Shape-Shifting ‘Transformer Bots’

Using 3D printing, the researchers engineered a cubed structure made of plastic that can transform into more than 1,000 configurations. 
Image shows a flatworm, which resembles a shiny, brown piece of stretched taffy

Sep 24, 2024

New Predatory Flatworm Discovered in Southeastern United States

The new species appears to be a predator that feeds on other soft-bodied organisms, such as earthworms and slugs. 
An artistic rendering of a pair of dinosaurs walking through a cave toward a swamp.

Aug 26, 2024

Discovering Dinosaurs

Researchers teamed up with paleontologists at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to find fossils belonging to a species of dinosaur that had never been discovered before. 
photo of nc state university's iconic belltower

Aug 22, 2024

For First Time, DNA Tech Offers Both Data Storage and Computing Functions

The new DNA computer is the first that can repeatedly store, retrieve, compute, erase and rewrite data. 
a flexible circuit has been printed onto a piece of polymer. the polymer and circuit are being crumpled by a pair of gloved hands. the circuit is lighting up an LED. the image is a photograph, not an illustration.

Aug 15, 2024

New Technique Prints Metal Oxide Thin Film Circuits at Room Temperature

Researchers have used the new technique to create transparent, flexible circuits. 
image shows four photos of a glove and a graph. The hand wearing the glove is underwater. In each photo, the hand is extending a different number of fingers, which correspond to different electrical signals shown on the graph.

Aug 7, 2024

‘Amphibious’ Sensors Make New, Waterproof Technologies Possible

Researchers have demonstrated a technique for creating sensors that can function both in air and underwater. 
Campus gateway sign reading NC State University

Aug 6, 2024

Researchers Solve Long-Standing Challenge for Piezoelectric Materials

The discovery paves the way for new ultrasound technologies.