engineering

Jun 13, 2014

Crossing the Goal Line: New Tech Tracks Football in 3-D Space

Referees may soon have a new way of determining whether a football team has scored a touchdown or gotten a first down. Researchers from North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with Disney Research, have developed a system that can track a football in three-dimensional space using low-frequency magnetic fields. 

Jun 5, 2014

Remote Lab Allows ‘Hands-On’ Testing of Antennas From Thousands of Miles Away

Imagine a lab that gives scientists the opportunity to do “hands-on” testing from thousands of miles away. Researchers at NC State have created a remotely-controlled testing facility that allows students, professors and private companies from around the world to test prototype antennas for wireless devices. The lab was created to provide a teaching and R&D tool… 

May 20, 2014

Researchers Test Distributed Computing as Defense Against Cyberattacks on Power Grids

Imagine a cyberattack that does serious damage to the U.S. power grid. The results wouldn’t be pretty. The power grid is complicated, divided up into sections that cover everything from a single municipal area (like New York City) to large regions (like the entire state of California). But each of those sections is controlled by… 

May 19, 2014

Engineers Find Way to Lower Risk of Midair Collisions for Small Aircraft

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed new modifications for technology that helps pilots of small aircraft avoid midair collisions. The modified tools significantly improved pilot response times in making decisions to avert crashes. 

May 9, 2014

New Method Sneaks Drugs Into Cancer Cells Before Triggering Release

Biomedical engineering researchers have developed an anti-cancer drug delivery method that essentially smuggles the drug into a cancer cell before triggering its release. The method can be likened to keeping a cancer-killing bomb and its detonator separate until they are inside a cancer cell, where they then combine to destroy the cell. 

May 6, 2014

What Makes Spider-Man’s Web So Strong?

Spider-Man’s webs are pretty impressive, capable of supporting Spidey’s weight as he swings through New York, trapping super-villains and even suspending cars above city streets. What are they made of? And how are they made? Spider webs are notoriously strong, with spider silk reported as having a tensile strength of up to 1.75 gigapascals (GPa),… 

May 5, 2014

Dogs, Technology and the Future of Disaster Response

Imagine a team of humans, dogs, robots and drones swooping onto the scene in the aftermath of a disaster and working together to find and rescue anyone trapped in collapsed buildings. That’s the goal of a team of researchers from around the United States working on what they call the Smart Emergency Response System (SERS).… 

May 5, 2014

Study: Game Developers Say Success Hinges on More Than Just Programming Skills

Aspiring game developers may want to bone up on their interpersonal skills. A forthcoming study from North Carolina State University and Microsoft Research finds that game developers need a suite of non-programming skills – including communication skills – that are considered less important in other fields of software development. 

Apr 29, 2014

Howling Robots: One Student’s Path From the Classroom to the Theme Park

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Tim Peeler, who writes for NC State University Communications. Now that she’s the co-creator of a robotic wolf, Michelle Phillips’ career path into the field of animatronics seems obvious. But that wasn’t always the case. Phillips had only been at NC State for a couple of semesters when she… 

Apr 24, 2014

New Ultrasound Device May Aid in Detecting Risk for Heart Attack, Stroke

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an ultrasound device that could help identify arterial plaque that is at high risk of breaking off and causing heart attack or stroke. 

Apr 18, 2014

Impurity Size Affects Performance of Emerging Superconductive Material

Research from North Carolina State University finds that impurities can hurt performance – or possibly provide benefits – in a key superconductive material that is expected to find use in a host of applications, including future particle colliders. The size of the impurities determines whether they help or hinder the material’s performance. 

Apr 16, 2014

NC State Awarded $25 Million NNSA Grant to Develop Leaders, Improve Technological Capabilities for Detecting Nuclear Proliferation

NC State today was awarded a five-year, $25 million grant by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development to develop the next generation of leaders with practical experience in technical fields relevant to nuclear nonproliferation. NC State was selected by NNSA over 22 other proposals following a competitive process that… 

Apr 11, 2014

Narayan Receives UNC System O. Max Gardner Award

Dr. Jay Narayan, John C. C. Fan Family Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, is the 2014 recipient of the O. Max Gardner Award – the most significant universitywide honor given to faculty by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. The award is presented each year… 

Apr 7, 2014

Praxair to Invest $1.33 Million in NC State’s College of Engineering

North Carolina State University’s College of Engineering will receive a $1.33 million gift from Praxair Inc. and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Angel, to support workforce development, diversity initiatives, and teaching and research related to areas of engineering and technology of specific interest to Praxair. Angel’s contribution of $667,000 will be matched by… 

Mar 24, 2014

Researchers Grow Carbon Nanofibers Using Ambient Air, Without Toxic Ammonia

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated that vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs) can be manufactured using ambient air, making the manufacturing process safer and less expensive. VACNFs hold promise for use in gene-delivery tools, sensors, batteries and other technologies.