engineering

Feb 27, 2013

Researcher Finds Faster, More Efficient Technique for Creating High-Density Ceramics

A researcher from North Carolina State University has developed a technique for creating high-density ceramic materials that requires far lower temperatures than current techniques – and takes less than a second, as opposed to hours. Ceramics are used in a wide variety of technologies, including body armor, fuel cells, spark plugs, nuclear rods and superconductors. 

Feb 22, 2013

NC State Research Helps Shape Yellowstone ‘Winter Use’ Plan

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Dr. Chris Frey, distinguished university professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering. Frey is also chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. On February 22, the National Park Service released a plan to guide winter use of over snow vehicles (OSVs), including snowmobiles and… 

Feb 21, 2013

Researchers ‘Nanoweld’ by Applying Light to Aligned Nanorods in Solid Materials

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a way to melt or “weld” specific portions of polymers by embedding aligned nanoparticles within the materials. Their technique, which melts fibers along a chosen direction within a material, may lead to stronger, more resilient nanofibers and materials. Physicists Jason Bochinski and Laura Clarke, with materials scientist… 

Feb 18, 2013

Researchers Coat Spinal Polymer Implants With Bioactive Film to Improve Bonding With Bone

Researchers from North Carolina State University have for the first time successfully coated polymer implants with a bioactive film. The discovery should improve the success rate of such implants – which are often used in spinal surgeries. 

Feb 7, 2013

Koch Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Dr. Carl Koch, Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Koch is one of 69 new members and 11 foreign associates joining the academy in 2013. He is the 11th current NC State faculty member to… 

Jan 23, 2013

Researchers Create Self-Healing, Stretchable Wires Using Liquid Metal

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed elastic, self-healing wires in which both the liquid-metal core and the polymer sheath reconnect at the molecular level after being severed. 

Jan 15, 2013

Researchers Create Flexible, Nanoscale ‘Bed of Nails’ for Possible Drug Delivery

Researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a technique to embed needle-like carbon nanofibers in an elastic membrane, creating a flexible “bed of nails” on the nanoscale that opens the door to development of new drug-delivery systems. 

Dec 19, 2012

NC State Awarded $9 Million to Make Installing Home Solar Energy Systems Easier, Less Expensive

A new grant to North Carolina State University and several partners could make installing rooftop solar energy systems much less expensive and time consuming. 

Dec 18, 2012

Researchers Use Liquid Metal to Create Wires That Stretch Eight Times Their Original Length

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created conductive wires that can be stretched up to eight times their original length while still functioning. The wires can be used for everything from headphones to phone chargers, and hold potential for use in electronic textiles. To make the wires, researchers start with a thin tube made… 

Dec 17, 2012

Engineers’ Neutrino Communications Named a Top 10 Physics Breakthrough

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post that first ran on the website of NC State’s College of Engineering. Research that produced the world’s first message sent using tiny neutrino particles — a project led in part by NC State engineers — has been named one of Physics World magazine’s top 10 breakthroughs for 2012. Earlier this… 

Dec 13, 2012

NC State Study Offers Insight Into Converting Wood to Bio-Oil

New research from North Carolina State University provides molecular-level insights into how cellulose – the most common organic compound on Earth and the main structural component of plant cell walls – breaks down in wood to create “bio-oils” which can be refined into any number of useful products, including liquid transportation fuels to power a… 

Dec 10, 2012

Innovation to Save Lives: A Student’s Story, Part II

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by NC State grad student Tate Rogers. Rogers came up with an idea to address the life-threatening challenge of human waste disposal in the developing world, and was part of a team that received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue the idea further. Rogers presented… 

Dec 6, 2012

Looking back at the Science of Santa’s Workshop

Two years ago, a team of researchers from NC State participated in a visiting scholars program at Santa’s Workshop-North Pole Labs (NPL). They learned a lot, and shared their findings with us in a series of posts from that frostbitten font of seasonal science. Santa’s annual moment in the spotlight is coming up fast, so we… 

Nov 29, 2012

Zhu Named 2012 AAAS Fellow

Dr. Yuntian T. Zhu, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

Nov 28, 2012

Researchers ID Ways to Exploit ‘Cloud Browsers’ for Large-Scale, Anonymous Computing

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Oregon have found a way to exploit cloud-based Web browsers, using them to perform large-scale computing tasks anonymously. The finding has potential ramifications for the security of “cloud browser” services.