solution-driven research

Sep 12, 2016

Lightweight, Wearable Tech Efficiently Converts Body Heat to Electricity

NC State researchers have developed a new design for harvesting body heat and converting it into electricity for use in wearable electronics. The experimental prototypes are lightweight, conform to the shape of the body, and can generate far more electricity than previous lightweight heat harvesting technologies. 

Sep 8, 2016

Simulation Highlights Potential For Low-Cost Security Imaging Device

NC State researchers have used computer models to demonstrate the viability of a low-cost security imaging device that makes use of inexpensive radio components. Functional prototypes are under development and would be orders of magnitude less expensive than existing imaging devices. 

Aug 9, 2016

NC State Boosts Efforts to Commercialize Research Discoveries

NC State has announced that seven projects will receive support from its Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, aimed at moving innovative discoveries from the lab bench to the marketplace in areas ranging from the development of new antibiotics to the creation of faster, more accurate medical diagnostic tools. 

Aug 2, 2016

NC State to Form NSF-Funded Center for Advanced Electronics Through Machine Learning With UIUC and Georgia Tech

The new center will speed up the design and verification of microelectronic circuits and systems, reducing development costs and time-to-market for manufacturers of microelectronic products, especially integrated circuits. 

Jul 21, 2016

Study Identifies Ways to Share Key Data Between Researchers, Business Practitioners

A research team reports that researchers and practitioners share more interests than either group realizes and outlines ways that the two groups can collaborate more effectively -- and it involves changing how business schools do business. 

Jul 21, 2016

Integration of Novel Materials with Silicon Chips Makes New ‘Smart’ Devices Possible

Researchers have developed a way to integrate novel functional materials onto a computer chip, allowing the creation of new smart devices and systems. 

Jul 5, 2016

How Teaching Robots to Identify Microscopic Fossils Could Help Us Understand Oceans

An unlikely partnership is attempting to solve a tricky engineering challenge and advance our understanding of Earth’s oceans. 

Jun 27, 2016

Researchers Devise Tool to Improve Imaging of Neuronal Activity in the Brain

In a partnership melding neuroscience and electrical engineering, researchers have developed a new technology that will allow neuroscientists to capture images of the brain almost 10 times larger than previously possible. 

May 11, 2016

Looking for an Oasis in America’s Food Deserts

Where does your food come from? For many in the United States, getting nutritious, fresh food is not as easy as making a quick trip to the supermarket. 

May 10, 2016

Researchers Integrate Diamond/Boron Nitride Crystalline Layers for Use in High-Power Devices

NC State researchers have developed a new technique to deposit diamond on the surface of cubic boron nitride, integrating the two materials into a single crystalline structure. 

May 9, 2016

New Techniques Make RFID Tags 25 Percent Smaller

NC State researchers have developed a suite of techniques that allow them to create passive radio-frequency identification tags that are 25 percent smaller – and therefore less expensive. 

May 2, 2016

New Tech Uses Hardware, Software to Train Dogs More Efficiently

NC State researchers have developed and used a customized suite of technologies that allows a computer to train a dog autonomously, with the computer effectively responding to the dog based on the dog’s body language. 

Apr 5, 2016

Metal Foam Obliterates Bullets – and That’s Just the Beginning

Composite metal foams are tough enough to turn an armor-piercing bullet into dust on impact. But armor is just the beginning of its potential uses. 

Mar 31, 2016

New Tools Allow Rapid ID of CRISPR-Cas System PAMs

CRISPR-Cas systems are widely heralded as a new generation of genetic tools. But development of these tools requires researchers to identify the protospacer-adjacent motifs (PAMs) that unlock each system’s functionality. A new set of techniques expedites PAM identification — and early testing finds that many CRISPR-Cas systems actually have multiple PAMs of varying strength. 

Mar 28, 2016

Metal Foam Protects From Fire and Heat Twice as Well as Plain Metal

Light-weight composite metal foams (CMFs) are significantly more effective at insulating against high heat than the conventional base metals and alloys that they’re made of, such as steel. The CMF is especially promising for use in storing and transporting nuclear material, hazardous materials, explosives and other heat-sensitive materials, as well as for space exploration.