world-leading faculty

Jun 15, 2016

Bioactive Film Improves How Implants Bond With Bone in Animal Study

NC State researchers have developed a technique for coating polymer implants with a bioactive film that significantly increases bonding between the implant and surrounding bone in an animal model. 

Jun 7, 2016

Research Finds Offender Risk Assessment Tools in U.S. Are Promising, but Questions Remain

The criminal justice system in the United States uses a variety of tools to assess the behavior of criminal offenders, and those risk assessments can have a significant impact on an offender’s fate. A new meta-analysis of the research conducted in the U.S. on these tools shows that – while promising – it is still unclear whether these tools reduce bias against offenders. 

May 17, 2016

Research Finds Skull Condition Thought Extinct Is Actually Widespread

Some forensic anthropologists thought the skull condition called cribra orbitalia (CO) was a thing of the past – but new research finds that it is fairly common in both North America and South Africa. 

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. 

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. 

Mar 24, 2016

Microneedle Patch Delivers Localized Cancer Immunotherapy to Melanoma

Biomedical engineers have developed a technique that uses a patch embedded with microneedles to deliver cancer immunotherapy treatment directly to the site of melanoma skin cancer. 

Mar 18, 2016

Recreating the Web of Blood Vessels That Keep Human Tissue Alive

For years, one of the largest obstacles facing the field of regenerative medicine was the need to create a circulatory system to support new tissues and organs as they grew. Now two researchers are being recognized for creating technology to make the customized blood vessels necessary to support tissue generation. 

Feb 23, 2016

Zhen Gu Receives Sloan Fellowship

Zhen Gu, an assistant professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named a 2016 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in chemistry. 

Feb 10, 2016

NC State Backs Effort to Advance Equity in Research

NC State is part of a growing national initiative committed to advancing research on women and girls of color. 

Feb 10, 2016

Swartzel Elected to National Academy of Engineering

An NC State researcher responsible for major advances in food science and technology has earned one of the engineering profession's highest accolades. 

Feb 3, 2016

Researchers Discover New Phase of Boron Nitride and a New Way to Create Pure c-BN

NC State researchers have discovered a new phase of the material boron nitride (Q-BN), which has potential applications for both manufacturing tools and electronic displays. The researchers have also developed a new technique for creating cubic boron nitride (c-BN) at ambient temperatures and air pressure, which has a suite of applications, including the development of advanced power grid technologies. 

Jan 14, 2016

Forensic Research on Modern Child Abuse Can Shed Light on Past Cultures

NC State forensic experts have published guidance on how research into modern-day forensic analysis of child-abuse victims can be used to shed light on how children of earlier cultures were treated.