material engineering

by Brittany Linnfigures by Swathy Karamchedu To escape the oppressive summer heat, many of us seek the cool retreat of air-conditioned shopping centers, movie theaters, and public buildings; however, traditional air-conditioning systems are not…

The diabolical ironclad beetle is strong enough to survive being run over by a car. Engineers recently tried to determine what gives the shell its characteristic strength.

Because of food allergies, we need a fast way to test for allergens and contaminants in over 33 million kg/day of protein are available in North America. Aerosol-printed graphene sensors may be the way.

To achieve seamless cell-electronics interfacing, researchers have developed cyborg organs by growing human heart tissue together with dispersed, flexible electronics. Read Anqi Zhang’s article to learn more about cyborg organs!

Heart attack is a leading cause of death, and often results in damage by overstretching the heart muscle. Once overstretched, the weakened heart muscle is less efficient at pumping blood, and it’s hard for the muscle to recover once the damage is formed…

If you have ever swatted a spider web away from a dusty corner of the house, congratulations—you have unknowingly dismantled one of the toughest materials known to man. The silk which spiders use to spin their webs and capture prey is five times stronger…

In material science, it is difficult to engineer a material that is both highly stiff and tough. In the past, scientists have increased the stiffness of soft polymers by adding nano-sized particles of stiff materials (e.g. carbon nanotubes, silica), but…