One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that’s generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost. Engineered electroactive microbes could be part of the solution; these microbes are capable…
Engineers Plan NYC L Train ‘Smart’ Tunnel to Avert Dreaded Shutdown
While speaking at an event in early December, Lance Collins, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering, noticed his phone receiving an unusual number of messages. He continued his speech, not knowing until later that he was being contacted on behalf of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a special project. The governor wanted to ask…
‘Workhorse’ Lithium Battery Could Be More Powerful With New Design
Chemical engineering professor Lynden Archer believes there needs to be a battery technology “revolution” – and thinks that his lab has fired one of the first shots. “What we have now [in lithium-ion battery technology] is actually at the limits of its capabilities,” said Archer, the James A. Friend Family Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Smith…
Self-Assembling Telescope Eyes Discovery Of New Exoplanets
Sure, it sounds kind of far out: a modular space telescope, nearly 100 feet across, composed of individual units launched as ancillary payloads on space missions over a period of months and years, units that will navigate autonomously to a pre-determined point in space and self-assemble. But “far out” is exactly what Dmitry Savransky, assistant professor…
The Future of our Cities: Engineers Test Resilient, Intelligent Infrastructure
Like many of today’s household devices, modern infrastructure is gaining the ability to collect and exchange valuable data using wireless devices that monitor the health of buildings and bridges, for example, in real time. But wireless systems for underground infrastructure, such as utility pipelines, are much more difficult to test in the field, especially during…
Cornell Cubesat Wins Ride Into Space With NASA In 2019
What started approximately seven years ago as research into electrolysis propulsion – using water as rocket fuel – has led to a Cornell University engineering team earning a shot at space-flight history. Cornell’s Cislunar Explorers – a student group led by Mason Peck, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering – won the final ground…
The Future Of Our Cities: Engineers Test Resilient, Intelligent Infrastructure
Like many of today’s household devices, modern infrastructure is gaining the ability to collect and exchange valuable data using wireless devices that monitor the health of buildings and bridges, for example, in real time. But wireless systems for underground infrastructure, such as utility pipelines, are much more difficult to test in the field, especially during…
Breakthrough Telescope to Map Origins of Stars, Galaxies and the ‘Cosmic Dawn’
A unique and powerful telescope capable of mapping the sky at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths is headed to South America. With a slated completion date of 2021, the 6-meter aperture telescope, Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope-prime (CCAT-p), will be located near the summit of Cerro Chajnantor in the Atacama Desert in Chile. It will give unprecedented…
New Polymer Additive Could Revolutionize Plastics Recycling
When Geoffrey Coates, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, gives a talk about plastics and recycling, he usually opens with this question: What percentage of the 78 million tons of plastic used for packaging – for example, a 2-liter bottle or a take-out food container – actually gets recycled and re-used…
Earthquake-Resilient Pipeline Could Shake Up Future for Aging Infrastructure on West Coast
A top engineer from the city of Los Angeles visited Cornell University this month as researchers tested a new earthquake-resilient pipeline designed to better protect southern California’s water utility network from natural disasters. They ran multiple tests, including an earthquake simulation in which a 28-foot-long section of the pipe was outfitted with more than 120…
Ancient Tsunami Evidence on Mars Reveals Life Potential
The geologic shape of what were once shorelines through Mars’ northern plains convinces scientists that two large meteorites – hitting the planet millions of years apart – triggered a pair of mega-tsunamis. These gigantic waves forever scarred the Martian landscape and yielded evidence of cold, salty oceans conducive to sustaining life. “About 3.4 billion years…
Robots Learn By Watching How-To Videos
When you hire new workers you might sit them down to watch an instructional video on how to do the job. What happens when you buy a new robot? Cornell researchers are teaching robots to watch instructional videos and derive a series of step-by-step instructions to perform a task. You won’t even have to turn…
Polymer Mold Makes Perfect Silicon Nanostructures
Using molds to shape things is as old as humanity. In the Bronze Age, the copper-tin alloy was melted and cast into weapons in ceramic molds. Today, injection and extrusion molding shape hot liquids into everything from car parts to toys. For this to work, the mold needs to be stable while the hot liquid…
‘Robo Brain’ Will Teach Robots Everything from the Internet
Ithaca, NY – Robo Brain – a large-scale computational system that learns from publicly available Internet resources – is currently downloading and processing about 1 billion images, 120,000 YouTube videos, and 100 million how-to documents and appliance manuals. The information is being translated and stored in a robot-friendly format that robots will be able to…
‘Exotic’ Material is Like a Switch When Super Thin
Researchers from Cornell University and Brookhaven National Laboratory have shown how to switch a particular transition metal oxide, a lanthanum nickelate (LaNiO3), from a metal to an insulator by making the material less than a nanometer thick. Ever-shrinking electronic devices could get down to atomic dimensions with the help of transition metal oxides, a class…