Mechanical Engineering: Research Guide

Cleaning products, candles, cribs, and cosmetics are just a few of the common household items that emit formaldehyde, a colorless, odorless chemical that, when present in the air at levels higher than 0.1 parts per million, has been found to be a risk to human health.

Coordination nanosheets are a unique class of two-dimensional (2D) materials that are formed by coordination bonds between planar organic ligands and metal ions. These 2D nanomaterials are increasingly utilized in energy storage, electronic devices, and as electrode-based catalysts due to their excellent electronic, optical, redox properties, and catalytic activity.

A team of researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on a new graphene-based sensor design that, through machine learning, was able to develop a near-human sense of taste. This device is the first of its kind to operate in a moist environment, better approximating the conditions inside the human mouth.

In a significant step toward improving targeted cancer therapy, researchers from Japan have developed a novel nanocarrier system that delivers therapeutic antibodies directly to target antigens inside cancer cells.

Researchers at NYU Tandon have developed a new method for synthesizing metallic glass nanoparticles that offers refined control over size, composition, and atomic structure—features long sought in the design of advanced catalytic materials used in chemical reactions key to advancements in sustainability and other fields.

Twisted materials—known as moiré structures—have revolutionized modern physics, emerging as today's "alchemy" by creating entirely new phases of matter through simple geometric manipulation. The term "moiré" may sound familiar—it describes the strange rippling patterns you sometimes see when photographing striped shirts or screens; in physics, the same underlying principle applies at the atomic scale. Imagine taking two atomically thin sheets of either the same or different materials, stacking them up together, and rotating one layer slightly relative to the other.

New research into the anatomy of blue sharks (Prionace glauca) reveals a unique nanostructure in their skin that produces their iconic blue coloration, but intriguingly, also suggests a potential capacity for color change.

When the Empire State Building was constructed, its 102 stories rose above midtown one piece at a time, with each individual element combining to become, for 40 years, the world's tallest building. Uptown at Columbia, Oleg Gang and his chemical engineering lab aren't building Art Deco architecture; their landmarks are incredibly small devices built from nanoscopic building blocks that arrange themselves.

Haozhe "Harry" Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at Duke University and an expert in developing new methods for manufacturing materials, continues to push the boundaries in MXene research.

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have created a new way to build and control tiny particles that can move and work like microscopic robots, offering a powerful tool with applications in biomedical and environmental research.

In a world overrun with plastic garbage, causing untold environmental woes, University of Houston assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Maksud Rahman, has developed a way to turn bacterial cellulose—a biodegradable material—into a multifunctional material with the potential to replace plastic.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have uncovered how to manipulate electrical flow through crystalline silicon, a material at the heart of modern technology. The discovery could lead to smaller, faster, and more efficient devices by harnessing quantum electron behavior.

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science has successfully developed a nanomaterial capable of simultaneously performing cancer diagnosis, treatment, and immune response induction. Compared to conventional nanomaterials that only perform one function, this new material significantly enhances treatment efficiency and is expected to serve as a next-generation cancer therapy platform utilizing nanotechnology.

Chemists at the School of Science of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have recently made significant progress in photocatalysis by unveiling a "super" photoreductant, marking a major advancement in organic synthesis.

Researchers from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology (APM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered that anchoring subnanometric MoOx clusters onto TiO2 nanosheets can effectively suppress the formation of CO2 during methane oxidation, significantly enhancing the selectivity for oxygenated organic products.

As the demand for data-intensive computing grows, so too does the need for next-generation memory technologies capable of delivering speed, energy efficiency, and scalability. Memristors—resistive memory devices that store and process data simultaneously—are considered promising candidates for next-generation in-memory and neuromorphic computing systems.

A research team led by Prof. Wan Yinhua from the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered a surprising new mechanism that fundamentally alters our understanding of ion transport in nanofiltration (NF) membranes and provides critical insights into improving lithium recovery from high-magnesium brines. The findings were published in Nature Communications on July 1.

Keeping electronic devices cool is important when considering both their function and durability, as temperature influences material properties and energy flow. The temperature of "hot spots" that can be detected affects the performance of various technologies, from smartphones to electric vehicles. The ability for devices to work at faster speeds has stalled in recent years since adding more power to them has resulted in overheating.

In blinding bright light or pitch-black dark, our eyes can adjust to extreme lighting conditions within a few minutes. The human vision system, including the eyes, neurons, and brain, can also learn and memorize settings to adapt faster the next time we encounter similar lighting challenges.

How does a cloud stay cool under direct sunlight––or seem to vanish in infrared? In nature, phenomena like white cumulus clouds, gray storm systems, and even the hollow hairs of polar bears offer remarkable lessons in balancing temperature, color and invisibility. Inspired by these atmospheric marvels, researchers have now created a nanoscale "cloud" metasurface capable of dynamically switching between white and gray states—cooling or heating on demand––all while evading thermal detection.

A team of researchers at IMDEA Nanociencia institute and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore has unveiled a new class of gas sensors based on MINT-functionalized carbon nanotubes, offering unprecedented precision in detecting and distinguishing volatile organic compounds.

A new study, published in Nature Nanotechnology and featured on the journal's front cover this month, has uncovered insights into the tiny structures that could take solar energy to the next level.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, report in Small, on how short peptides self-assemble linearly on atomically-thick solid surfaces, such as graphite and MoS2.

Chemists from The University of Manchester and The Australian National University (ANU) have engineered a new type of molecule that can store information at temperatures as cold as the dark side of the moon at night, with major implications for the future of data storage technologies.

A research team has synthesized three-dimensionally shaped molecules containing an internal twist and shown that they possess the properties of organic semiconductors. By introducing methyl groups into a planar molecule containing several thiophene units and forcing it into a twisted conformation, the team created a solid-state structure in which electricity can flow three-dimensionally.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are characterized by high porosity and structural versatility. They have enormous potential, for example, for applications in electronics. However, their low electrical conductivity has so far greatly restricted their adoption.

In an elegant fusion of art and science, researchers at Rice University have achieved a major milestone in nanomaterials engineering by uncovering how boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs)—touted for their strength, thermal stability and insulating properties—can be coaxed into forming ordered liquid crystalline phases in water. Their work, published in Langmuir, was so visually striking it graced the journal's cover.

Some of the most innovative and useful inventions have been inspired by nature. Take the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan, whose aerodynamic design is modeled after the kingfisher bird. Or Velcro, which a Swiss engineer invented after observing that the burrs that stick to a dog's fur have tiny hooks in them.

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), which utilize ferroelectric ceramics, are widely used as electronic components in various devices such as smartphones, personal computers, televisions, and automotive systems.

Remote-controlled microflow using light-controlled state transitions within DNA condensates has been reported by scientists from the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. By switching between ultraviolet light (UV) and visible light irradiation, the researchers demonstrated that the novel DNA motifs containing azobenzene can dissociate or reassemble. Furthermore, localized photo-switching within a DNA liquid condensate generated two distinct directional motions. This study can fuel the development of innovative fluid-based diagnostic chips and molecular computers.