Next Evolution of Socialization

New mathematical model links up slithering with some kinds of swimming and walking, and it could make programming many-legged robots easier.

The post Walking and slithering aren’t as different as you think appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The new approach moves energy efficiently and could reduce energy losses converting light into electricity.

The post Photosynthesis copycat may improve solar cells appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

A peel-off patterning technique could enable more fragile organic semiconductors to be manufactured into semitransparent solar panels at scale.

The post Toward manufacturing semitransparent solar cells the size of windows appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The modular exoskeleton system will help workers and the elderly, boosting ankle, knee and/or hip joints by mounting new motors to off-the-shelf orthotics.

The post $1.7M to build everyday exoskeletons to assist with lifting, walking and climbing stairs appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

An open-source perception and movement system, to be developed with NSF funding, could enable robots that partner with humans in fires and disaster areas.

The post $1M for open-source first-responder robots appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

What should a robot do when it cannot trust the model it was trained on?

The post Helping robots learn what they can and can’t do in new situations appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The facility will accelerate the future of advanced and more equitable robotics and mobility.

The post U-Michigan, Ford open world-class robotics complex appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Getting rid of some gears enabled a free-swinging knee, regenerative braking and brought the noise level down from vacuum cleaner to fridge.

The post Space motor helps make robotic prosthetic leg more comfortable and extends battery life appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

An ultra-precise mind-controlled prosthetic.

The post ‘It’s like you have a hand again’ appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Built to handle falls, and with two extra motors in each leg, the new robot will help U-M roboticists take independent robotic walking to a whole new level.

The post Latest two-legged walking robot arrives at Michigan appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Understanding how to design better catalysts could enable sustainable energy tech and make everyday chemicals more environmentally friendly.

The post Machine learning links material composition and performance in catalysts appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Work for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy will develop a policy roadmap to safe, low cost water services.

The post University of Michigan partners on multi-institution planning effort for state’s water future appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

In preparation for climate adaptation in water-stressed areas, researchers will assess how well existing treatment systems prepare water for reuse.

The post Wastewater to drinking water: EPA grants $1.2M to U-M for virus removal study appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Researchers from four U.S. institutions aim to pull the best from control theory and machine learning to build safer mobile, intelligent systems.

The post $7.5M MURI to make dynamic AI smarter and safer appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Virtual copies of nuclear reactors could enable smarter maintenance for current reactors and more automation for advanced reactors.

The post $5.2M for digital twins of nuclear reactors could bring down nuclear energy costs appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Voxel51 uses AI processing to identify and track objects and activities through video clips.

The post Advancing AI for Video: Startup launches powerful video processing platform appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Communities will have varied tolerances for the acreage occupied by renewables. A new study quantifies the land needed for different options.

The post Land use matters as communities cut carbon emissions appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The Department of Energy will support research into better heat exchangers as well as improved predictions for neutron physics and radiation damage.

The post $5.1M to advance nuclear energy awarded to U-M appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Now that it’s understood, researchers are on their way to preventing this type of degradation in nuclear power plants.

The post Nuclear “shadow corrosion” reproduced in the lab, paving way to longer fuel life appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Three Michigan Engineering experts offer insights following the summit in Glasgow.

The post Key takeaways from the COP26 Summit appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Rather than just slowing down a charged particle moving through a plasma, friction can also push from the side in a strong magnetic field.

The post Strong magnetic fields change how friction works in plasma appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Experts on electric vehicles, carbon capture and sequestration, and nuclear energy weigh in.

The post Biden’s climate pledge: Engineers offer insights appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

University of Michigan researchers are developing better plasma technology that can destroy PFAS compounds

The post Treating PFAS water contamination with cold plasma appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlights include Newsweek and The Conversation.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts June 7-11 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Satellites give new insights on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, plus sources and flows of ocean microplastic.

The post Tracking ocean microplastics from space appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Concrete and construction aggregates could be carbon negative and dollar positive while sustainable aviation fuel and methanol could also turn a profit.

The post Carbon capture, utilization and storage roadmap reveals technologies that are ready to go appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

System developed at the University of Michigan saves time and money in the race to create better batteries for the electric vehicle revolution

The post New approach reduces EV battery testing time by 75% appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Improved heat-trapping materials for solar thermal energy could help the U.S. meet its goal of cutting solar energy costs in half by 2030.

The post $3.4M to turn up the heat at solar-thermal plants appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

As battery makers race to keep up with demand, a quick and inexpensive step can save money and time in development.

The post Resistance is not futile: Predicting how changes in production, materials impact EV battery life appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

University of Michigan leads a collaboration of academic, municipal and private institutions to advance a renewable methane ecosystem.

The post Energy from waste: $6.8 million for cow-inspired biodigesters appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Researchers estimate that there was an 80% carbon footprint reduction when using renewable hydrocarbon biofuels instead of traditional petroleum-sourced fuels

The post Video: 100% renewable diesel cars can reduce carbon emissions while waiting for electric vehicles appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The new approach could enable farmers to produce ammonia on-site, and also reduce CO2 emissions from fertilizer production.

The post $2M to replace fossil fuels with solar power in fertilizer production appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlights include the Los Angeles Times.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts August 9-13 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlights include Vox and the New York Times.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts June 21-25 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

University of Michigan researchers lay out hurdles for tech that could double EV range.

The post Next-gen electric vehicle batteries: These are the questions we still need to answer appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

University of Michigan engineers are working to make our electrified future more equitable and avoid the mistakes of the past.

The post Prepping for the revolution appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlights include NPR, Popular Science and The Conversation.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts May 17-21 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlights include The Conversation, MLive and the Washington Post.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts May 10-14 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The global move to advanced materials and electric powertrains requires a re-evaluation of how we recycle vehicles.

The post Scrap to sustainable sheet metal: A $2M effort to overhaul automotive recycling appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The upside is that simple fixes will have a big impact

The post Flaring allows more methane into the atmosphere than we thought appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Rising temperatures, increased CO2 will drive trees, grasses, weeds to produce more pollen.

The post Longer, more intense allergy seasons could result from climate change appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

In a perspective piece for Washington Post, Richard Rood says response to climate change requires an adaption mindset in addition to mitigation efforts.

The post Opinion: After a summer of weather horrors, adapting to climate change is an imperative appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

In The Conversation, Chris Ruf explains how CYGNSS can find the source ocean microplastics and aid in future clean up.

The post The ocean is full of tiny plastic particles – we found a way to track them with satellites appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Study sheds light on the future of the massive Thwaites Glacier.

The post ‘Doomsday Glacier’ may be more stable than initially feared appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Ocean wind tracker is finding new uses for inland studies.

The post Hurricane-tracking CYGNSS satellite system gets NASA renewal as it expands its reach appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

By zeroing in on different high-latitude regions around the globe, researchers reveal what global averages mask.

The post North American cold-climate forests are already absorbing less carbon, study shows appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Take a multimedia trip to the Amazon and meet the researchers who are working to understand how the future of the rainforest could affect us all.

The post Spotlight: Data is life appeared first on Engineering Research News.

University of Michigan’s mobility research center has been realigned under Michigan Engineering.

The post Q&A with Henry Liu, Mcity’s new director appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Two experts say the new law could correct historical infrastructure disparities.

The post Bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law: Engineers weigh in appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The gift represents a cross-discipline approach to sustainability and equity.

The post Intersection of environmental justice and engineering the focus of new $2.5M endowed professorship appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlight include The Detroit News.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts June 1 – 4 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

How would Enbridge shut down the controversial pipeline and construct a replacement tunnel?

The post The future of Line 5: Engineering under Lake Michigan appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

In The Conversation, experts break down what’s needed to make CO2 in concrete work on a wide scale to curb global emissions.

The post Bendable concrete and other CO2-infused cement mixes could dramatically cut global emissions appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Systems featuring a ‘membrane-aerated biofilm reactor’ can also remove more nitrogen from treatment plant discharges.

The post Wastewater treatment at one-third the size and cost appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

New study is the first in-depth analysis of the environmental performance and benefits of large-scale urine recycling relative to conventional wastewater treatment and fertilizer production.

The post ‘Peecycling’ payoff: Urine diversion shows multiple environmental benefits when used at city scale appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Transformative pilot project in Detroit could help cities across U.S. deal with overdue pipeline upgrades.

The post Sensor technology aims to help US cities extend the life of aging pipelines appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Glen Daigger and his research team are developing a biological system that can capture the phosphorus in the water without use of chemicals.

The post Removing and reusing phosphorus from agricultural runoff appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The nanofibers recycled from Kevlar vests are harnessed in a biomimetic design to help solve a battery’s longevity problem.

The post 1,000-cycle lithium-sulfur battery could quintuple electric vehicle ranges appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

By reflecting nearly all the light they can’t turn into electricity, they help pave the way for storing renewable energy as heat.

The post Mirror-like photovoltaics get more electricity out of heat appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

‘The trends we see in the making and consuming of single-use goods, particularly plastic, could have lasting negative effects on the circular economy.’

The post COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

‘Mcity 2.0’ will give researchers, many without testing resources, remote access to the Mcity Test Facility—creating a more equitable playing field in mobility.

The post $5M to enable remote, next-generation autonomous vehicle testing at Mcity appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Vehicles that perceive obstacles that aren’t really there could cause traffic accidents.

The post Autonomous vehicles can be fooled to ‘see’ nonexistent obstacles appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The frame in which a human marks out the boundaries of an object makes a huge difference in how well AI software can identify that object through the rest of the video.

The post Computer vision: Finding the best teaching frame in a video for fake video fightback appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Highlights include Wired and Popular Science.

The post In the news: Michigan Engineering experts August 23-27 appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Johanna Mathieu is one of four principal investigators on a project to improve home energy efficiency and to lower monthly utility bills.

The post U-M, community partners tackle energy insecurity in three Detroit neighborhoods appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Part of the team that brought us the world’s smallest computer in 2015 brings the future of computing technology into the present.

The post Battery-free sensor startup takes aim at industrial efficiency appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The researcher-entrepreneur who helped bring OLED displays to the masses envisions a future of efficient lighting and next-gen solar power.

The post Russel Lecture: Fighting climate change with organic electronics appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

In an approach that won’t disrupt consumers, researchers will tackle two of the biggest issues in the energy industry.

The post How air conditioners could advance a renewable power grid appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, conceived as a war memorial following World War II, remains relevant in the face of climate change and international conflict.

The post Honoring the past and sizing up nuclear’s future at the Phoenix rededication appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Cold-weather-friendly formula foils snow/ice accumulation in Alaska test.

The post Spray-on coating could make solar panels snow-resistant appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The project could pave the way for compact quantum computing and communications as well as efficient UV lamps for sterilization and air purification.

The post $1.8M to develop room temperature, controllable quantum nanomaterials appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

High-efficiency but fragile molecules for converting light to electricity thrive with a little protection.

The post Solar cells with 30-year lifetimes for power-generating windows appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Artificial photosynthesis devices that improve themselves with use

The post Artificial photosynthesis devices that improve themselves with use appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

An interdisciplinary team from four universities are developing a new class of semiconductors for novel artificial photosynthesis and the production of clean chemicals and fuels using sunlight, as part of a DoD MURI

The post $6.25 million to develop new semiconductors for artificial photosynthesis appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Plasma science has the potential to speed advances in medicine, energy, electronics and more—including helping us deal with pandemics.

Transparent solar panels on windows could take a bite out of a building’s electricity needs.

The post Urban solar energy: Solar panels for windows hit record 8% efficiency appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

PhD student Trevor Odelberg is looking to enable long range, highly reliable, and low-power cellular IoT devices that one day can run entirely on harvested energy, reducing battery waste and empowering devices to last for decades.

The post Batteryless next-generation cellular devices could empower a more sustainable future appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

PhD students Sijia Geng, Bahareh Hadidian, and Nasimeh Heydaribeni will participate in the intensive workshop that brings together outstanding women and gender minorities interested in pursuing academic careers in EECS.

The post Three members of ECE will represent U-M at the 2021 Rising Stars in EECS Workshop appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

How changing the rules of computing could lighten Big Data’s impact on the internet.

The post Big data, small footprint appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Centralizing available data in the intelligent systems community through a COmputer Vision Exchange for Data, Annotations and Tools, called COVE.

Five multidisciplinary research teams are working on projects to assist with the coronavirus outbreak and to help find solutions to pressing problems.

K-5 teachers and students throughout Michigan are building thriving learning communities online by using free deeply-digital, standards-aligned curricula and platform developed by the U-M Center for Digital Curricula.

The system can add more flexibility to task management apps to help learning users make informed decisions about their time.

The team will use fMRI to identify some of the underlying processes that occur when a code reviewer weighs in on a piece of software and its author.

Secrets lurk in the dark web, the 95 percent of the internet that most of us can’t see. One U-M professor is bringing some of those secrets to light, making the digital and the real world a little safer.

CSE students and faculty will collaborate as a part of a larger team to help respond to the crisis.

The paper explores how automated speech recognition and crowd-sourced human correction and generation of transcripts can be traded off to improve accuracy and latency.

He has built software systems for information extraction, database integration, and feature engineering and applied these to problems in the social sciences.

Prof. Mozafari is passionate about building large-scale data-intensive systems that are more scalable, more robust, and more predictable.

The software enables users to ask questions about the hosts and networks that compose the Internet and get an immediate reply.

The paper proposes an interactive natural language interface for relational databases, which enables novice users to construct complex queries.

100+ researchers from across the University of Michigan and from industry gathered on North Campus for the third U-M Workshop on Data Mining.

It turns out cerium flow batteries lose voltage when electrolyte molecules siphon off energy to form different complexes around the metal.

The post Understanding a cerium quirk could help advance grid-scale energy storage appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Experiments with custom-made biologging devices offer new insight into dolphin swimming and energy requirements.

The post New activity trackers for dolphin conservation appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The results of monitoring for diseases beyond COVID-19 are now publicly available for Ann Arbor, Flint, Jackson, Tecumseh and Ypsilanti.

The post Wastewater dashboard adds monkeypox, flu and more for five southeast Michigan communities appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Engineers, atmospheric scientists, psychologists and anthropologists team up to develop better flood predictions and ensure decision-makers can understand them.

The post $7.5 million to predict and communicate flood risk appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The world needs better tools to protect people during floods. A new machine learning method could help.

The post Outsmarting floodwaters appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Using a simple and convenient touchscreen interface, the algorithm learns the assistance preferences of the wearer.

The post Choosing exoskeleton settings like a Pandora radio station appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

As the auto industry expands beyond transportation, university collaborations are more important than ever.

The post Toyota Research Institute and Michigan Engineering discuss importance of long-standing partnership appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

New center builds a campus-wide ecosystem for designing and manufacturing materials of the future at U-M while training a more representative workforce.

The post $18M to advance materials research for quantum computing, sustainable plastics and more appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen is selected as regional clean hydrogen hub.

The post U-M’s MI-Hydrogen to participate in new Midwest hydrogen hub appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The Department of Energy will support research into faster reactor licensing, just energy transitions, and more.

The post $7.5M to advance nuclear energy awarded to U-M appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Rather than contributing to emissions, the production of an essential fertilizer could consume carbon dioxide, and a U-M team will explore such a method.

The post $1.3M to improve urea fertilizer production and reduce CO2 emissions appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

A mathematical model linking these vortices with more pedestrian types, like smoke rings, could help engineers control their behavior in power generation and more.

The post Demystifying vortex rings in nuclear fusion, supernovae appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Withstanding high temperatures and the light of 160 suns, a new catalyst is ten times more efficient than previous sun-powered water-splitting devices of its kind.

The post Cheap, sustainable hydrogen through solar power appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

A Ph.D. student shares his remarkable path from Cuba to chemical engineering at U-M.

The post ‘I’m supposed to be here’ appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The Institute for Energy Solutions will continue U-M’s 75-year legacy of leadership in energy research.

The post Equity in the energy technology transition is new Institute’s goal appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Researchers in the Walter E. Lay Automotive Engineering Laboratory are investigating engine efficiency, alternative and low carbon fuels, connected and autonomous vehicles and vehicle electrification.

The post Reimagining the auto lab appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

And that tracks with the way our motor circuits work—we’re not that complicated.

The post Simple neural networks outperform the state-of-the-art for controlling robotic prosthetics  appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

An effort led by U-M could enable industrial competitors to collectively build a predictive model that speeds the development of advanced solar cells.

The post $3M to boost state-of-the-art solar manufacturing appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Even with lead service line replacement, the city’s water has issues that require public education.

The post Building Flint’s trust in its drinking water appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Richard Laine is the academic category winner in a national EPA contest.

The post Green chemistry award: Professor recognized for sustainable silicon metal production method appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

Once derided as “forever 30 years away,” fusion energy has a new swagger. Will it last?

The post New
energy appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

The findings could help engineers methodically find the best molecules to increase the lifespan of perovskite solar cells, rather than relying on time-consuming trial and error.

The post Bulky additives could make cheaper solar cells last longer appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

U-M involved in Great Lakes consortium to support sustainable economic growth

The post Urine-to-fertilizer effort part of NSF Regional Innovation Engine  appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.

With oil production dropping, a process using natural gas is needed to avert a shortage of a workhorse chemical used for automotive parts, cleaning products and more.

The post New reactor could save millions when making ingredients for plastics and rubber from natural gas appeared first on Michigan Engineering News.