Next week, NISE Net (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network) celebrates NanoDays, a nationwide series of events and activities at your local science centers dedicated to the wondrous world of nanotechnology.
So what exactly is nanotech, you may ask, and how is it crucial to the future of engineering? Watch the video above to find out.
Who would have thought that frogs would inspire engineers to create new biofuels? Well, the Tungara frog, which resides in Central America, seems to have done just that.
The Tungara frog creates very long-lived foam nests for its newborn tadpoles. Engineers from University of Cincinnati, in yet another example of biomimicry, found the frogs’ design inspirational and helpful in constructing an innovative artificial photosynthetic foam.
Researchers from the Materials Science and Engineering branch of CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) in Australia have found a way to artificially produce honeybee silk. Due to its heavily coiled protein structure, honeybee silk is even stronger than that produced by spiders and other insects. Potential uses for this new super silk range from textiles to lightweight composite materials for marine or aviation purposes to artificial ligaments. Now that’s the bees knees!
Every two years we get to marvel at the speed, skill and artistry of the world’s top athletes and watch increasingly lavish opening and closing ceremonies, yet few of us ponder the work that goes on behind the scenes at the Olympic Games. In a recent post on her engineering education blog, Celeste Baine estimates that there were about 4,000 engineers involved in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, doing things like planning the pyrotechnics of the torch lighting and creating the fastest and most efficient running shoe.
If you ever thought crime-fighting comic book superheroes were just fantasy, think again. And not just Batman’s fancy car and Iron Man’s high-tech suit – we’re talking real super powers.
Engineers have now produced two devices that will bring to life Superman’s x-ray vision and Spider-Man’s ability to crawl up walls.
