Sudden infant death syndrome, or crib death, is responsible in the United States for around 2,225 deaths a year of children from birth to 12 months. But German researchers have developed a stretchable, printed circuit board that could be fitted into a one-piece sleeper and would signal an alarm if a baby stops breathing. Investigators at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin have figured out how to make the flexible, wearable circuit board from polyurethane, a plastic often used as a sealant. They fitted it with sensors that monitor breathing in the chest and stomach areas, and ironed it onto baby-size PJs.

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A little piece of red tape – and discovering she had diabetes – changed Wendy Peng’s career plans. Learn how her dreams changed from becoming a Wall Street business woman to a materials engineering major at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

“To be honest, I’ve always wanted to be a business woman since I was in grade seven. I always dreamed that someday in the future I would become one of the most influential women on Wall Street. The reason why I wanted to be a business woman is simple: I wanted to make MONEY. However, things changed dramatically in my 9th grade summer.

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Tags: allergies, biomaterials, diabetes, Engineering, insulin, insulin pump, Materials, materials engineering, student, tape, undergraduate, University of British Columbia, Wendy Peng

2012 was yet another busy year for engineers all over the world. From inventing a Star Wars-style Hoverbike to snowboarding in an LED-Encrusted Snowboarding Suit, scientists and engineers are exploring uncharted territory.

Like last year, and in 2010, we at eGFI have chronicled the most awe-inspiring innovations and stories, so in case you missed one, we present:

The Most Popular, Interesting, Weird, or Just Plain Cool eGFI Blog Posts of 2012

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Some engineers just can’t wait until they graduate to start innovating. Here’s one recent example: After watching a man with a speech impairment struggle to make a supermarket cashier understand him, three Ukrainian computer science students, who call themselves the QuadSquad, designed gloves fitted with 15 sensors that can understand the hand and finger gestures used in sign language.

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Filed under: Computer, e-News, e-Videos, Electrical, Explore Engineering, Industrial / Manufacturing, Materials | Comments Off on Student Innovation: EnableTalk

Tokyo’s new 2,080-foot Sky Tree, the world’s tallest broadcast tower, is projected to draw 32 million visitors a year. But tourists won’t see one of its most striking features – a design intended to survive severe earthquakes and catastrophic winds.

Engineers began by studying soil formation as deep as 1.8 miles and taking meteorological measurements using a radiosonde balloon.

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Filed under: Architectural, Civil, e-News, e-Videos, Electrical, Explore Engineering, Materials, Mining | Comments Off on No Toppling This Tower