Features

It’s an engineering innovation that’ll send a shiver up your spine. In 2022, researchers at Rice University successfully turned a dead wolf spider into a gripping device capable of picking up and putting down objects. In doing so, they pioneered a completely new subset of robotics: necrobotics.

Field engineering is a crucial discipline within the broader engineering landscape, focusing primarily on the on-site implementation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of engineering projects. Field engineers are tasked with applying technical knowledge in real-world settings, often collaborating with construction personnel, project managers, and clients to ensure that projects are executed according to specifications and within the allocated timelines. Their role demands high technical proficiency, adaptability, and problem-solving skills, as they must swiftly address any challenges that arise on-site.

Today, digital twins are not limited to just physical objects. With the rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies, digital twins can now replicate entire environments and systems in a virtual space. This has opened up new possibilities for testing and simulation, allowing companies to reduce costs and risks associated with physical prototypes.

Like so much at the frontier of science and engineering, quantum computing looks and sounds like science fiction. IBM’s Quantum System Two boasts a vacuum-sealed “quantum chandelier” on its insides, glimmering both literally and figuratively. And, for the layperson, the typical reaction is a mix of confusion and amazement. But for the engineer, quantum computing represents something different: an opportunity to shape the future in ways previously thought impossible.

Engineering summer programs take place during the seasonal summer vacation, and offer aspiring engineers the chance to gain some hands-on engineering experience. They also come with networking and mentorship opportunities.

Edge technologies bring data storage and data processing closer to where data is generated. That simple shift has big benefits. While cloud computing relies on sending data back and forth between a centralized server, edge computing performs computation closer to the source, reducing latency and bandwidth usage. As applications increasingly rely on ultra-fast, near-instantaneous connections, edge technologies are an essential tool for enabling them.

Materials engineers study, design, and manipulate the properties of materials. Their work can enable entirely new products, or help to improve existing ones. This is a deeply multidisciplinary field, bringing together principles of physics, chemistry, and engineering. And several of the research challenges it’s facing are related to the most pressing challenges in the world.

Many companies are turning towards cutting-edge technology known as “carbon capture” or “carbon removal” to tackle this issue. Carbon capture stores or utilizes carbon emissions from industrial processes before entering the atmosphere, whereas carbon removal removes excess carbon from the environment.

Climate change is real. Its effects are drastic, and worsening. Global efforts to cut emissions and reduce fossil fuel consumption have met with mixed results. To mitigate the most catastrophic outcomes of climate change, some engineers are turning to outside-the-box ideas like solar radiation management.

The current US student loan debt is an astounding $1.75 trillion, with one in four Americans owing money. Unsurprisingly, student loan debt is the second-largest source of debt after mortgages.