Features

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.

Understanding the biochemistry of how a neuron fires is one kind of problem. Understanding what the pattern of firing across thousands of neurons actually means, what movement it encodes, what intention it represents, and how signals in one part of the brain relate to signals in another, is a different kind of problem entirely.

So when is all this going to happen? When will quantum make its bold leap into commercial applications? It depends on who you ask and it depends on the conditions in which you ask. Like a quantum particle, the answer can appear to be in multiple states at once until it’s finally measured.

Boosted by advances in generative design and the optimization power of digital twins, mechanical engineers have a vital role to play in building a more sustainable world.

For most engineering students, the path after graduation looks pretty clear. Land a job at a firm, put your technical skills to work, and build a career from there. But a growing number of engineering grads are eyeing a different path, one that trades a predictable salary for the uncertainty and possibility of building something of their own.

Human-centered design, sometimes also called human-computer interaction or engineering psychology, teaches the importance of prioritizing the needs, desires, and behaviors of people when building technology. Professionals in this discipline are usually called user experience (UX) practitioners.

California’s engineers have developed ingenious methods of maximizing water supply across the 163,000 square miles of the nation’s third-largest state, which is home to 39.3 million Americans. Their work and plans for the future hold insights for new, aspiring, and veteran engineers interested in joining the fight against climate change.

Among all employment sectors, engineering and technology are stereotypically replete with introverts, people who derive more pleasure, satisfaction, and energy from being alone as opposed to being in groups. While that is the stereotype, some engineers are extroverts, receiving much of their energy and enjoyment from being in the company of others. Fortunately for this group of people, many engineering occupations aren’t as introverted as they’ve been assumed to be.

In 2000, nuclear energy from just 30 countries provided approximately 15 percent of worldwide electricity capacity. But by 2019, its share had fallen to 10 percent, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicting that without intervention it would fall even further, to 5 percent, by 2040. That represents a significant drop in what could be an important source of clean energy.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a niche tool confined to the labs of tech companies. It is reshaping how engineers work across virtually every discipline. In the architecture, engineering, and construction sector, Arup’s 2025 survey found that 36 percent of engineers, architects, and city planners use AI tools daily.