Engineering FYI, Part II, July 2010

Researchers at Stanford University, including professor Dr. Brian Cantwell (IN G ’68), “are developing a system that exploits sewage-loving bacteria to produce nitrous oxide” to be used by rocket thrusters with hot, pure air as the only byproduct.

The new form of sewage treatment “could introduce clean water to developing countries, recover nitrogen from groundwater beneath fertilized farm fields, and replace existing wastewater treatment facilities.”
Read the article for more information

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Researchers are studying the movements of worms and snakes looking for “inspiration (in developing) a new generation of soft-bodied robots.”

At Tufts University, scientists study caterpillars. Watching the mechanics of Southeast Asia snakes as they jump occupies an assistant engineering professor at Virginia Tech.
Read the full article here from The Boston Globe

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Electric car batteries could benefit from “a new chemical trick for making nanostructured materials.” Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (WA) have developed the technique, which would “lead to better batteries that could help stabilize the power grid.”

Click here, to read more about the “nanoplates” that can conduct both electrons and lithium ions.

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