Engineering
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New polymer coatings prevent corrosion, even when scratched
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Imagine tiny cracks in your patio table healing by themselves, or the first small scratch on your new car disappearing by itself. This and more may be possible with self-healing coatings being developed at the University of Illinois. The new coatings are designed to better protect materials from the effects of environmental […]
Details on the 4/18 Midwest earthquake
Amr S. Elnashai (pronounced Ah-MURR El-NOSH-eye) is the director of the Mid-America Earthquake Center at the University of Illinois. The Bill and Elaine Hall Professor of Civil Engineering, he has reported on most of the damaging earthquakes around the world since the mid-1980s. He has been on field missions to 17 earthquake sites around the […]
How can better pre-screening make airports safer?
In a recent study in the Journal of Transportation Security, U. of I. computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson tackled the problem of how best to screen the baggage of airline passengers to prevent terror attacks. He was interviewed by News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates. The Transportation Safety Administration has been screening passengers and […]
Study looking at lighter, cooler equipment to reduce firefighter injuries, deaths
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Firefighters battling wildfires like those devastating Southern California, or even a smaller structural fire, have to endure temperatures in the hundreds of degrees. A study at the Illinois Fire Service Institute on the U. of I.’s Urbana campus is examining an enhanced version of personal protective equipment that is lighter, less restrictive […]
Ways to alleviate India’s water shortages, even as global warming adds to pollution problems with the Ganges
Media reports out of India early this year stated that pollution levels in the Ganges River threatened to curtail the ritual bathing during the sacred Hindu pilgrimage, Ardh Kumbh Mela. A report in June noted that water levels in the river (and, thus, Hindu religious practices) are threatened by the shrinkage of Himalayan glaciers caused […]
A civil engineer reflects on the I-35 bridge collapse and its aftermath
Robert H. Dodds Jr. is a professor and head of the department of civil and environmental engineering. Dodds’ research focuses on the safety of bridges, pipelines, naval vessels, aircraft and spacecraft as they develop cracks and defects from the effects of aging. He was interviewed by News Bureau Physical Sciences Editor James Kloeppel. Does the […]
What you need to know about the spike in Illinois electric rates
George Gross is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He discusses the higher electric rates that went into effect on January 1, 2007. He was interviewed by the News Bureau’s business and law editor Mark Reutter. Illinois residents will see the price of electricity go […]
Does the Hawaiian quake make volcanic eruptions more likely?
Amr Elnashai, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom, is the first recipient of the William J. & Elaine F. Hall Endowed Professorship at Illinois and is the director of both the Mid-America Earthquake Center and the George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Laboratory at Illinois. Was the […]
What you need to know about the spike in Illinois electric rates
George Gross is a professor of electrical and computer engineering who specializes in electric power and utility regulatory policy. He called the massive power failure of Aug. 14, 2003, which left 50 million people in the dark in the U.S. and Canada, a wake-up call for the nation to upgrade its transmission grid system. He […]
U. of I. Engineering Open House to take place March 10-11
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Wild and wacky Rube Goldberg machines, “robot wars,” and more than 160 fun-filled exhibits await visitors to “Beyond Imagination,” the 86th annual Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “We are expecting well over 10,000 visitors, who will experience the myriad of engineering marvels and mysteries in this ever-changing […]
U. of I. students to build solar home for contest in Washington, D. C.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of 20 universities selected to participate in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, a competition in which teams of students from colleges and universities in the United States, Europe and Canada compete to design, build and operate homes powered exclusively by solar energy. During the fall […]
Tiny superconductors withstand stronger magnetic fields
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Ultrathin superconducting wires can withstand stronger magnetic fields than larger wires made from the same material, researchers now report. This finding may be useful for technologies that employ superconducting magnets, such as magnetic resonance imaging. As described in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters, researchers at the University […]