University Research

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 jul 2013

Scientists are working on a material termed as 'graphene', a single layer of carbon, that has a potential for use in batteries for mobile and wearable devices and gadgets. According to Dr. Richard Kraner of UCLA, graphene is a highly strong and flexible material and has the ability to be a super capacitor. This makes it possible to charge itself faster and also increase the amount of storage available. This provides graphene an extraordinary ability to become a material of choice for batteries in mobile devices considering its thinness and charging ability. This will make devices even thinner. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Manchester University received Nobel Prize in 2010 for successfully isolating graphene. Read on...

PC Advisor: Graphene battery tech - charge your smartphone in 20 seconds
Author: Martyn Casserly

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 jul 2013

Dr. Michael Woodley of Umea University in Sweden, Dr. Jan te Nijenhuis of University of Amsterdam and Dr. Raegan Murphy of University College Cork, in their study on human intelligence suggest that since the Victorian Era human IQ is on a decline and may have reduced by 14 IQ points among westerners. They used the data of visual reaction time (RT) obtained from the experiments conducted between 1800 and 2004. According to them higher RT indicates slow mental processing and therefore less intelligence (1800: RT 194 milliseconds, 2004: RT 275 milliseconds). Researchers also suggest a negative link between IQ levels and fertility in women, infering that women with less children have higher intelligence. Read on...

Digital Journal: Humans getting dumber over the years?
Author: Enozia Vakil

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 12 jul 2013

Professor John Rogers of Materials Science & Engineering at University of Illinois and his team is successfully exploring the possibilities in healthcare by fabricating devices from highly adaptive and sophisticated materials that could perform as electronic enhancements (with continuous and minimal intervention) to manage proper functioning of human body organs. Moreover he expects these designs and inventions to enable surgeons to use their fingertips as instruments; treat patients with implants that dissolve in human body after performing their work; electronic sutures that monitor surgical wounds for infection and healing; electronic tattoos on anywhere in the body to track blood flow and hydration and many more. Read on...

Illinois Alumni Magazine: Mind-bending electronics from the lab of UI scientist John Rogers promise to revolutionize health care in the plugged-in world of tomorrow
Author: Jim McFarlin

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 04 jul 2013

Neri Oxman of MIT's Mediated Matter Group is an artist and a designer and her work focuses on the principle that process of design is more important than the finished products. According to her approach, 'Material Ecology', nature can provide strategies for making multipurpose buildings and objects that have better performance and can be produced with less energy and waste. Her group intends to change the way designers build their products and advocates that designers should direct their designing abilities to develop processes and should take environment into consideration. She believes that materials are the new software in the design and manufacturing processes due to the digital fabrication technologies like 3D printing. She is working on projects where 3D printing techniques are modified to provide integrated objects and shapes printed with multiple materials giving them variable properties. In another project she is exploring the possibility of weaving through a 3D printer instead of the conventional sequential layering of materials. Ms. Oxman collaborates in her multiple projects with various researchers - Fiorenzo Omenetto of Tufts University, James Weaver of Harvard University, Craig Carter of Material Science at MIT. Read on...

MIT Technology Review: Redesigning Product Design
Author: Courtney Humphries

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 04 jul 2013

Researchers at FPInnovations (University of British Columbia, Canada) suggest the importance of engineered wooden products for construction industry in the future. They are experimenting with cross-laminated timber (CLT) and its possible use in the construction of 10 story buildings by 2020. Wooden structures upto 6 story are already gaining acceptance in North America. Researchers have utilized their engineering knowledge to build prototypes that scientifically prove that large wooden structures are safe and reliable to withstand snow loads, strong winds and earthquakes. Further improvement in manufacturing technologies of CLT may even lead to the construction of 30 story buildings in the future. Read on...

The Globe And Mail: Could high-rises be built of wood?
Author: Brent Jang

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 13 jun 2013

MIT Computer Science professor Daniela Rus and her team collaborated with researchers led by Professor Robert Wood from Harvard University's Microbiotic Laboratory to design a 3D printed robotic inchworm. Although the robot is printed flat but it is capable of self-assembling itself into a desired form with an electric current. Scientists mention that these printable inexpensive robots will find applications in numerous fields like education, healthcare, manufacturing, entertainment etc. Moreover the technology is convenient and user friendly to such a level that even an average person would be capable to design, customize and print a robot in few hours. Read on...

Design News: Harvard, MIT Researchers Design 3D Printed, Self-Assembling Robots
Author: Elizabeth Montalbano

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 13 jun 2013

Civil Engineering professors at University of Illinois, Jim LaFave and Larry Fahnestock, are finding clues after the Oklahoma City's devastating tornado storm regarding the resilience of certain buildings that stood the destruction while others got totally destroyed around them. Their survey intends to understand the construction practices and disaster preparedness of the city and how the construction of critical infrastructure like bridges, air-ports, schools, hospitals etc can be enhanced and evolved to overcome and minimize destruction caused by natural and man-induced disasters. Underground concrete shelters, pits in the garage, above ground 'safe rooms' etc were some solutions that saved lives during storm. Continued research in this field will be able to provide concepts and solutions to save lives and critical buildings in such situations. Read on...

The News-Gazette: UI profs survey tornado destruction for design clues
Author: Julie Wurth

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 28 may 2013

According to research by Prof. Dilip Chhajed and Prof. Yunchuan Liu, when consumer preferences are 'nondominating' (meaning that consumers have no extraordinary preference for specific product attribute) then manufacturing products using common components can reduce product line cannibalization and can improve profits. Most marketing managers consider product differenciation as important element of providing consumer choice and reduce product cannibalization. But this research provides a contrary view and can help managers design a better product line with common components and attributes, keeping in mind the consumer preference structure. Researchers say that this strategy may backfire if proper study of consumer preference structure for a particular market is not done before embarking on it. Read on...

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Common component strategy could improve profits
Author: Phil Ciciora

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 28 may 2013

Social scientists, Jennifer Stellar from UC Berkeley and Robb Willer from Stanford University, suggests that ethics and morality are important aspects of economic decision making. According to them people are highly motivated to be perceived as good and morally strong in business transactions and as a result would dissociate and distance themselves from money that is considered as 'dirty' or have negative moral associations. This is the reason why some people avoid profits from unfair labor practices or insider trading. Similar psychology leads to people supporting socially responsible investing and boycotting goods manufactured in sweatshops. Moreover their study also suggests that morality even alters how people perceive the value of money. Read on...

University of California at Berkeley: People care about the source of cash, attach less value to 'tainted' wealth
Author: Yasmin Anwar

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 28 may 2013

Group led by Prof. Brian Cunningham of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Bioengineering, has developed a handheld iPhone biosensor (uses iPhone's built in camera and processing power) that can be used to detect groundwater contamination, can combine GPS data with biosensing data to map the spread of pathogens, can provide inexpensive and immediate medical diagnostic tests in mobile clinics or can perform contaminant checks in food processing and distribution chain. The research group is interested in biodetection that can be performed outside the laboratory and is further collaborating with Prof. Steven Lumetta of Computer Science and Prof. Juan Andrade of Food Science to expand the scope of biological experiments that can be done with the phone. Read on...

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Cradle turns smartphone into handheld biosensor
Author: Liz Ahlberg

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