A Polymer That Defies Nature: The First Molecularly Impermeable Plastic
For decades, scientists believed all plastics shared one unavoidable weakness: no matter how dense or strong, gases could always slip through. Even the toughest polymers, from bulletproof Kevlar to everyday food packaging, may look solid, but at the molecular level, tiny gas molecules can still sneak through. That’s why potato chips go stale and packaged food loses its crispness.
Now, a collaboration between researchers at Boston University’s College of Engineering, MIT, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Massachusetts and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has overturned that assumption. In a study published today in Nature, the team reports the discovery of the first polymer that is molecularly impermeable; a man-made material that acts as a perfect barrier to gas molecules.
BU mechanical engineering student Sanika D. Barve is studying fabric rings head carriers use
BU mechanical engineering student Sanika D. Barve has been studying how different types of fabric rings help people carry a variety of loads on their heads, from heavy pots of water to ever-shifting bags of rice.
Dr. Hua Wang honored as one of the Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders
Boston University’s Dr. Hua Wang (ME,SE) has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Asian American Pacific Islanders of 2023, honored by Mayor Michelle Wu. The Divisions would like to congratulate Dr. Wang not only for his excellent work at BU, but also for his philanthropy, social service and social impact in the greater […]
Roberto Tron: Redefining Health Care for Aging America
With adults age 65 and older forming the United States’ fastest-growing population segment, more Americans are bound to experience severe and complex health conditions. To meet the needs of the country’s graying population, the current health care system must rethink its existing treatment approaches for older patients. This is where Roberto Tron, an assistant professor […]
Delivery Drones and Rotor-Powered Rideshares Sound Great—and Noisy
Combining expertise in mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics, and urban hydrology, BU researchers with NASA funding will lead a multimillion-dollar, multi-institution project to help develop quieter vertical lift air vehicles
New Bubble Popping Theory Could Help Track Ocean Pollution and Viruses
Bubbles are fun for everyone. But, it turns out, they can also be little menaces.
When a bubble pops, it can concentrate and aerosolize any particles stuck on it. Not a big deal when it’s a store-bought soapy bubble bursting in the yard or on your hand. But it’s a major concern when the particles it carries are potentially hazardous: bubbles caught in a crashing wave can send vaporized microplastics into the air where they might mess with the Earth’s atmosphere; bubbles burst by a flushing toilet can fling bacteria meters and onto nearby surfaces; a frothing cruise ship hot tub was once shown to be a Legionnaires’ disease super-spreader.
Learning From Animal Behaviors to Inform Control Systems
Research by Distinguished Professor of Engineering John Bailleul questions how animals operate and how you might use animal behaviors to design control systems.
This Bizarre Looking Helmet Can Create Better Brain Scans
A breakthrough with the potential to revolutionize medical imaging.
Sabelhaus Research: Advancing the Safety of Soft Robots for Human Interactions
The emergence of soft robots will enable safe human interactions which will allow robots to assist in the industrial, medical, automotive and space industries. College of Engineering Professor Andrew Sabelhaus (ME, SE), has been working on making soft robots safer to improve these human interaction tasks, in areas such as medicine, as well as explore difficult or dangerous locations. His work will help improve the design of many other soft robots.
Building a New Kind of Faculty
If you want to harness the power of having faculty from multiple disciplines address a societal challenge, you have to make it easy for them to do so. Cross-disciplinary collaboration has long been part of the college’s DNA, and that culture is now being formalized in way that is unlike any other engineering school.