Tracking Airborne Particles on Their Journey Through Your Lungs

in *NEWS, *Research, Biomedical Engineering, Hadi Nia, Materials Science and Engineering, MSE Research

In a paper published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, “Real time single particle imaging of functional lungs reveals mosaic-like patterns of aerosol deposition in alveoli,” Gabrielle Grifno, a doctoral student in Nia Lab, used the Crystal Ribcage to identify previously unrecognized details in the lung at the level of individual alveoli (air sacs).
“The crystal ribcage technology was essential to this discovery, as it enabled single-particle imaging of the intact, functioning lung in real-time at a scale not previously possible,” said Nia.

Hartwell Award Honors Miguel Jimenez for Advancing Next-Generation Microbial Medicine

in *NEWS, Biomedical Engineering, BME Research, Materials Science and Engineering, Miguel Jimenez, MSE Research

Boston University researcher Miguel Jimenez is developing “microbial devices” that use living microorganisms to detect disease and deliver targeted therapies for conditions like pediatric inflammatory bowel disease. His award-winning research could help create more personalized, non-invasive healthcare technologies for the future.

Innovation Spotlight: Theodore Moustakas and Modern Display Technology

in Materials Science and Engineering, MSE Research, Theodore Moustakas

BU Today recently highlighted the university’s long-standing legacy of innovation in the article “A History of Invention and Innovation”. The piece celebrates transformative discoveries by BU researchers, including the work of College of Engineering professor emeritus Theodore Moustakas. Moustakas pioneered methods for producing high-quality gallium nitride films, a breakthrough that enabled the development of blue […]

A Polymer That Defies Nature: The First Molecularly Impermeable Plastic

in *NEWS, *Research, Materials Science and Engineering, ME Research, Mechanical Engineering, MSE Research, Scott Bunch

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.

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