People trying to talk to Siri may soon no longer have to look like they’re about to eat their iPhones, thanks to a new technology demonstration that solves the “Cocktail Party” conundrum. In a crowded room with voices coming from every direction, the human auditory system is incredibly good at homing in on a single […]
Revving Up Fluorescence for Superfast LEDs
Duke University researchers have made fluorescent molecules emit photons of light 1,000 times faster than normal – setting a speed record and making an important step toward realizing superfast light emitting diodes (LEDs) and quantum cryptography. This year’s Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for the discovery of how to make blue LEDs, allowing everything […]
Programming Computational Wind Tunnels to Save Millions
It famously took Thomas Edison thousands of attempts to settle on a practical design for the incandescent light bulb. If each crack at a solution had cost him hundreds of millions of dollars, however, he might not have been so keen on using a build ‘em and bust ‘em approach. The companies designing turbines for […]
‘Superlens’ Extends Range of Wireless Power Transfer
Inventor Nikola Tesla imagined the technology to transmit energy through thin air almost a century ago, but experimental attempts at the feat have so far resulted in cumbersome devices that only work over very small distances. But now, Duke University researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of wireless power transfer using low-frequency magnetic fields over distances […]
‘Superlens’ extends range of wireless power transfer
Inventor Nikola Tesla imagined the technology to transmit energy through thin air almost a century ago, but experimental attempts at the feat have so far resulted in cumbersome devices that only work over very small distances. But now, Duke University researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of wireless power transfer using low-frequency magnetic fields over distances […]
Converting ‘Lost’ Energy into Electric Power
Metamaterial cells designed by Duke engineers provide electric power as efficiently as solar panels Using inexpensive materials configured and tuned to capture microwave signals, researchers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering have designed a power-harvesting device with efficiency similar to that of modern solar panels. The device wirelessly converts the microwave signal to direct […]
New Method for Producing Clean Hydrogen
Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications. While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most […]
Novel Chip Produces DNA Faster, Less Expensively
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University bioengineers have designed a 1-by-3 inch chip that can produce custom-made segments of DNA in two days that currently would require many large pieces of equipment, significant human labor and two weeks to produce. Creating and copying novel pieces of DNA quickly and inexpensively could have broad implications in the […]
Engineering Excitable Cells for Studies of Bioelectricity and Cell Therapy
By altering the genetic makeup of normally “unexcitable” cells, Duke University bioengineers have turned them into cells capable of generating and passing electrical current. This proof-of-concept advance could have broad implications in treating diseases of the nervous system or the heart, since these tissues rely on cells with the ability to communicate with adjacent cells […]
$20 Million Endowment For Biomedical Engineering Research
DURHAM, N.C. — A $20 million endowment to foster research collaboration between bioengineers and clinicians, with the ultimate goal to develop new technologies to improve patient care, has been created by Duke University and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. “The Coulter Foundation’s vision for translating promising biomedical research into practical applications is perfectly aligned with […]