Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a one-step, facile method to pattern graphene by using stencil mask and oxygen plasma reactive-ion etching, and subsequent polymer-free direct transfer to flexible substrates. Graphene, a two-dimensional carbon allotrope, has received immense scientific and technological interest. Combining exceptional mechanical properties, superior carrier mobility, high thermal […]
Researchers Develop New Method of Trapping Multiple Particles Using Fluidics
Precise control of an individual particle or molecule is a difficult task. Controlling multiple particles simultaneously is an even more challenging endeavor. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a new method that relies on fluid flow to manipulate and assemble multiple particles. This new technique can trap a range of submicron- to micron-sized […]
The First Artificially Intelligent Cat Toy
Dave Cohen (MSEE ’13), Michael Friedman (MSEE ’13), and David Jun (BSEE ’08, MSEE ’10, PhD ’14) have created Mousr, a robotic toy for cats that’s taken the Internet by storm. The team’s Kickstarter page raised 30 percent of its $100,000 goal in the first three days after launching. They’ve also worked with James Pikul, […]
Muscle-Powered Bio-Bots Walk on Command
A new generation of miniature biological robots is flexing its muscle. Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated a class of walking “bio-bots” powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical pulses, giving researchers unprecedented command over their function. The group published its work in the online early edition of Proceedings of the […]
Waste Heat Could Be New Source of Clean Energy
About two-thirds of all the energy we use—in computers, in cars, in making products such as steel—is lost as heat. That energy does not do anything useful, and yet we are paying for it all the same. Assistant Professor Sanjiv Sinha, with the help of collaborators across campus, is making breakthroughs in finding efficient and […]
Robotic Mouse Could Help Solve the Cat Obesity Problem
An estimated 58 percent of those domestic cats are overweight, which is just shy of the national average for humans. A large contributing factor to these felines’ weight problems is that their owners simply don’t have the recommended 20 minutes per day to commit to playing with them Dave Cohen, a University of Illinois PhD […]