A robot created by Washington State University scientists could help elderly people with dementia and other limitations live independently in their own homes. The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors embedded in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily […]
Researchers Use Smart Phone To Make A Faster Infection Detector
Washington State University researchers have developed a low-cost, portable laboratory on a phone that works nearly as well as clinical laboratories to detect common viral and bacterial infections. The work could lead to faster and lower-cost lab results for fast-moving viral and bacterial epidemics, especially in rural or lower-resource regions where laboratory equipment and medical […]
WSU Physicists Turn A Crystal Into An Electrical Circuit
Washington State University physicists have found a way to write an electrical circuit into a crystal, opening up the possibility of transparent, three-dimensional electronics that, like an Etch A Sketch, can be erased and reconfigured. The work, to appear in the on-line journal Scientific Reports, serves as a proof of concept for a phenomenon that WSU […]
What’s Powering Your Devices?
Do Americans want to use more renewable energy? Yes they do – regardless of whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, according to new research by Washington State University sociologists. Christine Horne, professor of sociology, and Emily Kennedy, assistant professor of sociology, published a study in the journal Energy Policy that shows many Americans would prefer to power their […]
Researchers Find New Clues for Nuclear Waste Cleanup
A Washington State University study of the chemistry of technetium-99 has improved understanding of the challenging nuclear waste and could lead to better cleanup methods. The work is reported in the journal Inorganic Chemistry. It was led by John McCloy, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and chemistry graduate student Jamie Weaver. […]
WSU Portable Smartphone Laboratory Detects Cancer
Washington State University researchers have developed a low-cost, portable laboratory on a smartphone that can analyze several samples at once to catch a cancer biomarker, producing lab quality results. The research team, led by Lei Li, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, recently published the work in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. […]
Researchers Reduce Expensive Noble Metals for Fuel Cell Reactions
Washington State University researchers have developed a novel nanomaterial that could improve the performance and lower the costs of fuel cells by using fewer precious metals like platinum or palladium. Led by Yuehe Lin, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, the researchers used inexpensive metal to make a super low density material, […]
Researchers Make Key Improvement in Solar Cell Tech
Researchers have reached a critical milestone in solar cell fabrication, helping pave the way for solar energy to directly compete with electricity generated by conventional energy sources. Led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and in collaboration with Washington State University and the University of Tennessee, the researchers improved the maximum […]
Inaccuracies in Head Impact Sensors Discovered
With increasing concern about concussions from sports, some players have started wearing electronic sensors to measure head impacts. But a new study by Washington State University researchers has found that some of the sensors for non-helmeted sports are not fast enough to measure hard hits and don’t accurately measure what are thought to be the […]
Researchers confirm 60-year-old prediction of atomic behavior
Researchers at Washington State University have used a super-cold cloud of atoms that behaves like a single atom to see a phenomenon predicted 60 years ago and witnessed only once since. The phenomenon takes place in the seemingly otherworldly realm of quantum physics and opens a new experimental path to potentially powerful quantum computing. Working […]