News from Engineering at Illinois December 2011

Excerpts from Illinois in the News, a daily service provided by the University of Illinois News Bureau. This collection of December excerpts focuses on engineering topics and faculty contacted for their expertise by print and broadcast reporters around the world.

ENGINEERING WITH MICRO-PILES
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa., Dec. 30) -- Designers of the $150 million-plus hockey arena in Allentown, Pa., have proposed anchoring it using “micropiles,” which will be drilled at least 60 feet into bedrock. “It is cost-effective: All you really need is a drill rig, some steel and concrete to create them,” says Timothy Stark, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Illinois.

STUDENT SCHOLAR
KGW-Channel 8 (NBC; Portland, Ore., Dec. 28) -- Germany has given 20 young scholars from across the globe the chance to carry out research on climate change and sustainability as part of Berlin’s push to get 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. One of the award winners, Najwa Obeid, is working on her PhD in environmental engineering at Illinois.

COMPUTING
NPR (Dec. 26) -- The U. of I.’s PLATO IV terminal, part of the PLATO education computer systems the U. of I. started developing in the 1960s, was among the technological developments cited in an NPR “timeline of touch-screen technology.”

EASIER SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTION
Nanotechnology Now (Banks, Ore., Dec. 22) -- Creating semiconductor structures for high-end optoelectronic devices just got easier, thanks to U. of I. researchers. Also: Azom.com (Sydney, Dec. 26), Clean Technica (Wroclaw, Poland, Dec. 26), Compound Semiconductor (London, Dec. 23), Nanowerk News (Honolulu, Dec. 22), Science Codex (San Jose, Calif., Dec. 22), Science Daily (Chevy Chase, Md., Dec. 22), EE Times India (New Delhi, Dec. 26), Solar Novus Today (Fort Collins, Colo., Dec. 27), Semiconductor Today (Cheltenham, England, Dec. 28), Solar Server (San Francisco, Dec. 30).

TOP TEN
Nature (London, Dec. 21) -- John Rogers, the Lee J. Flory-Founder Chair in Engineering Innovation and a professor of materials science and engineering at Illinois, has been named to Nature magazine’s “10 who mattered this year.” Also: CBC News (Ottawa, Ontario, Dec. 23).

SELF-HEALING CIRCUITS
Materials Views (Weinheim, Germany, Dec. 20) -- A team of U. of I. engineers has developed a self-healing system that restores electrical conductivity to a cracked circuit in less time than it takes to blink. Led by aerospace engineering professor Scott White and materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos, the researchers published their results in the journal Advanced Materials. Also: The Engineer (London, Dec. 21), TechEYE.net (London, Dec. 21), TG Daily (Batavia, Ill., Dec. 21), PhysOrg.com (Douglas, Isle of Man, Dec. 20), United Press International (Dec. 20), Popular Science (Dec. 22; The article includes a U. of I. News Bureau video of aerospace engineering professor Scott White talking about the system.), Daily Tech (Chicago, Dec. 22), DVICE (New York City, Dec. 21), MSNBC (Dec. 22), Red Orbit.com (Dallas, Dec. 22), TPM (New York City, Dec. 23), Circuits Assembly (Canton, Ga., Dec. 23), EarthTechling (Portland, Ore., Dec. 23), International Business Times (New York City, Dec. 23), Tech Week Europe (London, Dec. 23), The Cutting Edge (from EE Times, Dec. 26), Time (Dec. 28), Engineering on the Edge (Dublin, N.H., Dec. 27), The Huffington Post (from Earth Techling, Portland, Ore., Dec. 28), KPCC-FM (89.3) (NPR; Pasadena, Calif., Dec. 28).

NANOTECHNOLOGY
Science Codex (San Jose, Calif., Dec. 19) -- Until now, no one had used a heated nano-tip for electronic measurements. “We have developed a new kind of electro-thermal nanoprobe,” says William King, a U. of I. professor of mechanical science and engineering. “Our electro-thermal nanoprobe can independently control voltage and temperature at a nanometer-scale point contact. It can also measure the temperature-dependent voltage at a nanometer-scale point contact.” Also: e! Science News (Quebec City, Dec. 19), AzoNano (Sydney, Dec. 21).

NOVEL BANDAGE
News-Medical.net (Sydney, Dec.16) -- U. of I. researchers have developed a bandage that stimulates and directs blood vessel growth on the surface of a wound. “Any kind of tissue you want to rebuild, including bone, muscle or skin, is highly vascularized,” says chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Hyunjoon Kong, a co-principal investigator on the study with electrical and computer engineering professor Rashid Bashir. Also: R&D Magazine (Rockaway, N.J., Dec. 15), Gizmag (Dec.19), Bioscience Technology (Rockaway, N.J., Dec. 19), GMA News (Quezon City, Philippines, Dec. 23), Medgadget (El Granada, Calif., Dec. 23), The Suncoast News (New Port Richey, Fla., Dec. 27).

SOLAR TECHNOLOGY
Energy Matters (Sydney, Dec. 16) -- The U.S. solar energy company Semprius has utilized funding and expertise from the Department of Energy’s Sunshot Incubator program to develop a high-efficiency solar cell less than 600 microns in diameter – smaller than the dot made by a ballpoint pen. Semprius was founded by U. of I. engineering professor John Rogers. Also: Earth Techling (Portland, Ore., Dec. 15), Smart Planet (CBS Interactive, Dec. 15), Justmeans (St. Johnsbury, Vt., Dec. 23).

GENE THERAPY
Phys Org.com (Douglas, Isle of Man, Dec. 15) -- Clinical gene therapy may be one step closer, thanks to a new twist on an old class of molecules. A group of U. of I. researchers, led by professors Jianjun Cheng and Fei Wang, have demonstrated that short spiral-shaped proteins can efficiently deliver DNA segments to cells. Also: News-Medical.net (Sydney, Dec.16), Science Codex (San Jose, Calif., Dec.15), e! Science News (Quebec City, Dec. 16), ScienceDaily (Chevy Chase, Md., Dec. 16), Drug Discovery & Development (Rockaway, N.J., Dec. 19), Bioscience Technology (Rockaway, N.J., Dec. 19).

SUSTAINABILITY SCHOLARS
ABC News (from The Associated Press, Dec. 15) -- Germany has given 20 young scholars from around the world the chance to carry out research on climate change and sustainability as part of Berlin’s push to get 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. Najwa Obeid, 30, who is working on her PhD in environmental engineering at Illinois, said the holistic approach to green technology in Germany was one of the most important aspects of the program. “There is a real cooperation here between science, industry and public policy,” said Obeid, one of the 2011 award winners. Also: The Washington Post (Dec. 15).

BIOFUEL
Bio Fuel Daily (Dec. 15) -- It took nature tens of millions of years to turn dead plants and other organic matter into coal and petroleum. Now GE has teamed with researchers at Illinois who can do the same in the lab with pig manure in as little as 10 minutes.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE
The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 8) -- In a research project last year, Bill Hammack, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Illinois, concluded that a single-file line leading to three cashiers is about three times faster than having a separate line for each cashier.

COMPUTING
New Scientist (London, Dec. 6) -- A computer program developed by U. of I. computer science professor David Forsyth and colleagues can alter a photo undetectably while simulating lighting conditions so that the change looks realistic.

Related story: PhysOrg.com (Douglas, Isle of Man, Dec. 8) -- Visitors to the Siggraph Asia conference on computer graphics Dec. 12-15 will witness a presentation from a team at Illinois on how to tweak photos in a new way. Also: The Daily Mail (London, Dec. 9), Gizmag (Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 12) .

CELLPHONES AND SAFETY
Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Montana, Nov. 30) -- A recent and convincing U. of I. study by computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson indicates that legislation requiring hands-free phones while driving results in lower accident rates in urban areas.

DEAN TALKS ABOUT SUCCESSFUL ALUMNUS
WJXT-Channel 4 (Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 1) -- Ilesanmi Adesida, the dean of the College of Engineering at Illinois, has known engineering alumnus Shahid Khan--who is in the process of buying the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars--for years. Their sons played high school basketball together and Adesida considers Khan a friend. “I think he’s going to be a very enthusiastic owner,” Adesida said. “I don’t think he’s going to be micro-managing anything. That’s not his style.”

Related story: USA Today (Dec. 7) -- The National Football League’s finance committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend U. of I. alumnus Shahid Khan’s bid to buy the Jacksonville Jaguars team to the full ownership committee for a vote next week.
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