Archived articles

Mechanical engineering

closeup of an oil slick
Fluid dynamics
Slick studies
Published Summer 2021
At the Johns Hopkins Laboratory for Experimental Fluid Dynamics, researchers use science to understand oil spills / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Louis Whitcomb in an orange snowsuit
Extreme robotics
Deep down below
Published Summer 2021
For almost three decades, Whiting School Professor Louis Whitcomb has developed tools and vehicles that enable oceanographers to explore once-unreachable depths / Johns Hopkins Magazine
Wind turbines
New model more accurately predicts the power of wind farms
Published Jun 4, 2021
The model could aid in the development of new wind farms or help optimize those already in use
Artist's rendering of the Neisseria gonorrhea bacteria
Medical devices
Johns Hopkins develops portable device for rapidly diagnosing STIs
Published May 12, 2021
The low-cost device matches the specificity and sensitivity of current hospital tests, and can detect which strains of disease may become resistant to antibiotics
A study participant wears a head piece and prosthetic glove
Prosthetics
Get a grip
Published Apr 14, 2021
Through neuroimaging, engineers discover that prosthetics that provide haptic sensory feedback lessen the mental energy users expend when using the device
Comparison of two imaging results, showing the increased specificity and clarity of the DNA-STROBE nanomaterial
Engineering
Tiny structures generate powerful beams for enhanced optical imaging
Published Jan 19, 2021
Using DNA as a scaffold, engineers create synthetic nanomaterial that could pave the way for rapid and more accurate diagnostic testing from a single molecule
Mark Shiffman and Christopher Shallal work in their home engineering lab
Student life
There's no workspace like home
Published Jan 11, 2021
Christopher Shallal, Parker Treadway, and Mark Shifman have converted their pingpong table room into the manufacturing laboratory of their dreams, complete with metal-working stations, 3D printers, and electronics cabinets
Detail from infographic shows an infected woman speaking
COVID-19
New model calculates risk of COVID-19 transmission
Published Oct 21, 2020
The Contagion Airborne Transmission inequality seeks to make sense of the many variables, including environmental ones, that can affect transmissibility of COVID-19
Plane exterior
Mechanical engineering
New method can pinpoint cracks in metal long before they cause catastrophes
Published Oct 13, 2020
Testing metals at the microscopic level could prevent the kinds of material cracks that plague industries such as air travel and construction
Desert sand dunes with waves
Mechanical engineering
Researchers catch a wave to determine how forces control granular material properties
Published Jun 30, 2020
Mechanical engineering study reveals how and why granular materials respond to wave force, paving the way for a new understanding of how to design materials and technologies