New on Full Circle
Fortifying national defense with robot swarms and resilient materials
Three ASU engineers have been selected to develop advanced technologies that promise to boost U.S. military capability. Read the article.
NIH grants reflect vibrant biomedical engineering research environment
Growing support from the National Institutes of Health shows research by ASU biomedical engineering faculty is tackling major medical challenges. Read the article.
Working to make mobile payment more secure
Gail-Joon Ahn has received five new patents and has eight more pending for technology that will make transactions more cyber-secure. Read the article.
Kozicki named National Academy of Inventors fellow
Arizona State University electrical engineering professor Michael Kozicki has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Read the article.
In the news
Schools use arts to generate passion for science (Arizona Republic)
Shawn Jordan is cited as one of the educators who are incorporating the arts into efforts to teach young students about engineering and science. The article looks at activities in some Phoenix-area elementary schools that are using the approach called STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) to provide youngsters fun ways to learn to be problem solvers. Jordan is a professor in the Polytechnic School engineering program who also organizes and manages STEAM Machine Camps for Navajo junior high and high school students. Read the article.
Controversial Nicaraguan Canal raises concerns (Huffington Post Live)
G. Edward Gibson was one of three experts to join a live online discussion of news about a plan by a China-based company to build a $50-billion inter-oceanic canal in the Central American country of Nicaragua. Gibson is the director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and a professor of construction management and engineering. The proposed mega-project is making headlines for questions it raises about potential environmental, economic and social impacts. Gibson comments on the engineering, construction and management challenges posed by the canal plan. Watch the video.
Physicist turned carbon-catcher (Symmetry)
Klaus Lackner’s work to develop carbon dioxide capture methods and materials to help counter the affects of climate change is featured on a science news website. Lackner is a professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment who directs ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. The article looks at Lackner’s carbon-capturing “mechanical tree” and other innovative approaches for seeking solutions to climate-change challenges. Read the article.
‘Urban metabolism’ could beat ‘sustainability’ in a buzzword contest (Next City)
One in a series of the Science of Cities commentaries on the Next City (“Inspiring Better Cities”) website explores how the description “urban metabolism” could be helpful in framing strategies and objectives for achieving more sustainable cities. Mikhail Chester, an assistant professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, is quoted on his perspective about the usefulness of adopting the evocative term. Thinking of a city as organism could foster an effective mindset for devising solutions to urban challenges, he says. Read the article.
