Engineering Innovation

The National Academy of Engineering has worked with the Washington, D.C. region's most listened-to radio station — the all-news format <a href="http://www.wtop.com/" target="_blank">WTOP Radio</a> — and the nation's only radio station specifically dedicated to covering news related to the federal government — <a href="http://www.federalnewsradio.com/" target="_blank">WFED 1500 AM</a> — To provide weekly features highlighting engineering innovations and stories that add technical context to issues in the news. Hear some of our stories in the links below.

Covid-19 Severity Detector

Researchers are working on a way to predict when symptoms from the novel coronavirus might turn dangerous.

07-10
00:52

Wildfire Preventer

As wildfire season starts, engineers are developing a new tool to stop them in their tracks.

06-26
00:47

Boosting Vaccine Efficiency

Making enough COVID-19 vaccine to immunize the world will be a challenge, but a new vaccination method, without the typical needles, may help.

06-19
00:59

Covid-19 at Home Test

Re-opening during the pandemic would be easier to safely manage if we had a quick at-home test, like a pregnancy test, for COVID-19 infection. Engineers may be close.

06-12
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Public Carbon Capture

The National Science Foundation recently announced finalists of a public competition for bold ideas to guide their long-term planning. One of the Grand Prize winners wants to get us all involved in tackling climate change.

05-28
00:58

Small Modular Reactors

Since nuclear power plants don’t emit greenhouse gases, many think they are a solution to climate change. So a push is now on to boost worldwide nuclear energy production by deploying more – but much smaller – reactors.

05-22
00:54

Fake News Filter

While political views differ, democracy depends upon a basic agreement about facts. Can technology help people sort truth from trash in social media?

05-08
00:55

Heart Cap

Engineers are working on a removable heart pump that might one day let patients with end stage heart failure not only survive longer, but recover.

04-24
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Spotting Methane Leaks

We mostly talk about carbon dioxide as the culprit of climate change. But methane is actually about a hundred times more powerful as a greenhouse gas.

04-17
00:55

Smartphone Drug Delivery

Brain implants can treat diseases ranging from Parkinson’s to depression, but patients must generally be tethered to machines. The key to a new solution might be in your pocket.

03-26
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Computer Game Attacks Coronavirus

If you want to help researchers fighting the coronavirus, even while you’re hunkering down at home, we’ve got a video game for you!

03-13
00:57

Potomac Treasure Part 2

Thirty years ago, a bacteria from the Potomac River was found to produce its own tiny wires that conduct electricity. Just last month, an even more surprising discovery was announced.

03-06
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Potomac Treasure Part 1

More than thirty years ago, a new type of bacteria was discovered in the mud of the Potomac River. Now it could provide a key to producing clean energy.

02-28
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Tracking Coronavirus

The current coronavirus outbreak is being tracked using technologies that monitor news and social media, in the hope of identifying hotspots and predicting its spread.

01-31
00:51

Art Framing Climate Issues

A growing number of artists are creating works that pull people into thinking more about climate change…and the pros and cons of possible solutions.

01-17
00:50

Guided Medicine

Side effects from treatments like chemotherapy might one day be dramatically reduced by a new method that delivers drugs only to a specific target.

11-29
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Auto Hack

As you drive to your Thanksgiving destination, think about this: Today’s cars are basically computers on wheels, and are becoming more and more connected to the internet. So what if a particular brand got hacked?

11-21
01:02

Nose for Infection

Thanks to “man’s best friend,” researchers are making progress on developing an artificial nose that can “smell” the presence of bacterial infection.

11-01
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Wildfire Preventor

As Virginia warns of a potentially bad wildfire season and dangerous fires continue to burn in California, engineers are developing a new tool to stop wildfires in their tracks.

10-18
00:47

No Battery Camera

A new technique might soon allow you to stream High Definition video from a camera so small it could be attached to your glasses.

10-11
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