Research Highlights
Here is a sampling of the diverse and multidisciplinary research happening at the College of Engineering.
Composites Testing for Aerospace, Sports Cars, and More »- Research and testing performed at the Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory helps ensure the safety of current and future air and ground vehicles. Lab equipment includes a tool that simulates lightning strikes up to 100,000 amps and a pneumatic crash sled capable of crushing full-size vehicle prototypes. The lab is directed by Paolo Feraboli, assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics.
Combining Nanoparticles for Medical Applications »- Nanoparticles are being developed to perform a wide range of medical uses—imaging tumors, carrying drugs, delivering pulses of heat. Quantum dots and gold nanoparticles each have specific, beneficial applications. But put them together and their electrical fields interfere with each other, canceling out the effects. Xiaohu Gao, a UW assistant professor of bioengineering, is finding ways to combine the nanoparticles and preserve their functions.
New Tools for Data-collection Using Cell Phones »- UW computer scientists have used Android, the open-source mobile operating system championed by Google, to turn a cell phone into a versatile data-collection device. Their free suite of tools, named Open Data Kit, is already used by organizations around the world that need inexpensive ways to gather information in areas with little infrastructure.
Greenroads: Sustainability Metrics for Roadways »- Steve Muench, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is developing a rating system that assesses the sustainability of new, reconstructed, and rehabilitated roads. Like several prior rating systems, including the LEED system for buildings, Greenroads awards credits for approved sustainable choices and can be used to certify projects.
A Breakthrough in Organic Electronics »- Until recently, circuits built with organic materials have allowed only one type of charge to move through them. Sam Jenekhe, a UW professor of chemical engineering and chemistry, has helped develop an organic molecule that works to transport both positive and negative charges. The results represent the best performance to date in a single-component organic polymer semiconductor.
Powering Circuits with Electricity in Trees »- Researchers in the Department of Electrical Engineering have demonstrated that there is enough power in trees to run an electronic circuit. The team has developed a device that takes incoming voltage of as little as 20 millivolts and produces an output voltage of 1.1 volts, enough to run low-power sensors. The system could provide a low-cost option for detecting environmental conditions or forest fires or gauging a tree's health.
Technology for Medical and Educational Record-keeping »- Julie Kientz, an assistant professor of human-centered design and engineering, has developed high-tech tool called Baby Steps that takes photos and video, creates an online diary and family newsletters, and at the same time tracks a child's developmental milestones. Researchers found in a small pilot study that having the tool on parents' home computers doubled the collection of medically relevant information.
Health Systems Engineering »- UW's Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, chaired by Richard Storch, is developing a Center for Health Systems Engineering Best Practices. The center will concentrate in three areas: (1) major urban hospitals starting with UW Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, (2) a project to strengthen primary health care in Mozambique, and (3) U.S. inner city public health clinics and clinics serving remote rural areas.
3-D Printing »- UW researchers are combining the ancient art of ceramics and the new technology of 3-D printing. Along the way, they are making 3-D printing dramatically cheaper and adapting the methods for printing in glass. It's all happening in the Solheim Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory, co-directed by mechanical engineering professor Mark Ganter and associate professor Duane Storti.
Augmenting Cancer Therapies with Nanoparticles »- By combining nanoparticles with a scorpion venom compound already being investigated for treating brain cancer, UW researchers found they could cut the spread of cancerous cells by 98 percent, compared to 45 percent for the scorpion venom alone. Miqin Zhang, professor of materials science and engineering, is working with colleagues to conduct additional experiments.
Additional Research Highlights
Solar Cells with Self-assembled Nanowires »- A team of researchers led by Samson A. Jenekhe, a UW professor of chemical engineering and chemistry, is boosting the efficiency of organic solar cells by using self-assembled polymer nanowires that help to convert sunlight into electrical energy.
Increasing Efficiency of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells »- By using a popcorn-ball design—tiny kernels clumped into much larger porous spheres—researchers at the University of Washington are able to manipulate light and more than double the efficiency of converting solar energy to electricity. The research is conducted in the lab of Guozhong Cao, a UW professor of materials science and engineering.
Robofish (or "Fin Actuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicles") »- Schools of fish and herds of animals can maneuver smoothly and in unison. Kristi Morgansen, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics and adjunct professor of electrical engineering, asks, "How are they doing it?" and getting results in the lab.
Quantum Dots: Silencing Genes with Nanoparticles »- RNA interference holds great promise for medical science, but so far it has been difficult to apply the technique in living cells. Xiaohu Gao, an assistant professor of bioengineering, is collaborating with UW and Emory University scientists to address the problem and succeeding with a nanotechnology known as quantum dots.
Contact Lenses for Superhuman Vision »- Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights. The lens is one example of research by Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering, into "micro devices for human performance augmentation."
Double Cycling: Efficiency at the Ports »- Ports could use cranes more efficiently if they loaded and unloaded ships simultaneously. In doing so, the ports would increase efficiency, save costs and conserve fuel. Anne Goodchild, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is collaborating on research that shows "double cycling" need not be complicated to yield significant improvements in efficiency.
Foldit: Competitive Protein Folding for Medical Science »- There are more than 100,000 different kinds in the human body. While we know many proteins' genetic sequence, we don't know how they fold up into complex shapes to play crucial biological roles. UW researchers, including Computer Science & Engineering associate professor Zoran Popović and professor David Salesin, have created a computer game that harnesses human intuition to solve problems that computers alone cannot. The game could develop into a tool to help defeat viruses such as HIV.
Anti-Biofouling Materials »- Barnacles stick to ship hulls and proteins stick to artificial heart valves, adding significant fuel costs and causing infections. Shaoyi Jiang, a professor of chemical engineering and adjunct professor of bioengineering, is researching safe materials to solve these problems.