Tian Li, assistant professor in mechanical engineering, is part of a $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) project to help develop low-cost, sustainable materials that also can repair themselves and capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

At most motorsports events, earplugs are an absolute necessity to dampen the massive roar of internal combustion engines. But attend the evGrandPrix, and you’ll only hear two sounds: students cheering, and dozens of electric race cars zooming past at 50 miles an hour – with all the sound and fury of an electric toothbrush.

These lightning-fast whirs represent a lot of very clever engineering. Purdue’s Electric Vehicle Club (EVC) specializes in creating these electric vehicles, and they recently shared the challenges of turning the quietest car into the fastest car.

Wireless communications like cellphone and Wi-Fi networks are everywhere in the 21st century, continually increasing in size, speed, and complexity. But energy efficiency isn’t keeping up. By some estimates, the wireless ecosystem as a whole may be responsible for 23% of all global CO2 emissions by 2030.

Purdue University researchers may have a solution. They are collaborating on a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) on heterogenous integration of the high-power electronics involved, built on a glass substrate. They are also developing novel cooling methods to decrease the energy consumed by these next-generation wireless networks.

Guang Lin is the first Purdue University faculty member chosen to participate in the university’s new Joint Appointment Program with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.

Purdue University’s recently launched eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations (XMO) Purdue Engineering Initiative is positioned to strengthen the U.S. advanced manufacturing industry’s adaptability for the 21st century across multiple sectors, such as semiconductors, aerospace, defense, biomanufacturing for agriculture, and transportation. Ajay Malshe is the co-chair.

In the midst of rapid artificial intelligence expansion, Purdue engineering professor Karthik Ramani offers a positive perspective. He believes AI holds immense potential for bolstering manufacturing competitiveness, revolutionizing product design, democratizing programming and ushering in a workforce revolution.

The ocean isn’t a uniform body of water, but stratified layers of different density, temperature, and salinity. As the climate changes, these density changes are becoming more extreme – affecting the movements of microorganisms in the water, and in turn affecting the production of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide on a global scale.

Summer is the perfect time to learn about air-conditioning and refrigeration, and as the largest academic HVAC lab in the world, Purdue's Herrick Labs is the perfect place. Since 2016, Herrick Labs has hosted a unique cross-cultural learning collaboration, which includes graduate students from Purdue University, Oklahoma State University, Technical University of Dresden, and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA).

Cancer researchers often require live tumors to test their new treatments. But harvesting live tumors is painful and dangerous, and creating new tumors in a lab can be time-consuming and difficult. Purdue University researchers have developed a novel solution: inkjet-printed tumors. By printing biomaterial in a unique two-dimensional pattern, these specimens naturally fold in on themselves to become lifelike three-dimensional tumoroids, in a process called morphogenesis.

Mechanical engineering seniors Kayla King and Jennifer Short have been selected as Purdue Engineering Fellows, recognizing the accomplishments, contributions and potential of outstanding seniors. Both will receive $20,000 upon graduation.