News

Professor Emeritus Stephen Davis Passes Away
Davis was an internationally renowned researcher in fluid dynamics

Four Professors Included in Special Nature Materials Thematic Issue
Work by Erik Luijten, Gregory Wagner, Sinan Keten, and Chris Wolverton appears in the special collection

Park Honored with Hanwha Non-Tenured Faculty Award
The honor is given annually to North America-based assistant professors with Korean heritage

Mimicking Shapes Found in Bacteria
For first time, researchers control design of bacterial microcompartments

A New Way to Explore Fluid Mechanics
Simple, inexpensive apparatus provides hands-on experiment in fluid mechanics course

Designing Soft Materials that Mimic Biological Functions
Soft material demonstrates autonomous, heartbeat-like oscillating properties

Four Northwestern Engineering Investigators Collaborate with Ojibwe to Strengthen Resilience
Team received a $50,000 grant as part of Civic Innovation Challenge

Aquatic Robot Inspired by Sea Creatures Walks, Rolls, Transports Cargo
Soft material is powered by light and rotating magnetic fields

A New Understanding of Ionic Interactions with Graphene and Water
Findings could inform design of environmental technologies behind water purification processes and electric energy storage

‘Like A Fishing Net,’ Nanonet Collapses to Trap Drug Molecules
Novel method presents possibilities for rapidly making and testing vaccine formulations

Surveillance and Risks of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater

Fate of Microplastics in Rivers

Scientists Tackle Plastic Waste with $12.8 Million Award from Department of Energy
Interdisciplinary team of researchers explores new methods of plastic upcycling

New Vulnerability Exposed in SARS-CoV-2
Electrostatic interactions enhance the spike protein's bond to host cells

Workshop Explores Potential of 'Smart Sensors' for Environmental Monitoring
More than 90 researchers and scientists took part in the virtual event on May 11-12

US-Israel Consortium Launches $21.4 Million Initiative to Develop Water-Energy Technologies
New energy-efficient technologies will focus on water desalination, purification and reuse

Leaf-inspired Surface Prevents Frost Formation
New design could conserve energy used for defrosting airplanes, appliances and more

New Discovery Makes It Easier to Design Synthetic Proteins that Rival their Natural Counterparts
The findings could have applications in water desalination, batteries, and pharmaceutical and biofuels research

Soil Compositional Changes Influence Microbiology

Synthetic Particles Mimic Bacteria Movement
System allows researchers to study swarming behaviors

Michael Miksis Named AAAS Fellow
Noshir Contractor and Michael Miksis will be honored in February at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington

Watching Materials Crystallize
New observations could help scientists engineer new materials

From Ribbon to Scroll: Gaining Shape Control by Electrostatics
Controlling scroll-like cochleate structures could inform future drug-delivery strategies

Professor Petia Vlahovska Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS)

Northwestern Engineering Hosts Stephen H. Davis Symposium
International fluid dynamics experts conducted scholarly lectures

New Structured Map of Mixing Geometries
Connecting different ways of cutting and shuffling leads to new ways of thinking about the mathematics of mixing

Finding Solutions to Drought and Water Insecurity in the Middle East
Researchers proposed solutions at annual Symposium on Water in Israel and the Middle East

New Report Warns of Dangers to Great Lakes Health and Economy from Climate Change
Environmental engineer Aaron Packman works to be part of the solution

Northwestern’s Center for Water Research Supports New Collaborations with the University of Chicago, Ben-Gurion University in Israel
Seven proposals for innovative water research will collectively receive more than $700,000 in new funding from the three institutions

Northwestern Engineering Faculty Teams Receive NSF Big Ideas for the Future Grants
More than $3 million given to four teams via RAISE and EAGER grants targeting convergence research and the “rules of life”

Making Chicago More Prepared for Extreme Weather
New grant to help researchers predict extreme weather and lessen its impacts

Service Design Course Partners with Feeding America to Address Food Insecurity
Four teams created solutions to help the nonprofit better distribute rescued foods from retail stores

When Mixing Granular Matter, Order Among Disorder
Research finds new framework for mixing materials like sand and concrete

Healthy Red Blood Cells Flow in an Ordered Pattern Unlike Their Diseased Counterparts
Petia Vlahovska and international colleagues consider visual diagnosis tool to detect red blood cell pathologies.

Researchers Find Way to Keep Proteins Functioning Outside of the Cell
Discovery led to the development of a protein ‘mat’ that soaks up pollution

SAVEUR Project Announcement

Third Annual Symposium on Water in Israel and the Middle East

Stephen Davis Elected into Academia Europaea
Davis honored for sustained academic excellence in his field

By Water, by Land, by Air
Northwestern Engineers tackle energy efficiency issues from multiple fronts

Understanding Rare Earth Emulsions
Researchers discover that surface polarization in mixed media increases attraction among elements

Researchers Measure Flow from a Nanoscale Fluid Jet
Jet measures 20 to 150 nanometers in diameter — just a few hundred water molecules across

Research Shows How DNA Molecules Cross Nanopores
Study could inform biosensors, manufacturing, and more

A New Twist on Electrosprays
Saturn-shaped drops generate millions of microscopic, uniform particles

Northwestern’s Car Teams Gear Up for Competition
Formula and Baja SAE teams will compete this quarter

Summer Research: Worth the Rewards
Engineering undergraduate researchers spend summer break making new discoveries in science and about themselves

Symposium Tackles Water Scarcity in the Middle East
Experts will explore potential sociopolitical and technological long-term solutions

Breaking the Protein-DNA Bond
Study finds that free-floating proteins break up protein-DNA bonds at the single-binding site

Olvera de la Cruz to Receive 2017 APS Polymer Physics Prize
The prestigious award honors her contributions to the theoretical understanding of polymers

Wilensky Wins 2016 Excellence in Design Award
Award honors Wilensky's work to create NetLogo

Symposium Looks to Israel as a Role Model for Water Sustainability
“Water in Israel and the Middle East” took place May 18

Water Sustainability Symposium to Examine Solutions for Middle East
Public event to explore technological and sociopolitical solutions for regional water challenges

PhD Student Receives NSF Fellowship

Water Sustainability is Focus of New Research Center

Supercharged. Better Batteries Ahead
From anode to the cathode — and everything in between — Northwestern Engineering researchers are finding ways to make cheaper, lighter batteries that work better and last longer

Engineers Identify How to Keep Surfaces Dry Underwater
Research team is first to identify surface ‘roughness’ required to achieve amazing feat

Brinson, Burghardt Join Senior Leadership Team
The two deans will assume their positions on September 1

Diverse Sea Creatures Evolved to Reach Same Swimming Solution
Elongated fins use same mechanical motion to optimize speed across eight animal groups

Faculty Panel Discusses Creativity in ‘Conversations at the Intersection’ Event
Moderated by Dean Julio M. Ottino, the panel discussed creative block, lone geniuses, and creative processes

Engineering Therapeutics
Taking aim at disease

Designing Ion ‘Highway Systems’ for Batteries
A McCormick team advanced the understanding of plastics for battery application

Which Has a More Efficient "Engine": A Tuna or a Whale?
New metric yields surprising answer, could help design of cars and underwater vehicles

Three McCormick Faculty to Receive Teaching Awards
David J. Corr, Todd Murphey, and Neelesh A. Patankar are among the honorees

Expanding Particles to Engineer Defects
Northwestern researchers find that adding an impurity can create order

Molecular Traffic Jam Makes Water Move Faster through Nanochannels
Researchers find the unusual movement of water molecules through carbon nanotubes explains their faster-than-expected travel times

McCormick Faculty to Present at AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago
Scientists will convene in Chicago from February 13 to 17

Making A Gem of A Tiny Crystal
Slowly cooled DNA transforms disordered nanoparticles into orderly crystal

Study: Acidity Can Change Cell Membrane Properties
Researchers alter symmetry, density, and other properties of cell bilayers

How Fish Swim: McCormick Researchers Examine Mechanical Bases for the Emergence of Undulatory Swimmers
Findings could provide insights in evolutionary biology, neural control of movement, bio-inspired devices

New Fluid-Dynamic Slip Law Subsumes 40 Years of Research
Findings could lead to improved manufacturing, medical processes

Northwestern-Argonne Institute Mini-Sabbatical Program Begins
Applied mathematician Michael Miksis kicks off faculty exchange program

In the Fight Against Cancer, a Closer Look at Nuclear Blebbing
Researchers gain insight into abnormally shaped cell nuclei of people with cancer and other disorders

McCormick Researchers Boil Water Without Bubbles
Researchers Engineer Special Surface, Allowing Water to Boil without Producing Bubbles

Northwestern Receives $2.36 Million from Dow Chemical for Sponsored Research

Northwestern Recognizes Six with McCormick Teaching Excellence Awards

NU Microgravity Team to Fly in NASA’s Weightless Wonder

Robotic Ghost Knifefish Could Pave Way for Highly Agile Underwater Robots

Researchers Find Universal Law For Material Evolution