News by Subject Technology & Engineering

Sending a human into space and doing it efficiently presents a galaxy of challenges. Koki Ho, University of Illinois assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, and his graduate students, Hao Chen and Bindu Jagannatha, explored ways to integrate the logistics of space travel by looking at a campaign of lunar missions, spacecraft design, and conducting research, published today in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, to create a framework to optimize fuel and other resources.

When tested on their knowledge of 23 types of weather information, from icing forecasts and turbulence reports to radar, 204 general aviation (GA) pilots surveyed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University researchers were stumped by about 42 percent of the questions. The findings, published in the April 2018 edition of the International Journal of Aerospace Psychology, are worrisome. Embry-Riddle's Elizabeth Blickensderfer said, 'We have got to improve how weather information is displayed.'

Engineers have proposed a coordinated control architecture for motion management in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to increase safety and comfort across all vehicles, regardless of ADAS specifics.

Michael 'Miki' Amitay, the James L. Decker '45 Endowed Chair in Aerospace Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has received a grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to study the phenomenon of flow separation on aircraft wings, which could lead to improved aerodynamic performance in future-generation air vehicles.

Electronic waste -- including discarded televisions, computers and mobile phones -- is one of the fastest-growing waste categories worldwide. For years, recyclers have gleaned usable parts, including metals, from this waste stream. That makes sense from a sustainability perspective, but it's been unclear whether it's reasonable from an economic viewpoint. Now researchers report in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology that recovering gold, copper and other metals from e-waste is cheaper than obtaining these metals from mines.