Vikas Khanna has been appointed chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, effective Sept. 1, 2026.

Roughly one-third of the food produced worldwide is wasted, and researchers at Kyushu University are turning to packaging for a solution. Their review brings together intelligent sensing materials, self-healing films, and AI-driven prediction to expand packaging's role from passive protection to active, real-time sensing. Through a closed loop of recognition, judgment, actuation, and feedback, the team aims to make packaging a trusted, responsive part throughout the food system, from producers to consumers.

A new study helps show how builders and city planners can minimize the materials needed to accommodate the planet's future population.

With Western wildfires increasing in size, duration, and intensity, millions of Americans are now exposed to wildfire smoke each year. Northern Nevada is positioned to receive much of the smoke from California wildfires, and Reno residents experienced months of smoke-shrouded skies during this time. Now, a new study gives us a deeper look into the potentially hazardous chemicals lurking in this smoke.The research was published August 8th in the journal Atmospheric Pollution Research.

A multidisciplinary scientific team at the University of Malaga has developed a new technology based on magnetic nanoparticles that enables precise, rapid and reliable diagnosis of allergy to beta-lactam antibiotics, including amoxicillin and other penicillins.

Metal and dielectric nanostructures have traditionally offered different optical advantages, but combining both functions usually requires complex hybrid designs. Now, researchers demonstrate that a single MoOCl₂ nanostructure can independently support metallic and dielectric resonance modes controlled by orthogonal light polarizations. The two nonhybrid modes coexist without crosstalk, enabling precise light manipulation and opening new opportunities for compact photonic devices, optical communication, sensing, and multifunctional metasurfaces for future integrated photonic technologies and devices. 

A new collaborative study reveals how an mRNA-based influenza vaccine reshapes immune responses at the cellular and molecular levels. By tracking germinal-center activity and individual secreted antibody clonotypes for up to six months, researchers uncover how vaccination drives the evolution and diversification of immune responses. The findings offer new insights into how mRNA technology could help address a key challenge in influenza prevention: generating broader antibody responses against a constantly evolving virus.