What many engineers once saw as a flaw in organic electronics could actually make these devices more stable and reliable, according to new research from the University of Surrey and JOANNEUM RESEARCH MATERIALS. 

Philip R. Troyk, director of the Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), has been elected a 2025 fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors, and Troyk is one of 169 inventors from the United States selected for this distinguished honor this year.

Using a dual-cation substitution approach, researchers at Science Tokyo introduced ferromagnetism into bismuth ferrite, a well-known and promising multiferroic material for next-generation memory technologies. By replacing ions at both the bismuth and iron sites with calcium ions and heavier elements, they modified the spin structure and achieved ferromagnetism at room temperature. Additionally, negative thermal expansion was observed. This ability to engineer magnetism and thermal expansion in a multiferroic material aids in realizing future memory devices.

Groundbreaking electrical engineer Bilal Akin, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, is the recipient of the 2026 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering from TAMEST. He was chosen for his cutting-edge advancement of sustainable and high-efficiency energy conversion systems for electric vehicles (EVs) and industrial automation.